China

Communist state

China as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 128 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalBeijing
LocationEastern Asia, between India and Mongolia
1994

Every edition of China

Populationas each edition published it
1.19 billion July 1994 est. · 1.12bn in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.08% 1994 est. · 1.1% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 31.5 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 67.74 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.84 children per woman 1994 est. · 2.3 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
52.1 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 34 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$2,200 1993 est. · $23,800 in 2025
GDP real growth% a year
13.4% 1993 · 12.8% in 1993

Geography

Eastern Asia, between India and Mongolia

23 fields
Coastline
14,500km
Irrigated land
478,220sq km
(1991 - Chinese statistic)

Location

Eastern Asia, between India and Mongolia

Map references

Asia, Southeast Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

total area

9,596,960 sq km

land area

9,326,410 sq km

comparative area

slightly larger than the US

Land boundaries

total 22,143.34 km, Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia 4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

continental shelf

claim to shallow areas of East China Sea and Yellow Sea

territorial sea

12 nm

International disputes

  • boundary with India;
  • bilateral negotiations are under way to resolve disputed sections of the boundary with Russia;
  • boundary with Tajikistan in dispute;
  • a short section of the boundary with North Korea is indefinite;
  • involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei;
  • maritime boundary dispute with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin;
  • Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan;
  • claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan

Climate

extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain

mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east

Natural resources

coal, iron ore, petroleum, mercury, tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

arable land

10%

permanent crops

0%

meadows and pastures

31%

forest and woodland

14%

other

45%

current issues

  • air pollution from the overwhelming use of coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is damaging forests;
  • water pollution from industrial effluents;
  • many people do not have access to safe drinking water;
  • less than 10% of sewage receives treatment;
  • deforestation;
  • estimated loss of one-third of agricultural land since 1957 to soil erosion and economic development;
  • desertification

natural hazards

  • frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts);
  • damaging floods;
  • tsunamis;
  • earthquakes

international agreements

  • party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Whaling;
  • signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea

Note

world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada)

People

22 fields
Population
1,190,431,106
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 1.08% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
18.1Death
7.35Net migration
0
Labor force
567.4million
Literacy
15and over can read and write
age · (1990)

Infant mortality rate

52.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

total population

67.91 years

male

66.93 years

female

68.99 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.84 children born/woman (1994 est.)

noun

Chinese (singular and plural)

adjective

Chinese

Ethnic divisions

Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities 8.1%

Religions

Daoism (Taoism), Buddhism, Muslim 2%-3%, Christian 1% (est.)

note

officially atheist, but traditionally pragmatic and eclectic

Languages

Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic divisions entry)

total population

78%

male

87%

female

68%

by occupation

agriculture and forestry 60%, industry and commerce 25%, construction and mining 5%, social services 5%, other 5% (1990 est.)

Government

Communist state

36 fields

conventional long form

People's Republic of China

conventional short form

China

local long form

Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo

local short form

Zhong Guo

Type

Communist state

Capital

Beijing

Administrative divisions

  • 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 3 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural);
  • Anhui, Beijing Shi**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai Shi**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin Shi**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang

note

China considers Taiwan its 23rd province

Independence

221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty 221 BC; Qing or Ch'ing Dynasty replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912; People's Republic established 1 October 1949)

National holiday

National Day, 1 October (1949)

Constitution

most recent promulgated 4 December 1982

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

chief of state

  • President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993);
  • Vice President RONG Yiren (since 27 March 1993);
  • election last held 27 March 1993 (next to be held NA 1998);
  • results - JIANG Zemin was nominally elected by the Eighth National People's Congress

chief of state and head of government (de facto)

DENG Xiaoping (since NA 1977)

head of government

  • Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since 24 November 1987, Premier since 9 April 1988) Vice Premier ZHU Rongji (since 8 April 1991);
  • Vice Premier ZOU Jiahua (since 8 April 1991);
  • Vice Premier QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993);
  • Vice Premier LI Lanqing (29 March 1993)

cabinet

State Council; containing 28 ministers and 8 state commissions and appointed by the National People's Congress (March 1993)

National People's Congress

  • (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui) elections last held March 1993 (next to be held March 1998);
  • results - CCP is the only party but there are also independents;
  • seats - (2,977 total) (elected at county or xian level)

Judicial branch

Supreme People's Court

Political parties and leaders

Chinese Communist Party (CCP), JIANG Zemin, general secretary of the Central Committee (since 24 June 1989); eight registered small parties controlled by CCP

Other political or pressure groups

such meaningful opposition as exists consists of loose coalitions, usually within the party and government organization, that vary by issue

Member of

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UN Security Council, UNTAC, UNTSO, UN Trusteeship Council, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission

Ambassador LI Daoyu

chancery

2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone

(202) 328-2500 through 2502

consulate(s) general

Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco

chief of mission

Ambassador J. Stapleton ROY

embassy

Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, Beijing

mailing address

100600, PSC 461, Box 50, Beijing or FPO AP 96521-0002

telephone

[86] (1) 532-3831

FAX

[86] (1) 532-3178

consulate(s) general

Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang

Flag

red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the upper hoist-side corner

Economy

27 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$2,200
(1993 est.)
Real growth rate
13.4%
(1993)industrial production growth: growth rate 20.8% (1992)
Inflation, consumer prices
17.6%
(December 1993 over December 1992)
Unemployment rate
2.3%in urban areas
(1992); substantial underemployment

Overview

Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more productive and flexible economy with market elements, but still within the framework of monolithic Communist control. To this end the authorities switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the economy to increased foreign trade and investment.

The result has been a strong surge in production, particularly in agriculture in the early 1980s. Industry also has posted major gains, especially in coastal areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment and modern production methods have helped spur production of both domestic and export goods.

Aggregate output has more than doubled since 1978. On the darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals.

In 1992-93 annual growth of GDP has accelerated, particularly in the coastal areas - to more than 10% annually according to official claims. In late 1993 China's leadership approved additional reforms aimed at giving more play to market-oriented institutions and at strengthening the center's control over the financial system.

Popular resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to the nation's long-term economic viability.

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.61 trillion (1993 estimate based on a 1990 figure from the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as extrapolated by use of official Chinese growth statistics for 1992 and 1993)

Budget

deficit $15.6 billion (1993)

Exports

$92 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

commodities

textiles, garments, footwear, toys, crude oil

partners

Hong Kong, US, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Russia (1993)

Imports

$104 billion (c.i.f., 1993)

commodities

rolled steel, motor vehicles, textile machinery, oil products

partners

Japan, Taiwan, US, Hong Kong, Germany, South Korea (1993)

External debt

$80 billion (1993 est.)

capacity

158,690,000 kW

production

740 billion kWh

consumption per capita

630 kWh (1992)

Industries

iron and steel, coal, machine building, armaments, textiles, petroleum, cement, chemical fertilizers, consumer durables, food processing

Agriculture

  • accounts for 26% of GNP;
  • among the world's largest producers of rice, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, and pork;
  • commercial crops include cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds;
  • produces variety of livestock products;
  • basically self-sufficient in food;
  • fish catch of 13.35 million metric tons (including fresh water and pond raised) (1991)

Illicit drugs

  • illicit producer of opium;
  • bulk of production is in Yunnan Province;
  • transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle

donor

to less developed countries (1970-89) $7 billion

recipient

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $220.7 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $13.5 billion

Currency

1 yuan (Y) = 10 jiao

Exchange rates

yuan (Y) per US$1 - 8.7000 (January 1994), 5.7620 (1993), 5.5146 (1992), 5.3234 (1991), 4.7832 (1990), 3.7651 (1989)

note

beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

16 fields

Railroads

  • total about 64,000 km;
  • 54,000 km of common carrier lines, of which 53,400 km are 1.435-meter gauge (standard) and 600 km are 1.000-meter gauge (narrow);
  • 11,200 km of standard gauge common carrier route are double tracked and 6,900 km are electrified (1990);
  • an additional 10,000 km of varying gauges (0.762 to 1.067-meter) are dedicated industrial lines

total

1.029 million km

paved

170,000 km

unpaved

gravel/improved earth 648,000 km; unimproved earth 211,000 km (1990)

Inland waterways

138,600 km; about 109,800 km navigable

Pipelines

crude oil 9,700 km; petroleum products 1,100 km; natural gas 6,200 km (1990)

Ports

Dalian, Guangzhou, Huangpu, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Xingang, Zhanjiang, Ningbo, Xiamen, Tanggu, Shantou

Merchant marine

1,541 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,884,756 GRT/22,475,985 DWT, barge carrier 1, bulk 285, cargo 819, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 9, container 85, liquefied gas 4, multifunction/barge carrier 1, oil tanker 192, passenger 24, passenger-cargo 25, refrigerated cargo 17, roll-on/roll-off cargo 21, short-sea passenger 43, vehicle carrier 2

note

China beneficially owns an additional 227 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling approximately 6,187,117 DWT that operate under Panamanian, British, Hong Kong, Maltese, Liberian, Vanuatu, Cypriot, Saint Vincent, Bahamian, and Romanian registry

total

330

usable

330

with permanent-surface runways

260

with runways over 3,659 m

fewer than 10

with runways 2,440-3,659 m

90

with runways 1,220-2,439 m

200

Telecommunications

  • domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use;
  • unevenly distributed internal system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships;
  • 11,000,000 telephones (December 1989);
  • broadcast stations - 274 AM, unknown FM, 202 (2,050 repeaters) TV;
  • more than 215 million radio receivers;
  • 75 million TVs;
  • satellite earth stations - 4 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 INMARSAT, and 55 domestic

Defense Forces

4 fields

Branches

People's Liberation Army (PLA), PLA Navy (including Marines), PLA Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missle force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in war time)

Manpower availability

  • males age 15-49 347,458,052;
  • fit for military service 192,546,413;
  • reach military age (18) annually 10,256,181 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

  • defense budget - 52.04 billion yuan, NA% of GDP (1994 est.);
  • note - conversion of the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Affiliation

(territory of Australia)

Central Intelligence Agency. “China.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/china/1994.

How to cite ← 1993 edition 1995 edition →