Map of China | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences but in the 19th and early 20th centuries the country was beset by civil unrest major famines military defeats and foreign occupation. After World War II the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that while ensuring China's sovereignty imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978 MAO's successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded yet political controls remain tight. China since the early 1990s has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.


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Location: Eastern Asia bordering the East China Sea Korea Bay Yellow Sea and South China Sea between North Korea and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N 105 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 9,596,961 km²
Rank: 4
Land: 9,569,901 km²
Water: 27,060 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries
Total: 22,117 km
Border countries: (14) Afghanistan 76 km; Bhutan 470 km; Burma 2,185 km; India 3,380 km; Kazakhstan 1533 km; North Korea 1416 km; Kyrgyzstan 858 km; Laos 423 km; Mongolia 4,677 km; Nepal 1236 km; Pakistan 523 km; Russia (northeast) 3,605 km; Russia (northwest) 40 km; Tajikistan 414 km; Vietnam 1281 km
Regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km Macau 0.34 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

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

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m

Natural resources: coal iron ore petroleum natural gas mercury tin tungsten antimony manganese molybdenum vanadium magnetite aluminum lead zinc rare earth elements uranium hydropower potential (world's largest)

Land use
Arable land: 14.86%
Permanent crops: 1.27%
Other: 83.87% (2005)

Irrigated land: 641,410 km² (2008)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 2,830 km³ (1999)

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Volcanism: China contains some historically active volcanoes including Changbaishan (also known as Baitoushan Baegdu or P'aektu-san) Hainan Dao and Kunlun although most have been relatively inactive in recent centuries

Geography
Note: world's fourth largest country (after Russia Canada and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak


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Population: 1,336,718,015 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 1
Growth rate: 0.493% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 151
Below poverty line: 2.8%
Below poverty line note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official 'absolute poverty' line (approximately $90 per year); an additional 35.5 million rural population live above that level but below the official 'low income' line (approximately $125 per year) (2007)

Nationality
Noun: Chinese
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.5% Zhuang Manchu Hui Miao Uighur Tujia Yi Mongol Tibetan Buyi Dong Yao Korean and other nationalities 8.5% (2000 census)

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 groups entry)
Note: Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Religions: Daoist (Taoist) Buddhist Christian 3%-4% Muslim 1%-2%
Note: officially atheist (2002 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.6%
15-64 years: 73.6% (male 505,326,577/female 477,953,883)
65 years and over: 8.9% (male 56,823,028/female 61,517,001) (2011 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 35.5 years
Male: 34.9 years
Female: 36.2 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.493% (2011 est.)
Rank: 151

Birth rate: 12.29 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 159

Death rate: 7.03 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 131

Net migration rate: -0.33 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 130

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 47% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; water shortages particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development; desertification; trade in endangered species
International agreements party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Tropical Timber 94 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.133 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 16.06 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 112
Male: 15.61 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 16.57 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.68 years
Rank: 95
Male: 72.68 years
Female: 76.94 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.54 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 180

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.415 physicians/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 86

Hospital bed density: 4.06 beds/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 48

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 117
People living with hivaids: 740,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 13
Deaths: 26,000 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 14

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: Japanese encephalitis and dengue fever
Soil contact disease: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
Animal contact disease: rabies
Note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible r

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 2.9% (2002)
Rank: 66

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 8.7% (2000)
Rank: 69

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 92.2%
Male: 96%
Female: 88.5% (2008 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 11 years
Female: 12 years (2009)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: People's Republic of China
Conventional short form: China
Local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Local short form: Zhongguo
Abbreviation: PRC

Government type: Communist state

Capital
Name: Beijing
Geographic coordinates: 39 55 N 116 23 E
Time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Note: despite its size all of China falls within one time zone; many people in Xinjiang Province observe an unofficial 'Xinjiang timezone' of UTC+6 two hours behind Beijing

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng singular and plural) 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (shi singular and plural)
Provinces: Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Yunnan Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan)
Autonomous regions: Guangxi Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia) Ningxia Xinjiang Uygur Xizang (Tibet)
Municipalities: Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin
Note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 BC (unification under the Qin Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Qing Dynasty replaced by the Republic of China)

National holiday: Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China 1 October (1949)

Constitution: most recent promulgation 4 December 1982; amended several times

Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President HU Jintao ; Vice President XI Jinping (since 15 March 2008)
Head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Executive Vice Premier LI Keqiang (17 March 2008) Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003) Vice Premier ZHANG Dejiang (since 17 March 2008) and Vice Premier WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2008)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by National People's Congress
Elections: president and vice president elected by National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held on 15-17 March 2008 (next to be held in mid-March 2013); premier nominated by president confirmed by National People's Congress
Election results: HU Jintao elected president by National People's Congress with a total of 2,963 votes; XI Jinping elected vice president with a total of 2,919 votes

Legislative branch: unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal regional and provincial people's congresses and People's Liberation Army to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held in December 2007-February 2008 (date of next election to be held in late 2012 to early 2013)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987
Note: only members of the CCP its eight allied parties and sympathetic independent candidates are elected

Judicial branch: Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher intermediate and basic courts); Special People's Courts (primarily military maritime railway transportation and forestry courts)

Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP

International organization participation: ADB AfDB (nonregional member) APEC ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) BIS CDB CICA EAS FAO FATF G-20 G-24 (observer) G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) IPU ISO ITSO ITU LAIA (observer) MIGA MINURSO MONUSCO NAM (observer) NSG OAS (observer) OPCW PCA PIF (partner) SAARC (observer) SCO SICA (observer) UN UN Security Council UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNISFA UNITAR UNMIL UNMISS UNMIT UNOCI UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador ZHANG Yesui
In the us chancery: 3,505 International Place NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 495-2,266
In the us fax: [1] (202) 495-2,190
In the us consulate general: Chicago Houston Los Angeles New York San Francisco
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Gary Locke
From the us embassy: 55 An Jia Lou Lu 100,600 Beijing
From the us mailing address: PSC 461 Box 50 FPO AP 96,521-0002
From the us telephone: [86] (10) 8,531-3,000
From the us fax: [86] (10) 8,531-3,300
From the us consulate general: Chengdu Guangzhou Shanghai Shenyang Wuhan

Flag description: 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; the color red represents revolution while the stars symbolize the four social classes - the working class the peasantry the urban petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie (capitalists) - united under the Communist Party of China

National symbols: dragon

National anthem
Name: 'Yiyongjun Jinxingqu'
Lyricsmusic: TIAN Han/NIE Er
Note: adopted 1949; the anthem though banned during the Cultural Revolution is more commonly known as 'Zhongguo Guoge' (Chinese National Song); it was originally the theme song to the 1935 Chinese movie 'Sons and Daughters in a Time of Storm'

National heritage


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Economy overview: Since the late 1970s China has moved from a closed centrally planned system to a more market-oriented one that plays a major global role - in 2010 China became the world's largest exporter. Reforms began with the phasing out of collectivized agriculture and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices fiscal decentralization increased autonomy for state enterprises creation of a diversified banking system development of stock markets rapid growth of the private sector and opening to foreign trade and investment. China has implemented reforms in a gradualist fashion. In recent years China has renewed its support for state-owned enterprises in sectors it considers important to 'economic security' explicitly looking to foster globally competitive national champions. After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years in July 2005 China revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies. From mid 2005 to late 2008 cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar was more than 20% but the exchange rate remained virtually pegged to the dollar from the onset of the global financial crisis until June 2010 when Beijing allowed resumption of a gradual appreciation. The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences China in 2010 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US having surpassed Japan in 2001. The dollar values of China's agricultural and industrial output each exceed those of the US; China is second to the US in the value of services it produces. Still per capita income is below the world average. The Chinese government faces numerous economic challenges including: (a) reducing its high domestic savings rate and correspondingly low domestic demand; (b) sustaining adequate job growth for tens of millions of migrants and new entrants to the work force; (c) reducing corruption and other economic crimes; and (d) containing environmental damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid transformation. Economic development has progressed further in coastal provinces than in the interior and approximately 200 million rural laborers and their dependents have relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of the 'one child' policy is that China is now one of the most rapidly aging countries in the world. Deterioration in the environment - notably air pollution soil erosion and the steady fall of the water table especially in the north - is another long-term problem. China continues to lose arable land: because of erosion and economic development. The Chinese government is seeking to add energy production capacity from sources other than coal and oil focusing on nuclear and alternative energy development. In 2009 the global economic downturn reduced foreign demand for Chinese exports for the first time in many years but China rebounded quickly outperforming all other major economies in 2010 with GDP growth around 10%. The economy appears set to remain on a strong growth trajectory in 2011 lending credibility to the stimulus policies the regime rolled out during the global financial crisis. The government vows in the 12th Five-Year Plan adopted in March 2011 to continue reforming the economy and emphasizes the need to increase domestic consumption in order to make the economy less dependent on exports for GDP growth in the future. However China likely will make only marginal progress toward these rebalancing goals in 2011. Two economic problems China currently faces are inflation - which late in 2010 surpassed the government's target of 3% - and local government debt which swelled as a result of stimulus policies and is largely off-the-books and potentially low-quality.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 3
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 6

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 125
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 10.2%
Industry: 46.9%
Services: 43% (2010 est.)

Agriculture products: world leader in gross value of agricultural output; rice wheat potatoes corn peanuts tea millet barley apples cotton oilseed; pork; fish

Industries: world leader in gross value of industrial output; mining and ore processing iron steel aluminum and other metals coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products including footwear toys and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment including automobiles rail cars and locomotives ships and aircraft; telecommunications equipment commercial space launch vehicles satellites

Industrial production growth rate: 15.7% (2010 est.)
Rank: 9

Labor force: 815.3 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 1
By occupation agriculture: 38.1%
By occupation industry: 27.8%
By occupation services: 34.1% (2008 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.3% (December 2008 est.)
Rank: 57
Note: official data for urban areas only; including migrants may boost total unemployment to 9%; substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 2.8%
Note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official 'absolute poverty' line (approximately $90 per year); an additional 35.5 million rural population live above that level but below the official 'low income' line (approximately $125 per year) (2007)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 3.5%
Highest 10: 15%
Note: data are for urban households only (2008)

Distribution of family income gini index: 40 (2001)
Rank: 53

Budget
Revenues: $1.227 trillion
Expenditures: $1.323 trillion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -1.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 69

Taxes and other revenues: 20.9% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 149

Public debt: 16.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 116

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: -0.7% (2009 est.)
Rank: 107

Central bank discount rate: 2.79% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 104

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 5.31% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 159

Stock of narrow money: $3.243 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 3

Stock of broad money: $8.937 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 4

Stock of domestic credit: $7.243 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 4

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 3

Current account balance: $261.1 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 1

Exports: $1.204 trillion (2009 est.)
Rank: 2
Commodities: electrical and other machinery including data processing equipment apparel textiles iron and steel optical and medical equipment
Partners: US 18% Hong Kong 13.8% Japan 7.6% South Korea 4.4% Germany 4.3% (2010)

Imports: $954.3 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 3
Commodities: electrical and other machinery oil and mineral fuels optical and medical equipment metal ores plastics organic chemicals
Partners: Japan 12.6% South Korea 9.9% US 7.3% Germany 5.3% Australia 4.3% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.426 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 1

Debt external: $428.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 23

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $473.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 9

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $229.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 15

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 3.446 trillion kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 2
Consumption: 3.438 trillion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 2
Exports: 17.39 billion kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 11.38 billion kWh (2009 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 94.41 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 106.7 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 5
Exports: 4.02 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 29
Imports: 16.33 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 17
Proven reserves: 3.03 trillion m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 13

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 294.383 million (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 1
Mobile cellular: 859 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 1

Telephone system
General assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities industrial centers and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global reach; China in the summer of 2008 began a major restructuring of its telecommunications industry resulting in the consolidation of its six telecom service operators to three China Telecom China Mobile and China Unicom each providing both fixed-line and mobile services
Domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; the number of Internet users exceeded 250 million by summer 2008; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place
International: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia the Middle East Europe and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik - Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat - Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2008)

Broadcast media: all broadcast media are owned by or affiliated with the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately-owned television or radio stations with state-run Chinese Central TV provincial and municipal stations offering more than 2000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department lists subjects that are off limits to domestic broadcast media with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast (2008)

Internet
Country code: .cn
Hosts: 15.251 million (2010)
Hosts rank: 6
Users: 389 million (2009)
Users rank: 1

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 4.3% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 22

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18-24 years of age for selective compulsory military service with a 2 year service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; a recent military decision allows women in combat roles; the first class of women warship commanders was in training in 2011 (2011)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 502 (2010)
Rank: 15
With paved runways total: 442
With paved runways over 3047 m: 63
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 137
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 132
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 27
With paved runways under 914 m: 83 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 60
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 13
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 27 (2010)

Heliports: 48 (2010)

Pipelines: gas 38,566 km; oil 23,470 km; refined products 13,706 km (2010)

Railways
Total: 86,000 km
Rank: 3
Standard gauge: 86,000 km 1.435-m gauge (36,000 km electrified) (2009)

Roadways
Total: 3,860,800 km
Rank: 2
Paved: 3,056,300 km (includes 65,000 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 804,500 km (2009)

Waterways: 110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2010)
Rank: 1

Merchant marine
Total: 2010
Rank: 3
By type: barge carrier 6 bulk carrier 571 cargo 639 carrier 5 chemical tanker 98 container 204 liquefied gas 55 passenger 9 passenger/cargo 83 petroleum tanker 271 refrigerated cargo 35 roll on/roll off 9 specialized tanker 1 vehicle carrier 24
Foreign owned: 18 (Germany 1 Hong Kong 15 Japan 2)
Registered in other countries: 1623 (Bahamas 4 Bangladesh 1 Belize 64 Bermuda 13 Cambodia 203 Comoros 1 Cyprus 6 France 5 Georgia 11 Germany 2 Honduras 2 Hong Kong 432 India 1 Indonesia 1 Kiribati 28 Liberia 10 Malta 11 Marshall Islands 16 North Korea 1 Norway 25 Panama 574 Philippines 4 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 82 Sierra Leone 12 Singapore 26 South Korea 9 Thailand 1 Togo 2 Tuvalu 9 UK 7 unknown 59) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Dalian Guangzhou Ningbo Qingdao Qinhuangdao Shanghai Shenzhen Tianjin


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Disputes international: continuing talks and confidence-building measures work toward reducing tensions over Kashmir that nonetheless remains militarized with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin) India (Jammu and Kashmir) and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to the dispute over most of their rugged militarized boundary regional nuclear proliferation and other matters; China claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty describing the boundary Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies the largest of which lie in Bhutan's northwest and along the Chumbi salient; Burmese forces attempting to dig in to the largely autonomous Shan State to rout local militias tied to the drug trade prompts local residents to periodically flee into neighboring Yunnan Province in China; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts sovereignty over Scarborough Reef along with the Philippines and Taiwan and over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia the Philippines Taiwan Vietnam and Brunei; the 2002 'Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea' eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding 'code of conduct' sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005 the national oil companies of China the Philippines and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea the site of intensive hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; North Korea and China seek to stem illegal migration to China by North Koreans fleeing privations and oppression by building a fence along portions of the border and imprisoning North Koreans deported by China; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; China and Tajikistan have begun demarcating the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary was completed in 2009; citing environmental cultural and social concerns China has reconsidered construction of 13 dams on the Salween River but energy-starved Burma with backing from Thailand remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests; Chinese and Hong Kong authorities met in March 2008 to resolve ownership and use of lands recovered in Shenzhen River channelization including 96-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop; Hong Kong developing plans to reduce 2000 out of 2,800 hectares of its restricted Closed Area by 2010

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 300,897 (Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
Idps: 90,000 (2007)

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing domestic consumption of synthetic drugs and heroin from Southeast and Southwest Asia; source country for methamphetamine and heroin chemical precursors despite n