China

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

• air pollution (greenhouse gases, particulates) from the overwhelming use of high-sulfur coal as a fuel, produces acid rain which is damaging forests;
• water shortages experienced throughout the country, particularly in urban areas and in the north;
• future growth in water usage threatens to outpace supplies;
• water pollution from industrial effluents;
• much of the population does not have access to potable water;
• less than 10% of sewage receives treatment;
• deforestation;
• estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development;
• desertification;
• trade in endangered species

party to:

Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

26% (male 169,347,516; female 149,897,253)

15-64 years:

68% (male 431,164,591; female 404,513,208)

65 years and over:

6% (male 38,398,920; female 43,593,170) (July 1998 est.)

at birth:

1.15 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.88 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

noun:

Chinese (singular and plural)

adjective:

Chinese

conventional long form:

People's Republic of China

conventional short form:

China

local long form:

Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo

local short form:

Zhong Guo

abbreviation:

PRC

• 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural);
• Anhui, Beijing**, Chongqing**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai**, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin**, Xinjiang*, Xizang* (Tibet), Yunnan, Zhejiang

note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entry for the special administrative region of Hong Kong

• a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law;
• rudimentary civil code in effect since 1 January 1987;
• new legal codes in effect since 1 January 1980;
• continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, criminal, and commercial law

chief of state:

President JIANG Zemin (since 27 March 1993) and Vice President HU Jintao (since 16 March 1998)

head of government:

• Premier ZHU Rongji (since 18 March 1998);
• Vice Premiers QIAN Qichen (since 29 March 1993), LI Lanqing (29 March 1993), WU Bangguo (since 17 March 1995), and WEN Jiabao (since 18 March 1998)

cabinet:

State Council appointed by the National People's Congress (NPC)

elections:

• president and vice president elected by the National People's Congress for five-year terms;
• elections last held 16-18 March 1998 (next to be held NA March 2003);
• premier nominated by the president, confirmed by the National People's Congress

election results:

• JIANG Zemin reelected president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,882 votes (36 delegates voted against him, 29 abstained, and 32 did not vote);
• HU Jintao elected vice president by the Ninth National People's Congress with a total of 2,841 votes (67 delegates voted against him, 39 abstained, and 32 did not vote)

chief of mission:

Ambassador LI Zhaoxing

chancery:

2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 328-2500 through 2502

consulate(s) general:

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador James R. SASSER

embassy:

Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing

mailing address:

PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002

telephone:

[86] (10) 6532-3831

total:

623.9 million (1995)

by occupation:

agriculture and forestry 53%, industry and commerce 26%, construction and mining 7%, social services 4%, other 10% (1995)

revenues:

$NA

expenditures:

$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

• rice, wheat, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, cotton, other fibers, oilseed;
• pork and other livestock products;
• fish

total value:

$182.7 billion (f.o.b., 1997)

commodities:

electrical machinery, clothing, footwear, toys, mineral fuels, leather, plastics, fabrics (1997)

partners:

Hong Kong, US, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Netherlands (1997)

total value:

$142.4 billion (c.i.f., 1997)

commodities:

mechanical appliances, electrical machinery, mineral fuels, plastics, iron and steel, fabrics, cotton and yarn (1997)

partners:

Japan, Taiwan, US, South Korea, Hong Kong, Germany, Singapore (1997)

• domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use;
• unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and most townships

domestic:

interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place

international:

• satellite earth stations-5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean Region) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean Regions);
• several international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong

total:

64,900 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)

standard gauge:

61,300 km 1.435-m gauge (10,400 km electrified; 18,540 km double track)

narrow gauge:

3,600 km 0.750-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.)

total:

1.18 million km

paved:

241,300 km

unpaved:

938,700 km (1998 est.)

• the officially announced 1998 figure is 91 billion yuan, but China's defense expenditures are almost certainly two to three times the announced budget;
• note-conversion of the defense budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

• boundary with India in dispute;
• two disputed sections of the boundary with Russia remain to be settled;
• most of the boundary with Tajikistan in dispute;
• 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area 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;
• sections of land border with Vietnam are indefinite