Background: China's historical civilization dates from at least 1200 B.C.; from the 3rd century B.C. and for the next two millennia, China alternated between periods of unity and disunity under a succession of imperial dynasties. 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 Chinese Communist Party 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 but political controls remain tight. Since the early 1990s, China has increased its global outreach and participation in international organizations.

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 9,596,960 km²
Land: 9,326,410 km²
Water: 270,550 km²
Rank: 5
Comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries
Total: 22,457 km
Border countries: (14) Afghanistan 91 km; , Bhutan 477 km; , Burma 2,129 km; , India 2,659 km; , Kazakhstan 1765 km; , North Korea 1352 km; , Kyrgyzstan 1063 km; , Laos 475 km; , Mongolia 4,630 km; , Nepal 1389 km; , Pakistan 438 km; , Russia (northeast) 4,133 km; , Russia (northwest) 46 km; , Tajikistan 477 km; , Vietnam 1297 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 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
Mean elevation: 1840 m
Lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
Highest point: Mount Everest (highest peak in Asia and highest point on earth above sea level) 8,849 m

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, helium, petroleum, natural gas, arsenic, bismuth, cobalt, cadmium, ferrosilicon, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, mercury, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, antimony, manganese, magnesium, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, vanadium, magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, rare earth elements, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest), arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 54.7% (2011 est.)
Forest: 22.3% (2011 est.)
Other: 23% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 690,070 km² (2012)

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidencevolcanism: 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: note 1: world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US) and largest country situated entirely in Asia; Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak above sea levelnote 2: the largest cave chamber in the world is the Miao Room, in the Gebihe cave system at China's Ziyun Getu He Chuandong National Park, which encloses some 10.78 million m³ (380.7 million cu ft) of volumenote 3: China appears to have been the center of domestication for two of the world's leading cereal crops: millet in the north along the Yellow River and rice in the south along the lower or middle Yangtze River

Population
Distribution: overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many other countries in Asia and Europe; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang: 1,394,015,977 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 1
Growth rate: 0.32% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 169
Below poverty line: 3.3% (2016 est.)
Below poverty line note: in 2011, China set a new poverty line at RMB 2,300 (approximately US $400)

Nationality
Noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
Adjective: Chinese

Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.6%, Zhuang 1.3%, other (includes Hui, Manchu, Uighur, Miao, Yi, Tujia, Tibetan, Mongol, Dong, Buyei, Yao, Bai, Korean, Hani, Li, Kazakh, Dai, and other nationalities) 7.1% (2010 est.)
Note:  the Chinese Government officially recognizes 56 ethnic groups

Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (official; 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: Zhuang is official in Guangxi Zhuang, Yue is official in Guangdong, Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, Kyrgyz is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Religions: Buddhist 18.2%, Christian 5.1%, Muslim 1.8%, folk religion 21.9%, Hindu < 0.1%, Jewish < 0.1%, other 0.7% (includes Daoist (Taoist)), unaffiliated 52.2% (2010 est.)
Note: officially atheist

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.29% (male 129,296,339/female 111,782,427)
15-24 years: 11.48% (male 86,129,841/female 73,876,148)
25-54 years: 46.81% (male 333,789,731/female 318,711,557)
55-64 years: 12.08% (male 84,827,645/female 83,557,507)
65 years and over: 12.34% (male 81,586,490/female 90,458,292) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 42.2
Youth dependency ratio: 25.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 17
Potential support ratio: 5.9 (2020 est.): data do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan

Median age
Total: 38.4 years
Male: 37.5 years
Female: 39.4 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 62

Population growth rate: 0.32% (2020 est.)
Rank: 169

Birth rate: 11.6 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 167

Death rate: 8.2 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 85

Net migration rate: -0.4 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 122

Population distribution: overwhelming majority of the population is found in the eastern half of the country; the west, with its vast mountainous and desert areas, remains sparsely populated; though ranked first in the world in total population, overall density is less than that of many other countries in Asia and Europe; high population density is found along the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys, the Xi Jiang River delta, the Sichuan Basin (around Chengdu), in and around Beijing, and the industrial area around Shenyang

Urbanization
Urban population: 61.4% of total population
Note:
Rate of urbanization: 2.42% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 27.058 million Shanghai, 20.463 million BEIJING (capital), 15.872 million Chongqing, 13.589 million Tianjin, 13.302 million Guangzhou, 12.357 million Shenzhen (2020)

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; coastal destruction due to land reclamation, industrial development, and aquaculture; deforestation and habitat destruction; poor land management leads to soil erosion, landslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, and 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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.16 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.17 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 11.4 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 11.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10.9 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 114

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.1 years
Male: 74 years
Female: 78.4 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 104

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 183

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 84.5% (2017)

Drinking water source
Urban: 2.3% of population
Rural: 12.2% of population
Total: 7.2% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.2% (2017)

Physicians density: 1.98 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 4.3 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 2.4% of population
Rural: 18% of population
Total: 9.3% of population (2017 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate note: NA
People living with hivaids note: NA
Deaths note: NA

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: high (2020)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis
Soil contact diseases: hantaviral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS)
Rank: note:

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 6.2% (2016)
Rank: 169

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.4% (2013)
Rank: 108

Education expenditures
Note: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96.8%
Male: 98.5%
Female: 95.2% (2018)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 14 years (2015)

Country name
Conventional long form: Peoples Republic of China
Conventional short form: China
Local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
Local short form: Zhongguo
Abbreviation: PRC
Etymology: English name derives from the Qin (Chin) rulers of the 3rd century B.C., who comprised the first imperial dynasty of ancient China; the Chinese name Zhongguo translates as Central Nation or Middle Kingdom

Government type: communist party-led 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: China is the largest country (in terms of area) with just one time zone; before 1949 it was divided into fiveetymology: the Chinese meaning is 'Northern Capital'

Administrative divisions: 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural)
Note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau

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: National Day (anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest promulgated 4 December 1982
Amendments: proposed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress or supported by more than one fifth of the National People’s Congress membership; passage requires more than two-thirds majority vote of the Congress membership; amended several times, last in 2018

Legal system: civil law influenced by Soviet and continental European civil law systems; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; note - on 28 May 2020, the National People's Congress adopted the PRC Civil Code, which codifies personal relations and property relations

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

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: least one parent must be a citizen of China
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: while naturalization is theoretically possible, in practical terms it is extremely difficult; residency is required but not specified

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President XI Jinping (since 14 March 2013); Vice President WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2018)
Head of government: Premier LI Keqiang (since 16 March 2013); Executive Vice Premiers HAN Zheng (since 19 March 2018), SUN Chunlan (since 19 March 2018), LIU He (since 19 March 2018), HU Chunhua (since 19 March 2018)
Cabinet: State Council appointed by National Peoples Congress
Electionsappointments: president and vice president indirectly elected by National Peoples Congress for a 5-year term (unlimited terms); election last held on 17 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2023); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National Peoples Congress
Election results: XI Jinping reelected president; National Peoples Congress vote - 2,970 (unanimously); WANG Qishan elected vice president with 2,969 votes

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral National Peoples Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (maximum of 3,000 seats; members indirectly elected by municipal, regional, and provincial peoples congresses, and the Peoples Liberation Army; members serve 5-year terms); note - in practice, only members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), its 8 allied independent parties, and CCP-approved independent candidates are elected
Elections: last held in December 2017-February 2018 (next to be held in late 2022 to early 2023)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - NA; composition - men 2,238, women 742, percent of women 24.9%

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Peoples Court (consists of over 340 judges, including the chief justice and 13 grand justices organized into a civil committee and tribunals for civil, economic, administrative, complaint and appeal, and communication and transportation cases)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice appointed by the Peoples National Congress (NPC); limited to 2 consecutive 5-year-terms; other justices and judges nominated by the chief justice and appointed by the Standing Committee of the NPC; term of other justices and judges determined by the NPC
Subordinate courts: Higher Peoples Courts; Intermediate Peoples Courts; District and County Peoples Courts; Autonomous Region Peoples Courts; International Commercial Courts; Special Peoples Courts for military, maritime, transportation, and forestry issues: note: in late 2014, China unveiled a multi-year judicial reform program; progress continued in 2018

Political parties and leaders: Chinese Communist Party or CCP [XI Jinping]
Note: China has 8 nominally independent small parties controlled by the CCP

International organization participation: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, CDB, CICA, EAS, FAO, FATF, G-20, G-24 (observer), G-5, 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, MINUSMA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador CUI Tiankai (since 3 April 2013)
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: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco; note - the US ordered closure of the Houston consulate in late July 2020
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Terry BRANSTAD (since 12 July 2017)
From the us telephone: [86] (10) 8,531-3,000
From the us embassy: 55 An Jia Lou Lu, 100,600 Beijing
From the us mailing address: PO AP 96,521
From the us FAX: [86] (10) 8,531-3,300
From the us consulate: Guangzhou, Shanghai, Shenyang, Wuhan; note - the Chinese Government ordered closure of the US consulate in Chengdu in late July 2020

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, giant panda; national colors: red, yellow

National anthem
Name: Yiyongjun Jinxingqu (The March of the Volunteers)
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'

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 26

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars
Rank: 128

Gross national saving:
Rank: 6

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 39.1% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 14.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 42.7% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 1.7% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 20.4% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -18.4% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.9% (2017 est.)
Industry: 40.5% (2017 est.)
Services: 51.6% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: world leader in gross value of agricultural output; rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, tobacco, peanuts, tea, apples, cotton, pork, mutton, eggs; fish, shrimp

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; fertilizer; consumer products (including footwear, toys, and electronics); food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, railcars and locomotives, ships, aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites

Industrial production growth rate: 6.1% (2017 est.)
Rank: 40

Labor force: 774.71 million (2019 est.)
Note: by the end of 2012, China's working age population (15-64 years) was 1.004 billion
Rank: 1
By occupation agriculture: 27.7%
By occupation industry: 28.8%
By occupation services: 43.5% (2016 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Note: data are for registered urban unemployment, which excludes private enterprises and migrants
Rank: 52

Population below poverty line: 3.3% (2016 est.)
Note: in 2011, China set a new poverty line at RMB 2,300 (approximately US $400)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 31.4% (2012)
Note: data are for urban households only

Budget
Revenues: 2.553 trillion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 3.008 trillion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -3.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 152

Taxes and other revenues: 21.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 141

Public debt:
Note: official data; data cover both central and local government debt, including debt officially recognized by China's National Audit Office report in 2011; data exclude policy bank bonds, Ministry of Railway debt, and China Asset Management Company debt
Rank: 111

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 139

Current account balance:
Rank: 3

Exports:
Rank: 1
Partners: US 19.2%, Hong Kong 12.2%, Japan 5.9%, South Korea 4.4% (2018)
Commodities: electrical and other machinery, including computers and telecommunications equipment, apparel, furniture, textiles

Imports:
Rank: 2
Commodities: electrical and other machinery, including integrated circuits and other computer components, oil and mineral fuels; optical and medical equipment, metal ores, motor vehicles; soybeans
Partners: South Korea 9.7%, Japan 8.6%, US 7.3%, Germany 5%, Australia 4.9% (2018)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 1

Debt external:
Rank: 14

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 5.883 trillion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 1
Consumption: 5.564 trillion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 1
Exports: 18.91 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 10
Imports: 6.185 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 33
Installed generating capacity: 1.653 billion kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 1
Generation sources fossil fuels: 62% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 123
Generation sources nuclear: 2% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 25
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 18% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 93
Generation sources other renewable sources: 18% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 47

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3.773 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 7
Crude oil exports: 57,310 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 40
Crude oil imports: 6.71 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 2
Crude oil proven reserves: 25.63 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 12

Refined petroleum
Products production: 11.51 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 2
Products consumption: 12.47 million bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 2
Products exports: 848,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 9
Products imports: 1.16 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 4

Natural gas
Production: 145.9 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 6
Consumption: 238.6 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 3
Exports: 3.37 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 35
Imports: 97.63 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 3
Proven reserves: 5.44 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 9

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 11.67 billion Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 1

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 185,097,221
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13.32 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 1
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 1,672,545,161
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 120.36 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 1

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 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department sends directives to all domestic media outlets to guide its reporting with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast; increasingly, Chinese turn to online and satellite television to access Chinese and international films and television shows (2019)

Internet
Country code: .cn
Users total: 751,886,119
Users percent of population: 54.3% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 1

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 407.382 million
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 29 (2018 est.)
Rank: 1

Military expenditures:
Rank: 55

Military and security forces: People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (PLAN, includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force (PLAAF, includes airborne forces), Rocket Force (strategic missile force), and Strategic Support Force (information warfare, cyber, space forces); People's Armed Police (PAP, includes Coast Guard, Border Defense Force, Internal Security Forces); PLA Reserve Force (2020)

Military service age and obligation: 18-22 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 (2018)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 56 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 2,890
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 436,183,969 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 611,439,830
Note: mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: B (2016)

Airports: 507 (2013)
Rank: 13
With paved runways total: 510 (2019)
With paved runways over 3047 m: 87
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 187
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 109
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 43
With paved runways under 914 m: 84
With unpaved runways total: 23 (2019)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 0
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 13

Heliports: 39 (2019)

Pipelines: 76,000 km gas, 30,400 km crude oil, 27,700 km refined petroleum products, 797,000 km water (2018)

Railways
Total: 131,000 km
Note: 1.435-m gauge (80,000 km electrified); 102,000 traditional 29,000 high-speed (2018)
Rank: 2

Roadways
Total: 4,960,600 km (2017)
Paved: 4,338,600 km
Note: (includes 136,500 km of expressways) (2017)
Unpaved: 622,000 km (2017)
Rank: 2

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

Merchant marine
Total: 5,594
By type: bulk carrier 1,231, container ship 262, general cargo 846, oil tanker 777, other 2,478 (2019)
Rank: 3

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Dalian, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin
Container port: Dalian (9,707,000), Guangzhou (18,858,000), Ningbo (24,607,000), Qingdao (18,262,000), Shanghai (40,233,000), Shenzhen (25,208,000), Tianjin (15,040,000) (2017)
LNG terminal: Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanghai, Tangshan, Zhejiang
River port: Guangzhou (Pearl)

Disputes international: China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to a number of boundary disputes across the 2,000 mile shared border; India does not recognize Pakistan's 1964 ceding to China of the Aksai Chin, a territory designated as part of the princely state of Kashmir by the British Survey of India in 1865; China claims most of the Indian state Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas, but the US recognizes the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory; Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes arising from substantial cartographic discrepancies, the most contentious of which lie in Bhutan's west along China's Chumbi salient; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol (the so-called “nine-dash line”) off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Sea, 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, and in 2017 China and ASEAN began confidential negotiations for an updated Code of Conduct for the South China Sea designed not to settle territorial disputes but establish rules and norms in the region; this still 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 early 2018 China began deploying advanced military systems to disputed Spratly outposts; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands are also claimed by China and Taiwan; 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 privation and oppression; 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, continues to consider building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees: 303,095 (Vietnam), undetermined (North Korea) (2019)
IDPs: undetermined (2014)

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 regulations on its large chemical industry; more people believed to be convicted and executed for drug offences than anywhere else in the world, according to NGOs