|
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, his 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. |
|
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 references: |
Asia |
|
Area: |
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than the US
|
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 22,117 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185
km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan
858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km,
Vietnam 1,281 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
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, uranium, hydropower potential
(world's largest) |
|
Land use: |
arable land: 14.86%
permanent crops: 1.27%
other: 83.87% (2005) |
|
Irrigated land: |
545,960 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
2,829.6 cu km (1999) |
|
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 549.76 cu km/yr
(7%/26%/68%)
per capita: 415 cu m/yr (2000) |
|
Natural hazards: |
frequent typhoons (about five
per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis;
earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence |
|
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 |
|
Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements |
|
Geography - note: |
world's fourth largest country
(after Russia, China, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is
the world's tallest peak |
|
Population: |
1,330,044,605 (July 2008 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 20.1% (male
142,085,665/female 125,300,391)
15-64 years: 71.9% (male
491,513,378/female 465,020,030)
65 years and over: 8% (male
50,652,480/female 55,472,661) (2008 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 33.6 years
male: 33.1 years
female: 34.2 years (2008 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
0.629% (2008 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
13.71 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
7.03 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
-0.39 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.11
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91
male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2008
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 21.16
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.43 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.18
years
male: 71.37 years
female: 75.18 years (2008
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.77 children born/woman (2008
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.1% (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
840,000 (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
44,000 (2003 est.) |
|
Major infectious diseases: |
degree of risk:
intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,
hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: Crimean
Congo hemorrhagic fever, Japanese encephalitis, and malaria
water
contact disease: leptospirosis
animal contact disease:
rabies
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been
identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare
cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
|
|
Nationality: |
noun: Chinese (singular
and plural)
adjective: Chinese |
|
Ethnic groups: |
Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang,
Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other
nationalities 8.1% |
|
Religions: |
Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist,
Christian 3%-4%, Muslim 1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002
est.) |
|
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) |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2000 census)
|
|
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 |
|
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, 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 |
|
Independence: |
221 BC (unification under the
Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a
Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established) |
|
National holiday: |
Anniversary of the Founding of
the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949) |
|
Constitution: |
most recent promulgation 4
December 1982 |
|
Legal system: |
based on civil law system;
derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles;
legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on
judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); 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
Deijiang (since 17 March 2008), and Vice Premier WANG Qishan (since 17
March 2008)
cabinet: State Council appointed by National
People's Congress (NPC)
elections: president and vice president
elected by National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a
second term); elections last held 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
December 2007-February 2008; date of next election - NA
election
results: percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987 |
|
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 |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
no substantial political
opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the
Falungong spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as subversive
groups |
|
International organization participation: |
ADB, AfDB, APEC, APT, Arctic
Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO,
G-24 (observer), G-77, 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, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS
(observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN
Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO,
ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3,
100600 Beijing
mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP
96521-0002
telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX: [86]
(10) 6532-3178
consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong
Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang |
|
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 |
|
Economy - overview: |
China's economy during the last
quarter century has changed from a centrally planned system that was
largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy
that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the
global economy. Reforms started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of
collectivized agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual
liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for
state enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the
development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector,
and the opening to foreign trade and investment. China has generally
implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal fashion, including the
sale of minority shares in four of China's largest state banks to foreign
investors and refinements in foreign exchange and bond markets in 2005.
After keeping its currency tightly linked to the US dollar for years,
China in July 2005 revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and
moved to an exchange rate system that references a basket of currencies.
Cumulative appreciation of the renminbi against the US dollar since the
end of the dollar peg reached 15% in January 2008. 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, China in 2007 stood as the second-largest economy in the
world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still
lower middle-income. Annual inflows of foreign direct investment in 2007
rose to $75 billion. By the end of 2007, more than 5,000 domestic Chinese
enterprises had established direct investments in 172 countries and
regions around the world. The Chinese government faces several economic
development challenges: (a) to sustain adequate job growth for tens of
millions of workers laid off from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and
new entrants to the work force; (b) to reduce corruption and other
economic crimes; and (c) to contain environmental damage and social strife
related to the economy's rapid transformation. Economic development has
been more rapid in coastal provinces than in the interior, and
approximately 200 million rural laborers have relocated to urban areas to
find work. One demographic 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. In 2007 China intensified government
efforts to improve environmental conditions, tying the evaluation of local
officials to environmental targets, publishing a national climate change
policy, and establishing a high level leading group on climate change,
headed by Premier WEN Jiabao. The Chinese government seeks to add energy
production capacity from sources other than coal and oil as its
double-digit economic growth increases demand. Chinese energy officials in
2007 agreed to purchase five third generation nuclear reactors from
Western companies. More power generating capacity came on line in 2006 as
large scale investments - including the Three Gorges Dam across the
Yangtze River - were completed. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$7.043 trillion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$3.249 trillion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
11.4% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$5,300 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 11.7%
industry: 49.2%
services: 39.1%
note:
industry includes construction (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
803.3 million (2007 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 43%
industry: 25%
services: 32% (2006 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
4% unemployment in urban areas;
substantial unemployment and underemployment in rural areas (2007 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line: |
8%
note: 21.5
million rural population live below the official 'absolute poverty' line
(approximately $90 per year); and an additional 35.5 million rural
population above that but below the official 'low income' line
(approximately $125 per year) (2006 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 34.9% (2004) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
47 (2007) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
4.7% (2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
42.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $640.6 billion
expenditures: $634.6 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
18.9% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
rice, wheat, potatoes, corn,
peanuts, tea, millet, barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish |
|
Industries: |
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: |
12.9% (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
3.256 trillion kWh (2007)
|
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 80.2%
hydro: 18.5%
nuclear: 1.2%
other: 0.1%
(2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
2.859 trillion kWh (2006)
|
|
Electricity - exports: |
11.27 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
5.39 billion kWh (2006) |
|
Oil - production: |
3.73 million bbl/day (2007
est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
6.93 million bbl/day (2007
est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
79,060 bbl/day (2007) |
|
Oil - imports: |
3.19 million bbl/day (2007)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
12.8 billion bbl (2007 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production: |
58.6 billion cu m (2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
55.6 billion cu m (2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
2.874 billion cu m (2006)
|
|
Natural gas - imports: |
976 million cu m (2006) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
2.45 trillion cu m (2006 est.)
|
|
Current account balance: |
$363.3 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$1.221 trillion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
machinery, electrical products,
data processing equipment, apparel, textile, steel, mobile phones |
|
Exports - partners: |
US 21%, Hong Kong 16%, Japan
9.5%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4.2% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$917.4 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery and equipment, oil
and mineral fuels, plastics, LED screens, data processing equipment,
optical and medical equipment, organic chemicals, steel, copper |
|
Imports - partners: |
Japan 14.6%, South Korea 11.3%,
Taiwan 10.9%, US 7.5%, Germany 4.8% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$1.641 billion (FY07) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$1.493 trillion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$363 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |
$758.9 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |
$93.75 billion ( 2007 est.)
|
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$4.477 trillion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Currency (code): |
Renminbi (RMB); note - also
referred to by the unit yuan (CNY) |
|
Currency code: |
CNY |
|
Exchange rates: |
yuan per US dollar - 7.61
(2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003) |
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
368 million (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
461.1 million (2006) |
|
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; 3 of China's 6 major
telecommunications operators are part of an international consortium
which, in December 2006, signed an agreement with Verizon Business to
build the first next-generation fiber optic submarine cable system
directly linking the US mainland and China
domestic:
interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems
have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly;
the number of internet users reached 162 million in 2007; 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) (2007) |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45
(1998) |
|
Radios: |
417 million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations: |
3,240 (of which 209 are
operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and
nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997) |
|
Televisions: |
400 million (1997) |
|
Internet country code: |
.cn |
|
Internet hosts: |
10.637 million (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000) |
|
Internet users: |
162 million (2007)
|
|
Airports: |
467 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 403
over
3,047 m: 58
2,438 to 3,047 m: 128
1,524 to 2,437
m: 130
914 to 1,523 m: 20
under 914 m: 67 (2007)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 64
over
3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m:
13
914 to 1,523 m: 17
under 914 m: 26 (2007) |
|
Heliports: |
35 (2007) |
|
Pipelines: |
gas 26,344 km; oil 17,240 km;
refined products 6,106 km (2007) |
|
Railways: |
total: 75,438 km
standard gauge: 75,438 km 1.435-m gauge (20,151 km electrified)
(2005) |
|
Roadways: |
total: 1,870,661 km
paved: 1,515,797 km (with at least 34,288 km of expressways)
unpaved: 354,864 km (2004) |
|
Waterways: |
124,000 km navigable (2006)
|
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 1,775 ships (1000
GRT or over) 22,219,786 GRT/33,819,636 DWT
by type: barge
carrier 3, bulk carrier 415, cargo 689, carrier 3, chemical tanker 62,
combination ore/oil 2, container 157, liquefied gas 35, passenger 8,
passenger/cargo 84, petroleum tanker 250, refrigerated cargo 33, roll
on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 17
foreign-owned: 12 (Ecuador 1, Greece 1, Hong Kong 6, Japan 2,
South Korea 1, Norway 1)
registered in other countries: 1,366
(Bahamas 9, Bangladesh 1, Belize 107, Bermuda 10, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 166,
Cyprus 10, France 5, Georgia 4, Germany 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 309,
India 1, Indonesia 2, Liberia 32, Malaysia 1, Malta 13, Marshall Islands
3, Mongolia 3, Norway 47, Panama 473, Philippines 2, Sierra Leone 8,
Singapore 19, St Vincent and The Grenadines 106, Thailand 1, Turkey 1,
Tuvalu 25, unknown 33) (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Dalian, Guangzhou, Ningbo,
Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin |
|
Military branches: |
People's Liberation Army (PLA):
Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force
(includes airborne forces), and Second Artillery Corps (strategic missile
force); People's Armed Police (PAP); Reserve and Militia Forces (2008)
|
|
Military service age and obligation: |
18-22 years of age for
selective compulsory military service, with 24-month 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 (2007) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 16-49:
375,009,345
females age 16-49: 354,314,328 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 16-49:
313,321,639
females age 16-49: 295,951,438 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males age 16-49:
10,760,380
females age 16-49: 9,710,032 (2008 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
4.3% (2006) |
| Transnational Issues |
China |
|
Disputes - international: |
based on principles drafted in
2005, China and India continue discussions to resolve all aspects of their
extensive boundary and territorial disputes together with a security and
foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions related to the
boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; recent talks
and confidence-building measures have begun to defuse tensions over
Kashmir, site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial
dispute 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; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and
China continue negotiations to establish a boundary alignment to resolve
substantial cartographic discrepancies, the largest of which lies in
Bhutan's northwest; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands
together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly 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
prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute
with North Korea; China seeks to stem illegal migration of North Koreans;
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; in 2006, China and Tajikistan pledged to commence demarcation
of the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; demarcation
of the China-Vietnam land boundary proceeds slowly and although the
maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in
June 2004, implementation remains stalled; in 2004, international
environmentalist and political pressure from Burma and Thailand prompted
China to halt construction of 13 dams on the Salween River |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 300,897 (Vietnam), estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea)
IDPs: 90,000 (2006) |
|
Trafficking in persons: |
current situation: China
is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children
trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; the
majority of trafficking in China is internal, but there is also
international trafficking of Chinese citizens; women are lured through
false promises of legitimate employment into commercial sexual
exploitation in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; Chinese men and
women are smuggled to countries throughout the world at enormous personal
expense and then forced into commercial sexual exploitation or
exploitative labor to repay debts to traffickers; women and children are
trafficked into China from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and
Vietnam for forced labor, marriage, and sexual slavery; most North Koreans
enter northeastern China voluntarily, but others reportedly are trafficked
into China from North Korea; domestic trafficking remains the most
significant problem in China, with an estimated minimum of 10,000-20,000
victims trafficked each year; the actual number of victims could be much
greater; some experts believe that the serious and prolonged imbalance in
the male-female birth ratio may now be contributing to Chinese and foreign
girls and women being trafficked as potential brides
tier
rating: Tier 2 Watch List - China failed to show evidence of
increasing efforts to address transnational trafficking; while the
government provides reasonable protection to internal victims of
trafficking, protection for Chinese and foreign victims of transnational
trafficking remain inadequate |
|
Illicit drugs: |
major transshipment point for
heroin produced in the Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia; growing
domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors,
despite new regulations on its large chemical industry |
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