The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced throughPortuguese,Malay, andPersian back to theSanskrit wordCīna, used inancient India.[15] "China" appears inRichard Eden's 1555 translation[n] of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorerDuarte Barbosa.[o][15] Barbosa's usage was derived from PersianChīn (چین), which in turn derived from SanskritCīna (चीन).[20] The origin of the Sanskrit word is a matter of debate.[15]Cīna was first used in earlyHindu scripture, including theMahabharata (5th century BCE) and theLaws of Manu (2nd century BCE).[21] In 1655,Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of theQin dynasty (221–206 BCE).[22][21] Although use in Indian sources precedes this dynasty, this derivation is still given in various sources.[23] Alternative suggestions include the names forYelang and theJing or Chu state.[21][24]
Yinxu, the ruins of the capital of the lateShang dynasty (14th century BCE)
According to traditionalChinese historiography, theXia dynasty was established during the late 3rd millennium BCE, marking the beginning of the dynastic cycle that was understood to underpin China's entire political history. In the modern era, the Xia's historicity came under increasing scrutiny, in part due to the earliest known attestation of the Xia being written millennia after the date given for their collapse. In 1958, archaeologists discovered sites belonging to theErlitou culture that existed during the earlyBronze Age; they have since been characterized as the remains of the historical Xia, but this conception is often rejected.[39][40][41] TheShang dynasty that traditionally succeeded the Xia is the earliest for which there are both contemporary written records and undisputed archaeological evidence.[42] The Shang ruled much of theYellow River valley until the 11th century BCE, with the earliest hard evidence datedc. 1300 BCE.[43] Theoracle bone script, attested fromc. 1250 BCE but generally assumed to be considerably older,[44][45] represents the oldest known form ofwritten Chinese,[46] and is the direct ancestor of modernChinese characters.[47]
The Shang were overthrown by theZhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE, though the centralized authority ofSon of Heaven was slowly eroded byfengjian lords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou and continually waged war with each other during the 300-yearSpring and Autumn period. By the time of theWarring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries BCE, there were seven major powerful states left.[48]
The Warring States period ended in 221 BCE after thestate of Qin conquered the other six states, reunited China and established the dominant order ofautocracy.King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the Emperor of theQin dynasty, becoming the first emperor of a unified China. He enacted Qin'slegalist reforms, notably the standardization of Chinese characters,measurements, road widths, andcurrency. His dynasty alsoconquered the Yue tribes inGuangxi,Guangdong, andNorthern Vietnam.[49] The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death.[50][51]
The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy andimperial examination system, constructed theGrand Canal, and patronizedBuddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and afailed war innorthern Korea provoked widespread unrest.[55][56]Under the succeedingTang andSong dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age.[57] The Tang dynasty retained control of theWestern Regions and the Silk Road,[58] which brought traders to as far asMesopotamia and theHorn of Africa,[59] and made the capitalChang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by theAn Lushan rebellion in the 8th century.[60] In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended theseparatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and theLiao dynasty. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.[61]
Between the 10th and 11th century CE, the population of China doubled to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw arevival of Confucianism, in response to the growth of Buddhism during the Tang,[62] and a flourishing of philosophy and the arts, aslandscape art andporcelain were brought to new levels of complexity.[63] However, the military weakness of the Song army was observed by theJin dynasty. In 1127,Emperor Emeritus Huizong,Emperor Qinzong of Song and the capitalBianjing were captured during theJin–Song wars. The remnants of the Song retreated tosouthern China and reestablishedthe Song atJiankang.[64]
In the early Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved fromNanjing to Beijing. With the budding of capitalism, philosophers such asWang Yangming critiqued and expanded Neo-Confucianism with concepts ofindividualism and equality offour occupations.[69] Thescholar-official stratum became a supporting force of industry and commerce in the tax boycott movements, which, together with the famines and defense againstJapanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) andLater Jin incursions led to an exhausted treasury.[70] In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition ofpeasant rebel forces led byLi Zicheng. TheChongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The ManchuQing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty generalWu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-livedShun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.[71]
The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. TheMing-Qing transition (1618–1683) cost 25 million lives, but the Qing appeared to have restored China's imperial power and inaugurated another flowering of the arts.[72] After theSouthern Ming ended, the further conquest of theDzungar Khanate added Mongolia, Tibet and Xinjiang to the empire.[73] Meanwhile, China's population growth resumed and shortly began to accelerate. It is commonly agreed that pre-modern China's population experienced two growth spurts, one during theNorthern Song period (960–1127), and other during the Qing period (around 1700–1830).[74] By theHigh Qing era China was possibly the most commercialized country in the world, and imperial China experienced a second commercial revolution by the end of the 18th century.[75] On the other hand, the centralized autocracy was strengthened in part to suppressanti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, like theHaijin during the early Qing period and ideological control as represented by theliterary inquisition, causing some social and technological stagnation.[76][77]
TheEight-Nation Alliance invaded China to defeat the anti-foreignBoxers and their Qing backers. The image shows a celebration ceremony inside the Chinese imperial palace, theForbidden City after the signing of theBoxer Protocol in 1901.
On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, andSun Yat-sen of theKuomintang (KMT) was proclaimed provisional president.[84] In March 1912, the presidency was given toYuan Shikai, a former Qing general who in 1915 proclaimed himselfEmperor of China. In the face of popular condemnation and opposition from his ownBeiyang Army, he was forced to abdicate and re-establish the republic in 1916.[85] After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented. Its Beijing-based government was internationally recognized but virtually powerless; regional warlords controlled most of its territory.[86][87] During thisperiod, Chinaparticipated inWorld War I and saw a far-reaching popular uprising (theMay Fourth Movement).[88]
In the late 1920s, the Kuomintang underChiang Kai-shek was able to reunify the country under its own control with a series of deft military and political maneuverings known collectively as theNorthern Expedition.[89][90] The Kuomintang moved the nation's capital toNanjing and implemented "political tutelage", an intermediate stage of political development outlined in Sun Yat-sen'sThree Principles of the People program for transforming China into a modern democratic state.[91][92] The Kuomintangbriefly allied with theChinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Northern Expedition, though the alliance broke down in 1927 after Chiangviolently suppressed the CCP and other leftists in Shanghai, marking the beginning of theChinese Civil War.[93] The CCP declaredareas of the country as theChinese Soviet Republic (Jiangxi Soviet) in November 1931 inRuijin,Jiangxi. The Jiangxi Soviet waswiped out by the KMT armies in 1934, leading the CCP to initiate theLong March and relocate toYan'an inShaanxi. It would be the base of the communists before major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949.
China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained. The continued distrust between theKuomintang and theCommunists led to the resumption of civil war. Constitutional rule was established in 1947, but because of the ongoing unrest, many provisions of theROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.[100] Afterwards, the CCP took control of most of mainland China, and theROC government retreated offshore to Taiwan.
The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974.[108] However, theGreat Leap Forward, an idealistic massiveindustrialization project, resulted inan estimated 15 to 55 million deaths between 1959 and 1961, mostly from starvation.[109][110] In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.[111] In 1966, Mao and his allies launched theCultural Revolution, sparking a decade of political recrimination and social upheaval that lasted until Mao's death in 1976. In October 1971, the PRCreplaced the ROC in the United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council.[112]
After Mao's death, theGang of Four were arrested byHua Guofeng and held responsible for the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution was rebuked, with millions rehabilitated.Deng Xiaoping took power in 1978, and instituted large-scalepolitical andeconomic reforms, together with the "Eight Elders", most senior and influential members of the party. The government loosened its control and thecommunes were gradually disbanded.[113]Agricultural collectivization was dismantled and farmlands privatized. While foreign trade became a major focus,special economic zones (SEZs) were created. Inefficientstate-owned enterprises (SOEs) were restructured and some closed. This marked China's transition away from planned economy.[114] China adopted its currentconstitution on 4 December 1982.[115]
At the16th CCP National Congress in 2002,Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang as the general secretary.[117] Under Hu, China maintained its high rate of economic growth, overtaking the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Japan to become the world's second-largest economy.[120] However, the growth also severely impacted the country's resources and environment,[121][122] and caused major social displacement.[123][124]Xi Jinping succeeded Hu as paramount leader at the18th CCP National Congress in 2012. Shortly after his ascension to power, Xi launcheda vast anti-corruption crackdown,[125] that prosecuted more than 2 million officials by 2022.[126] Duringhis tenure, Xi has consolidated power unseen since the initiation of economic and political reforms.[127]
The territory of China lies betweenlatitudes18° and54° N, andlongitudes73° and135° E. Thegeographical center of China is marked by the Center of the Country Monument at35°50′40.9″N103°27′7.5″E / 35.844694°N 103.452083°E /35.844694; 103.452083 (Geographical center of China). China's landscapes vary significantly across its vast territory. In the east, along the shores of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, there are extensive and densely populatedalluvial plains, while on the edges of the Inner Mongolian plateau in the north, broadgrasslands predominate. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges, while the central-east hosts thedeltas of China's two major rivers, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Other major rivers include theXi,Mekong,Brahmaputra andAmur. To the west sit major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas. Highplateaus feature among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. The world's highest point,Mount Everest (8,848 m), lies on the Sino-Nepalese border.[128] The country's lowest point, and the world's third-lowest, is the dried lake bed ofAyding Lake (−154 m) in theTurpan Depression.[129]
China's climate is mainly dominated bydry seasons and wetmonsoons, which lead to pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist.[131]
A major environmental issue in China is the continuedexpansion of its deserts, particularly the Gobi Desert.[132][133] Although barrier tree lines planted since the 1970s have reduced the frequency ofsandstorms, prolonged drought and poor agricultural practices have resulted indust storms plaguing northern China each spring, which then spread to other parts of East Asia, including Japan and Korea. Water quality,erosion, andpollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries. Meltingglaciers in the Himalayas could potentially lead towater shortages for hundreds of millions of people.[134] According to academics, in order to limitclimate change in China to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) electricity generation fromcoal in China withoutcarbon capture must be phased out by 2045.[135] With current policies, the GHG emissions of China will probably peak in 2025, and by 2030 they will return to 2022 levels. However, such pathway still leads to three-degree temperature rise.[136]
Official government statistics about Chinese agricultural productivity are considered unreliable, due to exaggeration of production at subsidiary government levels.[137][138] Much of China has a climate very suitable for agriculture and the country has been the world's largest producer of rice, wheat, tomatoes, eggplant, grapes, watermelon, spinach, and many other crops.[139] In 2021, 12 percent of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, as well as 8% of global cropland.[140]
China is home to at least 551 species ofmammals (the third-highest in the world),[145] 1,221 species of birds (eighth),[146] 424 species of reptiles (seventh)[147] and 333 species of amphibians (seventh).[148] Wildlife in China shares habitat with, and bears acute pressure from, one of the world's largest population of humans. At least 840animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction, due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur andtraditional Chinese medicine.[149] Endangered wildlife is protected by law, and as of 2005[update], the country has over 2,349nature reserves, covering a total area of 149.95 million hectares, 15 percent of China's total land area.[150] Most wild animals have been eliminated from the core agricultural regions of east and central China, but they have fared better in the mountainous south and west.[151][152] TheBaiji was confirmed extinct on 12 December 2006.[153]
China has over 32,000 species of vascular plants,[154] and is home to a variety of forest types. Coldconiferous forests predominate in the north of the country, supporting animal species such asmoose andAsian black bear, along with over 120 bird species.[155] Theunderstory of moistconifer forests may contain thickets ofbamboo. In highermontane stands ofjuniper andyew, the bamboo is replaced byrhododendrons.Subtropical forests, which are predominate in central and southern China, support a high density of plant species including numerous rare endemics. Tropical and seasonalrainforests, though confined toYunnan andHainan, contain a quarter of all the animal and plant species found in China.[155] China has over 10,000 recorded species offungi.[156]
TheThree Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
In the early 2000s, China has suffered fromenvironmental deterioration and pollution due to its rapid pace of industrialization.[157][158] Regulations such as the 1979 Environmental Protection Law are fairly stringent, though they are poorly enforced, frequently disregarded in favor of rapid economic development.[159] China has the second-highest death toll because of air pollution, afterIndia, with approximately 1 million deaths.[160][161] Although China ranks as the highestCO2 emitting country,[162] it only emits 8 tons ofCO2 per capita, significantly lower than developed countries such as the United States (16.1), Australia (16.8) and South Korea (13.6).[163]Greenhouse gas emissions by China are theworld's largest.[163] The country has significantwater pollution problems; only 89.4% of China's national surface water was graded suitable for human consumption by theMinistry of Ecology and Environment in 2023.[164]
China has prioritized clamping down on pollution, bringing a significant decrease in air pollution in the 2010s.[165] In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 in line with theParis Agreement,[166] which, according toClimate Action Tracker, would lower the expected rise in global temperature by 0.2–0.3 degrees – "the biggest single reduction ever estimated by the Climate Action Tracker".[166]
China is the world's leading investor inrenewable energy andits commercialization, with$546 billion invested in 2022;[167] it is a major manufacturer of renewable energy technologies and invests heavily in local-scale renewable energy projects.[168][167] Long heavily relying on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, China's adaptation ofrenewable energy has increased significantly in recent years, with their share increasing from 26.3 percent in 2016 to 31.9 percent in 2022.[169] In 2023, 60.5% of China's electricity came fromcoal (largest producer in the world), 13.2% fromhydroelectric power (largest), 9.4% fromwind (largest), 6.2% fromsolar energy (largest), 4.6% fromnuclear energy (second-largest), 3.3% fromnatural gas (fifth-largest), and 2.2% frombioenergy (largest); in total, 31% of China's energy came from renewable energy sources.[170] Despite its emphasis on renewables, China remains deeply connected to global oil markets and next to India, has been the largest importer of Russiancrude oil in 2022.[171][172]
According to China's government, the forest coverage of the country grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024.[173]
China is thethird-largest country in the world by land area afterRussia, and the third- or fourth-largest country in the world by total area.[s] China's total area is generally stated as being approximately 9,600,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq mi).[174] Specific area figures range from 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) according to theEncyclopædia Britannica,[13] to 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) according to theUN Demographic Yearbook,[6] andThe World Factbook.[5]
Map depicting territorial disputes between the PRC and neighboring states. For a larger map, seehere.
China has resolved its land borders with 12 out of 14 neighboring countries, having pursued substantial compromises in most of them.[176][177][178] China currently has a disputed land border withIndia[179] andBhutan.[180] China is additionally involved in maritime disputes with multiple countries over territory in theEast andSouth China Seas, such as theSenkaku Islands and the entirety ofSouth China Sea Islands.[181][182]
The government in China is under the sole control of the CCP.[196] The CCP controls appointments in government bodies, with most senior government officials being CCP members.[196]
TheNational People's Congress (NPC), with nearly 3,000-members, is constitutionally the "highest organ of state power",[184] though it has been also described as a "rubber stamp" body.[197] The NPC meets annually, while theNPC Standing Committee, around 150 members elected from NPC delegates, meets every couple of months.[197] Elections are indirect and not pluralistic, with nominations at all levels being controlled by the CCP.[186] The NPC is dominated by the CCP, with anothereight minor parties having nominal representation under the condition of upholding CCP leadership.[198]
Thepresident is elected by the NPC. The presidency is the ceremonial state representative, but not the constitutional head of state. The incumbent president is Xi Jinping, who is also the general secretary of the CCP and thechairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China'sparamount leader andsupreme commander of the Armed Forces. Thepremier is thehead of government, withLi Qiang being the incumbent. The premier is officially nominated by the president and then elected by the NPC, and has generally been either the second- or third-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC). The premier presides over theState Council, China's cabinet, composed of four vice premiers,state councilors, and the heads of ministries and commissions.[184] TheChinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is a political advisory body that is critical in China's "united front" system, which aims to gather non-CCP voices to support the CCP. Similar to the people's congresses, CPPCC's exist at various division, with the National Committee of the CPPCC being chaired byWang Huning, fourth-ranking member of the PSC.[199]
The governance of China is characterized by a high degree of political centralization but significant economic decentralization.[200]: 7 Policy instruments or processes are often tested locally before being applied more widely, resulting in a policy that involves experimentation and feedback.[201]: 14 Generally, central government leadership refrains from drafting specific policies, instead using the informal networks and site visits to affirm or suggest changes to the direction of local policy experiments or pilot programs.[202]: 71 The typical approach is that central government leadership begins drafting formal policies, law, or regulations after policy has been developed at local levels.[202]: 71
The PRC has diplomatic relations with 179 United Nation members states and maintainsembassies in 174. As of 2024[update], China has one of the largest diplomatic networks of any country in the world.[206] In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China (ROC) as the sole representative of China in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of theUnited Nations Security Council.[207] It is a member of intergovernmental organizations including theG20,[208] theSCO,[209] theBRICS,[210] theEast Asia Summit,[211] and theAPEC.[212] China was also a former member and leader of theNon-Aligned Movement, and still considers itself an advocate fordeveloping countries.[213]
The PRC officially maintains theone-China principle, which holds the view that there is only one sovereign state in the name of China, represented by the PRC, and that Taiwan is part of that China.[214] The unique status of Taiwan has led to countries recognizing the PRC to maintain unique "one-China policies" that differ from each other; some countries explicitly recognize the PRC's claim over Taiwan, while others, including the U.S. and Japan, onlyacknowledge the claim.[214] Chinese officials have protested on numerous occasions when foreign countries have made diplomatic overtures to Taiwan,[215] especially in the matter of armament sales.[216] Most countries have switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC since the latter replaced the former in the UN in 1971.[217]
On 21 May 2014, China andRussia signed a $400 billiongas deal. Currently,[when?] Russia is supplyingnatural gas to China.
Since the early 2000s, China has followed a policy ofengaging with African nations for trade and bilateral co-operation.[228][229][230] It maintains extensive and highly diversified trade links with the European Union, and became its largest trading partner for goods.[231] China is increasing its influence inCentral Asia[232] and South Pacific.[233] The country has strong trade ties withASEAN countries[234] and major South American economies,[235] and is the largest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and several others.[236]
In 2013, China initiated theBelt and Road Initiative (BRI), a large global infrastructure building initiative with funding on the order of $50–100 billion per year.[237] BRI could be one of the largest development plans in modern history.[238] It expanded significantly over the next six years and, as of April 2020[update], included 138 countries and 30 international organizations. In addition to intensifying foreign policy relations, the focus is particularly on building efficient transport routes, especially themaritime Silk Road with its connections to East Africa and Europe. However many loans made under the program are unsustainable and China has faced a number of calls fordebt relief from debtor nations.[239][240]
ThePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) is considered one of the world's most powerful militaries and has rapidly modernized in the recent decades.[241] It has also been accused of technology theft by some countries.[242][243][244] Since 2024, it consists of four services: theGround Force (PLAGF), theNavy (PLAN), theAir Force (PLAAF) and theRocket Force (PLARF). It also has four independent arms: theAerospace Force, theCyberspace Force, theInformation Support Force, and theJoint Logistics Support Force, the first three of which were split from the disbandedStrategic Support Force (PLASSF).[245] Its nearly 2.2 million active duty personnel is thelargest in the world. The PLA holds the world'sthird-largest stockpile of nuclear weapons,[246][247] and the world's second-largest navy by tonnage.[248] China's official military budget for 2023 totalled US$224 billion (1.55 trillion Yuan), thesecond-largest in the world, thoughSIPRI estimates that its real expenditure that year was US$296 billion, making up 12% of global military spending and accounting for 1.7% of the country's GDP.[249] According to SIPRI, its military spending from 2012 to 2021 averaged US$215 billion per year or 1.7 per cent of GDP, behind only the United States at US$734 billion per year or 3.6 per cent of GDP.[250] The PLA is commanded by theCentral Military Commission (CMC) of the party and the state; though officially two separate organizations, the two CMCs have identical membership except during leadership transition periods and effectively function as one organization. Thechairman of the CMC is thecommander-in-chief of the PLA.[251]
Although some criticisms of government policies and the ruling CCP are tolerated, censorship of political speech and information are amongst the harshest in the world and routinely used to prevent collective action.[256] China also has the most comprehensive and sophisticated Internet censorship regime in the world, with numerous websites being blocked.[257] The government suppresses popular protests and demonstrations that it considers a potential threat to "social stability".[258] China additionally uses a massive surveillance network of cameras, facial recognition software, sensors, and surveillance of personal technology as a means of social control of persons living in the country.[188]
InXinjiang, China has been accused of committing genocide against Uyghurs and detaining more than one millionUyghurs and other ethnic minorities in camps.[259]
China is regularly accused of large-scale repression and human rights abuses inTibet and Xinjiang,[260][261][262] where significant numbers of ethnic minorities reside, including violent police crackdowns andreligious suppression.[263][264] Since 2017, the Chinese government has been engaged in a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang, with around one millionUyghurs and other ethnic and religion minorities being detained ininternment camps aimed at changing the political thinking of detainees, their identities, and their religious beliefs.[265] According to Western reports, political indoctrination, torture,physical andpsychological abuse,forced sterilization,sexual abuse, andforced labor are common in these facilities.[266] According to a 2020Foreign Policy report, China's treatment of Uyghurs meets the UN definition of genocide,[267] while a separateUN Human Rights Office report said they could potentially meet the definitions forcrimes against humanity.[268] The Chinese authorities have also cracked down on dissent inHong Kong, especially after the passage of anational security law in 2020.[269]
In 2017 and 2020, thePew Research Center ranked the severity of Chinese government restrictions on religion as being among the world's highest, despite ranking religious-related social hostilities in China as low in severity.[270][271] TheGlobal Slavery Index estimated that in 2016 more than 3.8 million people (0.25% of the population) were living in "conditions of modernslavery", including victims of human trafficking, forced labor, forced marriage, child labor, and state-imposed forced labor. The state-imposedre-education through labor (laojiao) system was formally abolished in 2013, but it is not clear to what extent its practices have stopped.[272] The much largerreform through labor (laogai) system includes labor prison factories, detention centers, and re-education camps; theLaogai Research Foundation has estimated in June 2008 that there were nearly 1,422 of these facilities, though it cautioned that this number was likely an underestimate.[273]
Public views of government
Political concerns in China include the growing gap between rich and poor and government corruption.[274] Nonetheless, international surveys show the Chinese public have a high level of satisfaction with their government.[200]: 137 These views are generally attributed to the material comforts and security available to large segments of the Chinese populace as well as the government's attentiveness and responsiveness.[200]: 136 According to theWorld Values Survey (2022), 91% of Chinese respondents have significant confidence in their government.[200]: 13 A Harvard University survey published in July 2020 found that citizen satisfaction with the government had increased since 2003, also rating China's government as more effective and capable than ever in the survey's history.[275]
Modern-day China is often described as an example ofstate capitalism orparty-state capitalism.[291][292] The state dominates in strategic "pillar" sectors such as energy production andheavy industries, but private enterprise has expanded enormously, with around 30 million private businesses recorded in 2008.[293][294][295] According to official statistics, privately owned companies constitute more than 60% of China's GDP.[296]
China has been the world'slargest manufacturing nation since 2010, after overtaking the U.S., which had been the largest for the previous hundred years.[297][298] China has also been the second-largest inhigh-tech manufacturing country since 2012, according to USNational Science Foundation.[299] China is the second-largest retail market after the United States.[300] China leads the world in e-commerce, accounting for over 37% of the global market share in 2021.[301] China is the world's leader in electric vehicle consumption and production, manufacturing and buying half of all the plug-in electric cars (BEV and PHEV) in the world as of 2022[update].[302] China is also the leading producer of batteries for electric vehicles as well as several key raw materials for batteries.[303]
Chinaaccounted for 18.6% of the world's total wealth in 2022, second highest in the world after the U.S.[306] China brought more people out of extremepoverty than any other country in history[307][308]—between 1978 and 2018, China reduced extreme poverty by 800 million.[200]: 23 From 1990 to 2018, the proportion of the Chinese population living with an income of less than $1.90 per day (2011PPP) decreased from 66.3% to 0.3%, the share living with an income of less than $3.20 per day from 90.0% to 2.9%, and the share living with an income of less than $5.50 per day decreased from 98.3% to 17.0%.[309]
From 1978 to 2018, the average standard of living multiplied by a factor of twenty-six.[310] Wages in China have grown significantly in the last 40 years—real (inflation-adjusted) wages grew seven-fold from 1978 to 2007.[311] Per capita incomes have also risen significantly – when the PRC was founded in 1949, per capita income in China was one-fifth of the world average; per capita incomes now equal the world average itself.[310] China's development is highly uneven; its major cities and coastal areas are far more prosperous than its rural and interior regions.[312] It has a high level of economic inequality,[313] which has increased quickly since the economic reforms.[314]Income inequality decreased in the 2010s,[315] and China'sGini coefficient was 0.357 in 2021.[11]
In March 2024, China ranked second in the world, after the U.S., intotal number of billionaires andtotal number of millionaires, with 473 Chinese billionaires[316] and 6.2 million millionaires.[306] In 2019, China overtook the U.S. as the home to the highest number of people who have a net personal wealth of at least $110,000, according to the global wealth report byCredit Suisse.[317][318] China had 85 female billionaires as of January 2021[update], two-thirds of the global total.[319] China has had the world's largest middle-class population since 2015;[320] the middle-class grew to 500 million by 2024.[321]
China in the global economy
China has been a member of theWTO since 2001 and is the world'slargest trading power.[322] By 2016, China was the largest trading partner of 124 countries.[323] China became the world's largest trading nation in 2013 by the sum of imports and exports, as well as the world's largest commodity importer, accounting for roughly 45% of maritime'sdry-bulk market.[324][325]
China's foreign exchange reserves reached US$3.246 trillion as of March 2024[update], making its reserves by far the world's largest.[326] In 2022, China was amongst the world's largest recipient of inwardforeign direct investment (FDI), attracting $180 billion, though most of these were speculated to be from Hong Kong.[327] In 2021, China's foreign exchange remittances were $US53 billion making it the second-largest recipient of remittances in the world.[328] China also invests abroad, with a total outward FDI of $147.9 billion in 2023,[329] and a number of major takeovers of foreign firms by Chinese companies.[330]
The Chinese government has promoted theinternationalization of the renminbi in order to wean itself off its dependence on the U.S. dollar as a result of perceived weaknesses of the international monetary system.[336] The renminbi is a component of the IMF'sspecial drawing rights and the world's fourth-most traded currency as of 2023[update].[337] However, partly due to capital controls that make the renminbi fall short of being a fully convertible currency, it remains far behind the Euro, the U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen in international trade volumes.[338]
Afterrepeated military defeats by theEuropean colonial powers andImperial Japan in the 19th century, Chinese reformers began promoting modern science and technology as part of theSelf-Strengthening Movement. After the Communists came to power in 1949, efforts were made to organize science and technology based on the model of theSoviet Union, in which scientific research was part of central planning.[344] After Mao's death in 1976, science and technology were promoted as one of theFour Modernizations,[345] and the Soviet-inspired academic system was gradually reformed.[346]
Modern era
Since the end of theCultural Revolution, China has made significant investments in scientific research[347] and is quickly catching up with the U.S.in R&D spending.[348][349] China officially spent around 2.7% of its GDP on R&D in 2024, totaling to around $496 billion.[350] According to theWorld Intellectual Property Indicators, China received more applications than the U.S. did in 2018 and 2019 and ranked first globally in patents, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, and creative goods exports in 2021.[351][352][353] It was ranked 11th in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2024, a considerable improvement from its rank of 35th in 2013.[354][355][356]Chinese supercomputers ranked among thefastest in the world.[357][v] Its efforts to develop the most advanced semiconductors and jet engines have seen delays and setbacks.[358][359]
The Chinese space program started in 1958 with some technology transfers from the Soviet Union. However, it did not launch the nation's first satellite until 1970 with theDong Fang Hong I, which made China the fifth country to do so independently.[366]
In 2003, China became the third country in the world to independently send humans into space withYang Liwei's spaceflight aboardShenzhou 5. As of 2023,eighteen Chinese nationals have journeyed into space, including two women. In 2011, China launched its first space station testbed,Tiangong-1.[367] In 2013, a Chinese robotic roverYutu successfully touched down on the lunar surface as part of theChang'e 3 mission.[368]
In 2019, China became the first country to land a probe—Chang'e 4—on thefar side of the Moon.[369] In 2020,Chang'e 5 successfully returned Moon samples to the Earth, making China the third country to do so independently.[370] In 2021, China became the third country to land a spacecraft on Mars and the second one to deploy arover (Zhurong) on Mars.[371] China completed its own modularspace station, theTiangong, inlow Earth orbit on 3 November 2022.[372][373][374] On 29 November 2022, China performed its first in-orbit crew handover aboard theTiangong.[375][376]
China sentChang'e 6 on 3 May 2024, which conducted the first lunar sample return fromApollo Basin on thefar side of the Moon.[380] This is China's second lunar sample return mission, the first was achieved byChang'e 5 from the lunar near side 4 years ago.[381] It also carried a Chinese rover calledJinchan to conductinfrared spectroscopy of lunar surface and imaged Chang'e 6 lander on lunar surface.[382] The lander-ascender-rover combination was separated with the orbiter and returner before landing on 1 June 2024, at 22:23 UTC. It landed on the Moon's surface on 1 June 2024.[383][384] The ascender was launched back to lunar orbit on 3 June 2024, at 23:38 UTC, carrying samples collected by the lander, which later completed another robotic rendezvous, before docking in lunar orbit. The sample container was then transferred to the returner, which landed onInner Mongolia in June 2024, completing China's far side extraterrestrial sample return mission.
China is the largest telecom market in the world and currently has thelargest number of active cellphones of any country, with over 1.7 billion subscribers, as of February 2023[update]. It has the largest number ofinternet andbroadband users, with over 1.1 billion Internet users as of December 2024[update]—equivalent to around 78.6% of its population.[392] By 2018, China had more than 1 billion 4G users, accounting for 40% of world's total.[393] China is making rapid advances in5G—by late 2018, China had started large-scale and commercial 5G trials.[394] As of December 2023[update], China had over 810 million5G users and 3.38 million base stations installed.[395]
China Mobile,China Unicom andChina Telecom, are the three large providers of mobile and internet in China. China Telecom alone served more than 145 million broadband subscribers and 300 million mobile users; China Unicom had about 300 million subscribers; and China Mobile, the largest of them all, had 925 million users, as of 2018[update].[396] Combined, the three operators had over 3.4 million 4G base-stations in China.[397] Several Chinese telecommunications companies, most notablyHuawei andZTE, have been accused of spying for the Chinese military.[398]
China has developed its ownsatellite navigation system, dubbedBeiDou, which began offering commercial navigation services across Asia in 2012[399] as well as global services by the end of 2018.[400] Beidou followedGPS andGLONASS as the third completed global navigation satellite.[401]
Since the late 1990s, China's national road network has been significantly expanded through the creation of a network ofnational highways andexpressways. In 2022, China's highways had reached a total length of 177,000 km (110,000 mi), making it thelongest highway system in the world.[402] China has the world's largest market for automobiles,[403][404] having surpassed the United States in both auto sales andproduction. The country is the world's largest exporter of cars by number as of 2023.[405][406] A side-effect of the rapid growth of China's road network has been a significant rise in traffic accidents.[407] In urban areas, bicycles remain a common mode of transport, despite the increasing prevalence of automobiles – as of 2023[update], there are approximately 200 million bicycles in China.[408]
Population density map of the People's Republic of China (2000)
The2020 Chinese census recorded the population as approximately 1,411,778,724. About 17.95% were 14 years old or younger, 63.35% were between 15 and 59 years old, and 18.7% were over 60 years old.[427] Between 2010 and 2020, the average population growth rate was 0.53%.[427]
Given concerns about population growth, China implemented a two-child limit during the 1970s, and, in 1979, began to advocate for an even stricter limit of one child per family. Beginning in the mid-1980s, however, given the unpopularity of the strict limits, China began to allow some major exemptions, particularly in rural areas, resulting in what was actually a "1.5"-child policy from the mid-1980s to 2015; ethnic minorities were also exempt from one-child limits.[428] The next major loosening of the policy was enacted in December 2013, allowing families to have two children if one parent is an only child.[429] In 2016, the one-child policy was replaced in favor of atwo-child policy.[430] Athree-child policy was announced on 31 May 2021, due topopulation aging,[430] and in July 2021, all family size limits as well as penalties for exceeding them were removed.[431] In 2023, thetotal fertility rate was reported to be 1.09, rankingamong the lowest in the world.[432] In 2023,National Bureau of Statistics estimated that the population fell 850,000 from 2021 to 2022, the first decline since 1961.[433]
According to one group of scholars, one-child limits had little effect on population growth[434] or total population size.[435] However, these scholars have been challenged.[436] The policy, along with traditional preference for boys, may have contributed to an imbalance in thesex ratio at birth.[437][438] The 2020 census found that males accounted for 51.2% of the total population.[439] However, China's sex ratio is more balanced than it was in 1953, when males accounted for 51.8% of the population.[440]
The cultural preference for male children, combined with the one-child policy, led to an excess of female child orphans in China, and in the 1990s through around 2007, there was an active stream of adoptions of (mainly female) babies by American and other foreign parents.[441] However, increased restrictions by the Chinese Government slowed foreign adoptions significantly in 2007 and again in 2015.[442]
China legally recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups, who comprise theZhonghua minzu. The largest of these nationalities are theHan Chinese, who constitute more than 91% of the total population.[427] The Han Chinese – the world's largest single ethnic group[459] – outnumber other ethnic groups in every place excludingTibet,Xinjiang,[460]Linxia,[461] andautonomous prefectures likeXishuangbanna.[462] Ethnic minorities account for less than 10% of the population of China, according to the 2020 census.[427] Compared with the 2010 population census, the Han population increased by 60,378,693 persons, or 4.93%, while the population of the 55 national minorities combined increased by 11,675,179 persons, or 10.26%.[427] The 2020 census recorded a total of 845,697 foreign nationals living in mainland China.[463]
Standard Chinese, a variety based on theBeijing dialect of Mandarin, is the national language of China, having de facto official status.[2] It is used as alingua franca between people of different linguistic backgrounds.[471] In theautonomous regions of China, other languages may also serve as a lingua franca, such as Uyghur in Xinjiang, where governmental services in Uyghur are constitutionally guaranteed.[472]
Freedom of religion is guaranteed by China's constitution, although religious organizations that lack official approval can be subject to state persecution.[184] The government of the country is officiallyatheist. Religious affairs and issues in the country are overseen by the National Religious Affairs Administration, under theUnited Front Work Department.[477]
Over the millennia, the Chinese civilization has been influenced by various religious movements. The "three doctrines" ofConfucianism,Taoism, andBuddhism have historically shaped Chinese culture,[478][479] enriching atheological and spiritual framework of traditional religion which harks back to the earlyShang andZhou dynasty.Chinese folk religion, which is framed by the three doctrines and by other traditions,[480] consists in allegiance to theshen, who can bedeities of the surrounding nature orancestral principles of human groups, concepts of civility,culture heroes, many of whom feature inChinese mythology and history.[481] Amongst the most popularcults of folk religion are those of theYellow Emperor, embodiment of the God of Heaven and one of the twodivine patriarchs of the Chinese people,[482][483] ofMazu (goddess of the seas),[482]Guandi (god of war and business),Caishen (god of prosperity and richness),Pangu and many others. In the early decades of the 21st century, the Chinese government has been engaged in a rehabilitation of folk cults—formally recognizing them as "folk beliefs" as distinguished from doctrinal religions,[484] and often reconstructing them into forms of "highly curated"civil religion[485]—as well as in a national and international promotion of Buddhism.[486] China is home to many of theworld's tallest religious statues, representing either deities of Chinese folk religion or enlightened beings of Buddhism; the tallest of all is theSpring Temple Buddha inHenan.
Taoism has served as a state religion several times throughout Chinese history
Statistics on religious affiliation in China are difficult to gather due to complex and varying definitions of religion and the diffusive nature of Chinese religious traditions. Scholars note that in China there is no clear boundary between the three doctrines and local folk religious practices.[478] Chinese religions or some of their currents are also definable asnon-theistic andhumanistic, since they do not hold that divine creativity is completely transcendent, but that it is inherent in the world and in particular in the human being.[487] According to studies published in 2023, compiling demographic analyses conducted throughout the 2010s and the early 2020s, 70% of the Chinese population believed in or practiced Chinese folk religion—among them, with an approach of non-exclusivity, 33.4% may be identified as Buddhists, 19.6% as Taoists, and 17.7% as adherents of other types of folk religion.[4] Of the remaining population, 25.2% are fully non-believers or atheists, 2.5% are adherents ofChristianity, and 1.6% are adherents ofIslam.[4] Chinese folk religion also comprises a variety ofsalvationist doctrinal organized movements which emerged since theSong dynasty.[488] There are also ethnic minorities in China who maintain their ownindigenous religions, while major religions characteristic of specific ethnic groups includeTibetan Buddhism amongTibetans,Mongols andYugurs,[489] and Islam among theHui,Uyghur,Kazakh,[490] andKyrgyz peoples, and other ethnicities in the northern and northwestern regions of the country.
Compulsory education in China comprisesprimary andjunior secondary school, which together last for nine years from the age of 6 and 15.[493] TheGaokao, China's national university entrance exam, is a prerequisite for entrance into most higher education institutions. Vocational education is available to students at the secondary andtertiary level.[494] More than 10 million Chinese students graduated from vocational colleges every year.[495] In 2023, about 91.8 percent of students continued their education at a three-year senior secondary school, while 60.2 percent of secondary school graduates were enrolled in higher education.[496]
China has the largest education system in the world,[497] with about 291 million students and 18.92 million full-time teachers in over 498,300 schools in 2023.[496] Annual education investment went from less than US$50 billion in 2003 to more than US$817 billion in 2020.[498][499] However, there remains an inequality in education spending. In 2010, the annual education expenditure per secondary school student in Beijing totalled ¥20,023, while inGuizhou, one of thepoorest provinces, it only totalled ¥3,204.[500] China's literacy rate has grown dramatically, from only 20% in 1949 and 65.5% in 1979,[501] to 97% of the population over age 15 in 2020.[502]
TheNational Health Commission, together with its counterparts in the local commissions, oversees the health needs of the population.[510] An emphasis on public health and preventive medicine has characterized Chinese health policy since the early 1950s. The Communist Party started thePatriotic Health Campaign, which was aimed at improving sanitation and hygiene, as well as treating and preventing several diseases. Diseases such ascholera,typhoid andscarlet fever, which were previously rife in China, were nearly eradicated by the campaign.[511]
AfterDeng Xiaoping began instituting economic reforms in 1978, the health of the Chinese public improved rapidly because of better nutrition, although many of the free public health services provided in the countryside disappeared.Healthcare in China became mostly privatized, and experienced a significant rise in quality. In 2009, the government began a three-year large-scale healthcare provision initiative worth US$124 billion.[512] By 2011, the campaign resulted in 95% of China's population having basic health insurance coverage.[513] By 2022, China had established itself as a key producer and exporter ofpharmaceuticals, producing around 40 percent ofactive pharmaceutical ingredients in 2017.[514]
As of 2023[update], the life expectancy at birth exceeds 78 years.[515]: 163 As of 2021[update], theinfant mortality rate is 5 per thousand.[516] Both have improved significantly since the 1950s.[w] Rates ofstunting, a condition caused bymalnutrition, have declined from 33.1% in 1990 to 9.9% in 2010.[519] Despite significant improvements in health and the construction of advanced medical facilities, China has several emerging public health problems, such as respiratory illnesses caused bywidespread air pollution,[520]hundreds of millions of cigarette smokers,[521] and an increase inobesity among urban youths.[522][523] In 2010, air pollution caused 1.2 million premature deaths in China.[524]Chinese mental health services are inadequate.[525] China's large population and densely populated cities have led to serious disease outbreaks, such asSARS in 2003, although this has since been largely contained.[526] TheCOVID-19 pandemic was first identified inWuhan in December 2019;[527][528] pandemic led the government to enforcestrict public health measures intended to completely eradicate the virus, a goal that was eventually abandoned in December 2022 afterprotests against the policy.[529][530]
Sinceancient times, Chinese culture has been heavily influenced by Confucianism. Chinese culture, in turn, has heavily influencedEast Asia andSoutheast Asia.[532] For much of the country's dynastic era, opportunities for social advancement could be provided by high performance in the prestigiousimperial examinations, which have their origins in the Han dynasty.[533] Theliterary emphasis of the exams affected the general perception of cultural refinement in China, such as the belief thatcalligraphy,poetry andpainting were higher forms of art than dancing or drama. Chinese culture has long emphasized a sense of deep history and a largely inward-looking national perspective.[534] Examinations and aculture of merit remain greatly valued in China today.[535]
Fenghuang County, an ancient town that harbors many architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles[536]
Today, the Chinese government has accepted numerous elements of traditional Chinese culture as being integral to Chinese society. With the rise ofChinese nationalism and the end of the Cultural Revolution, various forms of traditional Chinese art, literature, music, film, fashion and architecture have seen a vigorous revival,[537][538] and folk and variety art in particular have sparked interest nationally and even worldwide.[539] Access to foreign media remains heavily restricted.[540]
Chinese architecture is characterized by bilateral symmetry, use of enclosed open spaces,feng shui (e.g. directionalhierarchies),[547] a horizontal emphasis, and an allusion to various cosmological,mythological or in general symbolic elements. Chinese architecture traditionally classifies structures according to type, ranging frompagodas topalaces.[548][544]
Chinese architecture varies widely based on status or affiliation, such as whether the structures were constructed for emperors, commoners, or for religious purposes. Other variations in Chinese architecture are shown in vernacular styles associated with differentgeographic regions and different ethnic heritages, such as thestilt houses in the south, theYaodong buildings in the northwest, theyurt buildings of nomadic people, and theSiheyuan buildings in the north.[549]
Chinese music covers a highly diverse range of music from traditional music to modern music. Chinese music dates back before the pre-imperial times.Traditional Chinese musical instruments were traditionally grouped into eight categories known asbayin (八音). Traditional Chinese opera is a form of musical theatre in China originating thousands of years and has regional style forms such as Beijing andCantonese opera.[559] Chinese pop (C-Pop) includesmandopop andcantopop.Chinese hip hop andHong Kong hip hop have become popular.[560]
Hanfu is the historical clothing of the Han people in China. Theqipao or cheongsam is a popular Chinese female dress.[561] Thehanfu movement has been popular in contemporary times and seeks to revitalize Hanfu clothing.[562]China Fashion Week is the country's only national-level fashion festival.[563]
Chinese cuisine is highly diverse, drawing on several millennia of culinary history and geographical variety, in which the most influential are known as the "Eight Major Cuisines", includingSichuan,Cantonese,Jiangsu,Shandong,Fujian,Hunan,Anhui, andZhejiang cuisines.[569] Chinese cuisine is known for its breadth ofcooking methods and ingredients.[570] China's staple food is rice in the northeast and south, and wheat-based breads and noodles in the north. Bean products such astofu andsoy milk remain a popular source of protein. Pork is now the most popular meat in China, accounting for about three-fourths of the country's total meat consumption.[571] There is also the vegetarianBuddhist cuisine and the pork-freeChinese Islamic cuisine. Chinese cuisine, due to the area's proximity to the ocean and milder climate, has a wide variety of seafood and vegetables. Offshoots of Chinese food, such asHong Kong cuisine andAmerican Chinese cuisine, have emerged in theChinese diaspora.
Go is an abstract strategy board game for two players, in which the aim is to surround more territory than the opponent, and which was invented in China more than 2,500 years ago.
^The size of Chonqging Municipality is about that of the country ofAustria.University of Washington professor Kam Wing Chan argued that Chongqing's status is more akin to that of a province rather than a city.[1]
^UN figure for mainland China, which excludes Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.[6] It also excludes theTrans-Karakoram Tract (5,180 km2 (2,000 sq mi)),Aksai Chin (38,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi)) and other territories in dispute with India. The total area of China is listed as 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) by theEncyclopædia Britannica.[7]
^China's border with Pakistan is disputed by India, which claims the entireKashmir region as its territory. China is tied with Russia as having themost land borders of any country.
^The total area ranking relative to theUnited States depends on the measurement of the total areas of both countries. Seelist of countries and dependencies by area for more information. The following two primary sources represent the range of estimates of China's and the United States' total areas.
TheEncyclopædia Britannica lists China as world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) with a total area of 9,572,900 km2,[7] and the United States as fourth-largest at 9,525,067 km2.[13]
TheCIAWorld Factbook lists China as the fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada and the United States) with a total area of 9,596,960 km2,[5] and the United States as the third-largest at 9,833,517 km2.[14]
Both sources exclude both Taiwan and coastal and territorial waters from the area of China. However, the CIAWorld Factbook includes the United States coastal and territorial waters, while Encyclopædia Britannica excludes them. Notably, theEncyclopædia Britannica specifies the United States' area (excluding coastal and territorial waters) as 9,525,067 km2, which is less than either source's figure given for China's area.[13] Therefore, it is unclear which country has a larger area including coastal and territorial waters. TheUnited Nations Statistics Division's figure for the United States is 9,833,517 km2 (3,796,742 sq mi) and China is 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi). These closely match the CIAWorld Factbook figures and similarlyinclude coastal and territorial waters for the United States, butexclude coastal and territorial waters for China.[excessive detail?]
^"...Next into this, is found the great China, whose king is thought to be the greatest prince in the world, and is named Santoa Raia".[16][17]
^"...The Very Great Kingdom of China".[18] (Portuguese:...O Grande Reino da China...).[19]
^Its earliest extant use is on theritual bronze vesselHe zun, where it apparently refers to only theShang's immediate demesne conquered by theZhou.[25]
^Its meaning "Zhou's royal demesne" is attested from the 6th-century BCClassic of History, which states "Huangtian bestowed the lands and the peoples of the central state to the ancestors" (皇天既付中國民越厥疆土于先王).[26]
^According to theEncyclopædia Britannica, the total area of the United States, at 9,522,055 km2 (3,676,486 sq mi), is slightly smaller than that of China. Meanwhile, theCIA World Factbook states that China's total area was greater than that of the United States until the coastal waters of theGreat Lakes was added to the United States' total area in 1996. From 1989 through 1996, the total area of US was listed as 9,372,610 km2 (3,618,780 sq mi) (land area plus inland water only). The listed total area changed to 9,629,091 km2 (3,717,813 sq mi) in 1997 (with the Great Lakes areas and the coastal waters added), to 9,631,418 km2 (3,718,711 sq mi) in 2004, to 9,631,420 km2 (3,718,710 sq mi) in 2006, and to 9,826,630 km2 (3,794,080 sq mi) in 2007 (territorial waters added).
^China's border with Pakistan and part of its border with India falls in the disputed region ofKashmir. The area under Pakistani administration is claimed by India, while the area under Indian administration is claimed by Pakistan.
^Some of the chips used were not domestically developed untilSunway TaihuLight in 2016. Chinahas not submitted newer entries to TOP500 amid tensions with the United States.
^The national life expectancy at birth rose from about 31 years in 1949 to 75 years in 2008,[517] and infant mortality decreased from 300 per thousand in the 1950s to around 33 per thousand in 2001.[518]
^abAdamson, Bob; Feng, Anwei (27 December 2021).Multilingual China: National, Minority and Foreign Languages. Routledge. p. 90.ISBN978-1-0004-8702-2.Despite not being defined as such in the Constitution,Putonghua enjoys de facto status of the official language in China and is legislated as the standard form of Chinese.
^abc2023 approximations of the statistics from theChina Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of the year 2018, as contained in the following analyses:
"Measuring Religion in China"(PDF). Pew Research Center. 30 August 2023.Archived(PDF) from the original on 2023-09-09."Measuring Religions in China". 30 August 2023.Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. A compilation of statistics from reliable surveys held throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, with an emphasis on the CFPS 2018.
^Myers, Henry Allen (1984).Western Views of China and the Far East, Volume 1. Asian Research Service. p. 34.
^Barbosa, Duarte (1918). Dames, Mansel Longworth (ed.).The Book of Duarte Barbosa. Vol. II. London: Asian Educational Services. p. 211.ISBN978-8-1206-0451-3.
^"ChinaArchived 21 September 2011 at theWayback Machine".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000). Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin.
^Wilkinson, Endymion (2000).Chinese History: A Manual. Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph No. 52. Harvard University Asia Center. p. 132.ISBN978-0-6740-0249-4.
^Tang, Xiaoyang; Guo, Sujian; Guo, Baogang (2010).Greater China in an Era of Globalization. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 52–53.ISBN978-0-7391-3534-1.
^"Chou Hsi-wei on Conflict Zone". Deutsche Welle.Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved2020-11-05.So-called 'China', we call it 'Mainland', we are 'Taiwan'. Together we are 'China'.
^Qiu Xigui (2000)Chinese Writing English translation of文字學概論 by Gilbert L. Mattos andJerry Norman Early China Special Monograph Series No. 4. Berkeley: The Society for the Study of Early China and the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, Berkeley.ISBN978-1-5572-9071-7
^Hollister, Pam (1996). "Zhengzhou". In Schellinger, Paul E.; Salkin, Robert M. (eds.).International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. p. 904.ISBN978-1-8849-6404-6.
^Allan, Keith (2013).The Oxford Handbook of the History of Linguistics. Oxford University Press. p. 4.ISBN978-0-1995-8584-7.
^"Warring States".Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 September 2023.Archived from the original on 2024-01-19. Retrieved2024-03-28.
^Cotterell, Arthur (2011).The Imperial Capitals of China. Pimlico. pp. 35–36.
^abDahlman, Carl J.; Aubert, Jean-Eric (2001). China and the Knowledge Economy: Seizing the 21st Century (Report). WBI Development Studies. Herndon, VA: World Bank Publications.ERICED460052.
^Goucher, Candice; Walton, Linda (2013).World History: Journeys from Past to Present. Vol. 1: From Human Origins to 1500 CE. Routledge. p. 108.ISBN978-1-1350-8822-4.
^Lee, Ki-Baik (1984).A new history of Korea. Harvard University Press. p. 47.ISBN978-0-6746-1576-2.
^Graff, David Andrew (2002).Medieval Chinese warfare, 300–900. Routledge. p. 13.ISBN0-4152-3955-9.
^abTien, Hung-mao (1991). "The Constitutional Conundrum and the Need for Reform". In Feldman, Harvey (ed.).Constitutional Reform and the Future of the Republic of China. M. E. Sharpe. p. 3.ISBN978-0-8733-2880-7.
^Garver, John W. (1997).The Sino-American alliance: Nationalist China and American Cold War strategy in Asia. M.E. Sharpe. p. 169.ISBN978-0-7656-0025-7.
^Holmes, Leslie (2009).Communism: A Very Short Introduction.Oxford University Press. p. 32.ISBN978-0-1995-5154-5.Most estimates of the number of Chinese dead are in the range of 15 to 30 million.
^Kao, Michael Y. M. (1988). "Taiwan's and Beijing's Campaigns for Unification". In Feldman, Harvey; Kao, Michael Y. M.; Kim, Ilpyong J. (eds.).Taiwan in a Time of Transition. Paragon House. p. 188.
^Hamrin, Carol Lee; Zhao, Suisheng (15 January 1995).Decision-making in Deng's China: Perspectives from Insiders. M.E. Sharpe. p. 32.ISBN978-0-7656-3694-2.
^Hart-Landsberg, Martin; Burkett, Paul (March 2005).China and Socialism: Market Reforms and Class Struggle. Monthly Review Press.ISBN978-1-5836-7123-8. ("Review".Monthly Review. 28 February 2001.Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved2008-10-30.)
^Carter, Shan; Cox, Amanda; Burgess, Joe; Aigner, Erin (26 August 2007)."China's Environmental Crisis".The New York Times.Archived from the original on 2012-01-16. Retrieved2012-05-16.
^Ma, Jin Shuang; Liu, Quan Riu (February 1998). "The Present Situation and Prospects of Plant Taxonomy in China".Taxon.47 (1).Wiley:67–74.doi:10.2307/1224020.JSTOR1224020.
^Hernández, Javier C. (25 October 2017)."China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles".The New York Times. Archived fromthe original on 2017-10-25. Retrieved2020-01-14.Mr. Xi's most important title is general secretary, the most powerful position in the Communist Party. In China's one party system, this ranking gives him virtually unchecked authority over the government.
Wolf D. Hartmann; Wolfgang Maennig; Run Wang (2017).Chinas neue Seidenstraße Kooperation statt Isolation – der Rollentausch im Welthandel. Frankfurter Allgemeine Buch. p. 59.ISBN978-3-9560-1224-2.
Hernig, Marcus (2018).Die Renaissance der Seidenstrasse : der Weg des chinesischen Drachens ins Herz Europas. FinanzBuch Verlag (FBV). p. 112.ISBN978-3-9597-2138-7.
^Zhao, Suisheng (2023).The dragon roars back: transformational leaders and dynamics of Chinese foreign policy. Stanford University Press. p. 163.ISBN978-1-5036-3088-8.
^Four Decades of Poverty Reduction in China: Drivers, Insights for the World, and the Way Ahead. World Bank Publications. 2022. p. ix.ISBN978-1-4648-1878-3.By any measure, the speed and scale of China's poverty reduction is historically unprecedented.
^Struik, Dirk J. (1987).A Concise History of Mathematics. New York: Dover Publications. pp. 32–33. "In these matrices we find negative numbers, which appear here for the first time in history."
^Chinese Studies in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. Vol. 179. Kluwer Academic Publishers. 1996. pp. 137–138.ISBN978-0-7923-3463-7.
^"中国国家铁路集团有限公司2023年统计公报" [China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. Statistical Bulletin 2023] (in Chinese). 1 March 2024.Archived from the original on 2024-04-08. Retrieved2024-04-08.
^"中国人口连续三年下降 去年减少139万人" [China's population has declined for three consecutive years, with a decrease of 1.39 million people last year].Lianhe Zaobao. 17 January 2025. Retrieved2025-01-18.
^孙迟."China's inland rides waves of innovation, new opportunities".global.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved2022-05-31.Chengdu and Chongqing are now two of the only four cities (the other two are Beijing and Shanghai) in China with populations of more than 20 million.
^Chongqing Statistics Bureau (2019).重庆统计年鉴2019 [Chongqing Statistical Yearbook 2019] (in Chinese). Beijing: China Statistic Publishing House. p. 613.ISBN978-7-5037-8854-3.
^Kaplan, Robert B.; Baldauf, Richard B. (2008).Language Planning and Policy in Asia: Japan, Nepal, Taiwan and Chinese characters. Multilingual Matters. p. 42.ISBN978-1-8476-9095-1.
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