a.^ Simple descriptions of thepolitical structure since the 1980s are no longer possible.
b.^ 9,598,086km2 (3,705,842sqmi) excludes all disputed territories. 9,640,821km2 (3,722,342sqmi) includes Chinese-administered area (Aksai Chin andTrans-Karakoram Tract, both territories claimed by India), Taiwan is not included.[14]
c.^ Information for mainland China only. Does not include Hong Kong, Macau, and territories under the control of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
In the SARs, the central government is responsible for defense andforeign affairs but not daily operations for 50 years. PRC claimsTaiwan as one of its many provinces. However, PRC does not have control ofTaiwan. It has an entirely differentpolitical system and is officially known as theRepublic of China.
China has one of the world's oldest civilizations and has the oldest continuous civilization.[15] It hasarchaeological evidence over 5,000 years old.[16] It also has one of the world's oldestwriting systems (and the oldest in use today), and is viewed as the source of many majorinventions.[16]
Before theQin Dynasty united China, there were hundreds of small states that fought each other for hundreds of years in a war to control China. This is known as theWarring States Period. Although the continuing wars made people suffer, it was at this time when many of the greatphilosophies of the East were born, includingConfucianism andDaoism. Confucianism and Daoism alone have been the foundation of many social values seen in modern eastern-Asian cultures today.
Its geography mostly looked like that of modern China, except with northern and western edges that varied. It was often attacked by northernnomadic people such as theTurkic tribes and theMongols lead byGenghis Khan andKublai Khan. During the history of ancient China, the northern nomadic people and the Chinese people had been fighting each other and taking turns to rule the land and the people of China. However, when the northern people beat the Chinese people and came to rule the kingdom, they also Incorporated the Chinese way of living and became like the Chinese. Many of the strongest dynasties of China were ruled by the northern people, including theQin,Tang,Yuan (Mongolian), andQing (Manchu). Each time, they also brought new elements into the Chinese culture.
By the time of theRenaissance, European powers started to take over other countries in Asia. During this time the opium epidemic was growing in China. Traders from outside China (primarily British) had been illegally exporting opium, mainly from India to China, since the 18th century. This trade grew dramatically from about 1820. The resulting widespread addiction in China was causing serious social and economic disruption there.[18] This led to what is now known as the first opium war. The firstOpiumWar between China and Great Britain lasted from 1839 to 1842. The conflict was the result of years of attempts by the British to exploit China as a market for British goods. Britain eventually relied on its superior military capabilities to force open the lucrative Chinese market, while imposing an illicit trade inopium on the Chinese people.[19]
TheChinese Civil War later started between theKuomintang (Nationalists) of theRepublic of China (ROC) and the Communists of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Communists wanted to make China like theSoviet Union, whereas the other side wanted to keep China in its current state at the time. The Communists were led byMao Zedong,Zhou Enlai,Liu Shaoqi and others. Later Liu lost influence with Mao and his death to this day remains unresolved. The Communists eventually won the war. The Nationalists (led by Chiang Kai-shek) fled to the island of Taiwan and set up their new capital city in Taipei. After the Chinese Civil War, the Communist leader Mao Zedong declared a new country, the People's Republic of China (PRC), inBeijing on October 1, 1949.[5][6][7]
Amidst the turmoil brewing between the Nationalist and Communist parties who were vying for control of China at the time, Japan had launched an invasion of Manchuria in 1934 and began to creep steadily inland. China, the Nationalist party in particular, owed Japan immense amounts of money, which they could not pay whilst infused in their own civil war. The Treaty of Versailles promised the Japanese government land in China in return for forgiveness of their debt. This ended up not being a popular sentiment and was rallied against all over the country, and most famously during the May 4th Movement in Beijing in 1919. When the Chinese did not readily give up their rights to their land, Japan tried to take it by force. This was the beginning of World War II in the Pacific Theater.[20]
As theChairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao began many social and economic reform projects with mixed results. TheGreat Leap Forward, from 1958 to 1961, tried toindustrialize China and increase its food production, but resulted in one of the largestfamines in history. It is estimated that 45 million people died as a result of this reform project.[21] In 1966, Mao began theCultural Revolution to removecapitalist influences from society and government. Major government officials and ordinary citizens were accused of being "revisionists" - people who disagreed with some parts of Marxism - or "counter-revolutionaries" and werepersecuted. Many universities and schools were closed, and historical and religious sites were destroyed. Although the program officially ended in 1969, it continued until Mao's death in 1976.
During this time period, the People's Republic of China did not get along with thecapitalist countries of theWestern world. Beginning in the 1960s, relationships between the People's Republic of China and theSoviet Union also became increasingly unfriendly in theSino-Soviet Split. In 1972, to counter the power of the Soviet Union, Chairman Mao and Chinese PremierZhou Enlai met with US PresidentRichard Nixon in Beijing. This began to improve relationships between China and the Western world.
After Mao's death, there was a power struggle between theGang of Four and Chinese PremierHua Guofeng, the man Mao had chosen to be the next leader of China. Eventually,Deng Xiaoping, one of theveterans of the revolution, took power. He began a "Reform and Opening Up" (改革开放) campaign. These reforms tried to make the People's Republic of China a modern, industrial - but still socialist - nation by moving towards amarket system. Deng's policies would be known as "socialism with Chinese characteristics."
Although Deng's policy helped loosen restrictions on citizens, the government continues to have a lot of control over citizens' private lives. In 1979, theone-child policy, which limited most couples to one child, was created because of theoverpopulation problem in the People's Republic of China. This policy was highlycontroversial and many Westerners criticized it. News and Internet sites are alsocensored by the government. People can be punished for reading Wikipedia.[22][23][24]
In 1989, the Chinese Communist Party used soldiers and tanks to stop aprotest in Beijing's Tiananmen Square organized by students seeking political reform. This action received worldwide criticism and led toeconomic sanctions being placed on the Chinese government.[source?]
The world's highest point,Mt. Everest (8848m), is on the border between China andNepal. The country's lowest point, and the world's fourth-lowest, is the dried lake bed ofAyding Lake (−154m).
China is one of 17megadiverse countries.[29] It is in two of the world's majorecozones: thePalearctic and theIndomalaya. In the Palearctic zone, mammals such as the horse,camel,tapir, andjerboa can be found. Among the species in the Indomalaya region are theLeopard Cat,bamboo rat,treeshrew, and variousmonkey andape species. Some overlap is between the two regions;deer,antelope, bears,wolves, pigs, and many rodent species can all be found in China's environments. The famousgiant panda is found only in a limited area along the Yangtze River. China has a continuing problem with trade inendangered species. There are now laws to stop such activities.
China also has a variety of forest types. Coldconiferous forests cover most of the north of the country. The forest have animal species such asmoose and theAsian black bear, along with over 120 bird species. Moistconifer forests can have thickets ofbamboo. It is replaced byrhododendrons in higher montane stands ofjuniper andyew.Subtropical forests, which are mostly in central and southern China. These support as many as 146,000 species of flora. Tropical and seasonalrainforests, though confined toYunnan andHainan Island, have a quarter of all the plant and animal species found in China.
China is aone-party state[30] wherein theGeneral Secretary of theCommunist Party of China (CPC) holds ultimate power and authority over state and government and serves as the paramount leader.[31] The current General Secretary isXi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012 and was re-elected two more times (2018 and 2023[32][33]).
This articledoes not have information about other non-tech sectors such as farming, housing development. Perhaps cover the "cost of living" too.. Please make the article bigger to put in this information. More details may exist on thetalk page.
The growth of China's economy at the dark blue line.
In recent years, international relations have been shaped by disputes and economic policies among major global players such as China's unilateral agreements with the U.S. The trade war between the U.S. and China stands to demonstrate economic interdependence between the world's largest economies and the policies that shape them. In 2024, theBiden Administration made significant policy changes to China's trading benefits by imposing steep tariffs on various Chinese imports, including electric vehicles (EVs), batteries, solar cells, steel and aluminum.[42] These tariff barriers on Chinese EVs in particular have surged from 27.5% to 102.5% all in an effort to protect U.S. industry from potential influx of Chinese cars.[43] Such measures are taken to address the unfair advantages U.S. perceives China manufactures possess related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.[44] On the other hand, China opposes the implementation of these high tariffs provided that violateWorld Trade Organization rules (WTO) rules. China believes attributing the success of their EVs is not a result of government subsidies but rather innovation in the technology sector combined with a strong supply chain; exactly what the U.S. industry may lack.[45]
The US-China trade war is a crucial aspect of modern international relations between two of the worlds largest economies. Billions of people worldwide are affecting by the conflict as changes in global supply chains and international trade policies lead to economic instability. Recent analytical reports show the US-Chine disputes have cost the U.S. economy nearly 300,000 jobs and an estimate of 0.3% real GDP.[46] Other studies estimate this trade war could the U.S. economy $316 billion by the end of 200, while more recent demonstrated by theFederal Reserve Bank of new York andColumbia University found that U.S. companies lost nearly $1.7 trillion as their stocks plummeted as a result of U.S. imposing tariffs in Chinese imports.[47] As the U.S. focusses on address such imbalances in their economy, China aims to sustain its economic growth with advancements in the technology sector.[48]
This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
The PRC Armed Forces, also known as the People's Liberation Army (PLA), is one of the most powerful armies in the world. Nowadays PRC is among the atomic powers in the world. It also has the largest standing army in the world of over 2 million soldiers on active duty.
With 2.3 million active troops, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the largest standing military force in the world. The PLA is commanded by the Central Military Commission (CMC).[49] China has the second-biggest military reserve force, only behind North Korea. The PLA consists of the Ground Force (PLAGF), the Navy (PLAN), the Air Force (PLAAF), and the People's Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF). According to the Chinese government, China's military budget for 2017 was US$151,5 billion. China has the world's second-largest military budget.
China is the origin of Easternmartial arts, calledKung Fu orWushu. China is also the home of the well-respectedSpa Monastery andWudang Mountains. Martial art started more for the purpose ofsurvival, defense, andwarfare thanart. Over time someart forms have branched off, while others have retained their distinct Chinese characteristics.
China has had renownedartists includingWong Fei Hung and many others.Art has also co-existed with a variety ofpaints including the more standard 18 colors. Legendary and controversial moves likeBig Mak are also praised and talked about within theculture.
China has many traditionalfestivals, such as theChinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and so on. The most significant isChinese New Year. Another important holiday is theNational Day celebration around October. Weekends are moved around to make sure everyone has a week-long holiday for it, just like during the lunar new year.
Chinese New Year lasts fifteen days, including one week as anational holiday. It starts with the first day of the Chinese lunar year and ends with the full moon fifteen days later. It is always in the middle of winter, but is called the Spring Festival in Chinese because Chinese seasons are a little different from English ones. On the first day of the Chinese New Year, people call on friends and relatives. Because most people watch the special performances onCCTV all the night on New Year's Eve and don't go to bed until 12:00AM, they usually get up later in the next day. The fifth day of the Chinese New Year is the day to welcome the god of Wealth (Chinese:财神爷), many people make and eat dumplings (Chinese:饺子. Pinyin: Jaozi). They believe that dumplings can hold the god of Wealth and bring luck. The last day of the Chinese New Year is the Lantern Festival. On this day, the moon becomes the full moon. People go out and watch the lantern festivals everywhere. After that, they eat sweet dumpling (Chinese:汤圆,元宵), a kind of dumpling which is round and looks like the full moon.
Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated to commemorate the death of Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet of the State of Chu during theWarring States period. He persuaded his emperor not to accept Qin's diplomats's offers several times but his emperor did not listen to him. He was very sad and ended up jumping into the river to end his life. The people loved him so much that they did not want the fish to eat his corpse. They made and threw rice dumplings into the river. They hope the fish eat these dumplings instead of the poet's corpse. They also rowed dragon boats in the river to get rid of the fish. Eating rice dumplings and holding dragon boat races, became what the Chinese do in this festival nowadays.
Held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festival for families. Now when the festival sets in, people sit together to eat moon cakes, appreciate the moon and the moon itself, celebrate the bumper harvest, and enjoy the family love and happiness. To the Chinese people, the full moon symbolizes family reunion, as do the moon cakes. Hence why the Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Family Reunion Festival.
Trains are commonly used for moving from one place to another, mainly for long distances.Bullet trains are faster and more common in the cities. China has more high-speed trains than any other country in the world.Buses andair transport are also very common.
↑Hernández, Javier C. (25 October 2017)."China's 'Chairman of Everything': Behind Xi Jinping's Many Titles".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved14 January 2020.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.
