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. Since the early 1990s China 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

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

Land boundaries
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
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 highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (highest point in Asia)

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
Permanent crops: 1.53%
Other: 86.84% (2011)

Irrigated land: 629,380 km² (2006)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 2,840 km³ (2011)

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: 1,349,585,838 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 1
Growth rate: 0.46% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 155
Below poverty line:

Nationality
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)

Religions: Daoist (Taoist) Buddhist Christian 3%-4% Muslim 1%-2%

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 15.4% (male 109,922,192/female 98,325,568)
25-54 years: 46.7% (male 322,161,347/female 308,101,780)
55-64 years: 11.3% (male 77,374,476/female 75,289,733)
65 years and over: 9.4% (male 60,597,243/female 65,753,724) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 24.7 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 12.1 %
Potential support ratio: 8.2 (2013)

Median age
Male: 35.5 years
Female: 37.2 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.46% (2013 est.)
Rank: 155

Birth rate: 12.25 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 162

Death rate: 7.31 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 122

Net migration rate: -0.33 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 126

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 2.85% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: Shanghai 16.575 million; BEIJING (capital) 15.594 million; Chongqing 9.401 million; Shenzhen 9.005 million; Guangzhou 8.884 million (2011)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases sulfur dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain; China is the world's largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; 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 signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.92 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 110
Male: 15.16 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 15.25 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 100
Male: 72.96 years
Female: 77.27 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.55 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 184

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 84.6% (2006)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 1.46 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 3.8 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 116
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
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea hepatitis A and typhoid fever
Vectorborne disease: Japanese encephalitis
Soil contact disease: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 5.7% (2008)
Rank: 152

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.4% (2010)
Rank: 107

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Total population: 95.1%
Male: 97.5%
Female: 92.7% (2010 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 12 years
Female: 12 years (2011)

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional short form: China
Local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Local short form: Zhongguo
Abbreviation: PRC

Government type: Communist state

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 39 55 N 116 23 E
Time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 October 1949 (People's Republic of China established); notable earlier dates: 221 B.C. (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: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982; amended several times last in 2005 (2005)

Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - criminal procedure law revised in early 2012

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
Head of government: Premier LI Keqiang (since 16 March 2013); Executive Vice Premier ZHANG Gaoli (since 16 March 2013) Vice Premier LIU Yandong (since 16 March 2013) Vice Premier MA Kai (since 16 March 2013) and Vice Premier WANG Yang (since 16 March 2013)
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 5-17 March 2013 (next to be held in March 2018); premier nominated by president confirmed by National People's Congress
Election results: XI Jinping elected president by National People's Congress with a total of 2,952 votes; LI Yuanchao elected vice president with a total of 2,940 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 (next to be held in late 2012 to early 2013)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987

Judicial branch: note - in October 2012 China issued a white paper on planned judicial reform
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the People's National Congress; term limited to two consecutive 5-year terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the People's National Congress; term of other justices and judges NA
Subordinate courts: Higher People's Courts; Intermediate People's Courts; District and County People's Courts; Autonomous Region People's Courts; Special People's Courts for military maritime transportation and forestry issues

Political parties and leaders:

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 (national committees) 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 UNAMID UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNISFA UNMIL UNMISS UNMIT UNOCI UNSC (permanent) UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
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) 495-2,138
In the us consulate general: Chicago Houston Los Angeles New York San Francisco
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
Lyrics and music: TIAN Han/NIE Er

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 2012 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 by 2011 more than 250 million migrant workers and their dependents had relocated to urban areas to find work. One consequence of population control 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 2010-11 China faced high inflation resulting largely from its credit-fueled stimulus program. Some tightening measures appear to have controlled inflation but GDP growth consequently slowed to under 8% for 2012. An economic slowdown in Europe contributed to China's and is expected to further drag Chinese growth in 2013. Debt overhang from the stimulus program particularly among local governments and a property price bubble challenge policy makers currently. The government's 12th Five-Year Plan adopted in March 2011 emphasizes continued economic reforms and the need to increase domestic consumption in order to make the economy less dependent on exports in the future. However China has made only marginal progress toward these rebalancing goals.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 3

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 23

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 122

Gross national saving:
Rank: 4

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 13.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 45.7%
Investment in inventories: 2.1%
Exports of goods and services: 25.8%
Imports of goods and services: -23.1%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 45.3%
Services: 44.6%: (2012 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: 7.9% (2012 est.)
Rank: 28

Labor force: 798.5 million
Rank: 1
By occupation industry: 29.5%
By occupation services: 35.7%
Note: (2011 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 70

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line:

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 15%

Distribution of family income gini index: 48.4 (2007)
Rank: 29

Budget
Expenditures: $1.992 trillion (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -1.7% of GDP (2012 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 80

Taxes and other revenues: 22.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 146

Public debt: 38.5% of GDP (2011)
Rank: 114

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5.5% (2011 est.)
Rank: 71

Central bank discount rate: 2.25% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 109

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 6.56% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 135

Stock of narrow money: $4.6 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 3

Stock of broad money: $13.52 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 1

Stock of domestic credit: $10.92 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 4

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 4

Current account balance: $136.1 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 2

Exports: $1.806 trillion (2011 est.)
Rank: 2
Commodities: electrical and other machinery including data processing equipment apparel radio telephone handsets textiles integrated circuits
Partners: US 17.2% Hong Kong 15.8% Japan 7.4% South Korea 4.3% (2012)

Imports: $1.57 trillion (2011 est.)
Rank: 3
Commodities: electrical and other machinery oil and mineral fuels optical and medical equipment metal ores motor vehicles
Partners: Japan 9.8% South Korea 9.2% US 7.1% Germany 5.1% Australia 4.3% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $3.213 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 1

Debt external: $685.4 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 19

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $1.232 trillion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 3

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $424.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 15

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 4.94 trillion kWh (2012)
Production rank: 1
Consumption: 4.693 trillion kWh (2011)
Consumption rank: 1
Exports: 17.65 billion kWh (2012)
Exports rank: 12
Imports: 6.874 billion kWh (2012)
Imports rank: 31
Installed generating capacity: 1.146 billion kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 1
Generation sources fossil fuels: 69.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 108
Generation sources nuclear: 1.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 30
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 21.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 86
Generation sources other renewable sources: 7.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 31

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 4.416 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 4
Crude oil exports: 60,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 45
Crude oil imports: 4.754 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 2
Crude oil proven reserves: 25.58 billion bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 12

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 8.992 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products production rank: 3
Products consumption: 9.79 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 3
Products exports: 623,000 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products exports rank: 14
Products imports: 1.571 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products imports rank: 4

Natural gas
Production: 108.4 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Production rank: 8
Consumption: 147.1 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 4
Exports: 3.195 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 40
Imports: 42.5 billion m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 13
Proven reserves: 3.517 trillion m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 11

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 8.715 billion Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 2

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 278.86 million (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 1
Mobile cellular: 1.1 billion (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 1

Telephone system
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 564 million by the end of 2012; a domestic satellite system with several 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) (2012)

Broadcast media: all broadcast media are owned by or affiliated with the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately owned TV or radio stations; state-run Chinese Central TV provincial and municipal stations offer 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

Internet
Country code: .cn
Hosts: 20.602 million (2012)
Hosts rank: 5
Users: 389 million (2009)
Users rank: 1

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 49

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 2011 (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 507 (2013)
Rank: 14
With paved runways over 3047 m: 71
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 158
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 123
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 25
With paved runways under 914 m: 86 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 4
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 7
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9
With unpaved runways: 18 (2013)

Heliports: 47 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 9 km; gas 48,502 km; oil 23,072 km; oil/gas/water 31 km; refined products 15,298 km; water 9 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 3
Standard gauge: 86,000 km 1.435-m gauge (36,000 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 3
Paved: 3,453,890 km (includes 84,946 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 652,497 km (2011)

Waterways: 110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2011)
Rank: 1

Merchant marine
Rank: 3
By type: barge carrier 7 bulk carrier 621 cargo 566 carrier 10 chemical tanker 140 container 206 liquefied gas 60 passenger 9 passenger/cargo 81 petroleum tanker 264 refrigerated cargo 33 roll on/roll off 8 specialized tanker 2 vehicle carrier 23
Foreign owned: 22 (Hong Kong 18 Indonesia 2 Japan 2)
Registered in other countries: 1559 (Bangladesh 1 Belize 61 Cambodia 177 Comoros 1 Cyprus 6 Georgia 10 Honduras 2 Hong Kong 500 India 1 Indonesia 1 Kiribati 26 Liberia 4 Malta 6 Marshall Islands 14 North Korea 3 Panama 534 Philippines 4 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 65 Sao Tome and Principe 1 Sierra Leone 19 Singapore 29 South Korea 6 Thailand 1 Togo 1 Tuvalu 4 UK 7 Vanuatu 1 unknown 73) (2010)

Ports and terminals
River port: Guangzhou (Pearl)
Container port: Dalian (6,400,300) Guangzhou (14,260,400) Ningbo (14,719,200) Qingdao (13,020,100) Shanghai (31,739,000) Shenzhen (22,570,800) Tianjin (11,587,600)(2011)


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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 Spratlys but is not the legally binding code of conduct sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratlys 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
IDPs: 90,000 (2010)

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 new regulat