China is the fourth largest country in the world with an area of over 9.6 million km², as well as the most populous country in the world with about 1.3 billion inhabitants, which is about 20% of the total number of people in the world. The PRC has a coastline of 14,500 km and is bordered by (clockwise, from east to north) Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and North Korea. The capital is Beijing. China has a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. China is the second largest economy in the world, as well as the largest importer and exporter of goods and services. Due to the great development and growth of military costs, as well as the ever-increasing population, the People's Republic of China is seen as the future superpower of the world.
Administrative division
The People's Republic of China has sovereignty over twenty-two provinces, while Taiwan claims its twenty-third province. There are also five autonomous regions, four regions and two special administrative regions that enjoy great autonomy. Twenty-two provinces, five autonomies and four regions are also called mainland China, with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau.
Provinces
- Anhui
- Gansu
- Guizhou
- Jiangsi
- Jiangsu
- Jilin
- Yunan
- Guandung
- Qinghai
- Liaoning
- Szechuan
- Taiwan*
- Fujien
- Hainan
- Henan
- Hebei
- Heilungjiang
- Hubei
- Hunan
- Zhejiang
- Chances
- Shensi
- Shandung
*Taiwan is a sovereign province of China under the administration of the Republic of China.
Autonomous provinces
- Guangxi
- Inner Mongolia
- Ningxia
- Sinkyang
- Tibet
Regions
- Beijing
- Chongqing
- Shanghai
- Tientsin
Special administrative regions
- Hong Kong
- Macau
Relief
The territory of China includes early relief types. More than 2/3 of the country is occupied by mountain ranges, hills and plateaus, deserts and semi-deserts. In the east, along the coasts of the Yellow and East China Seas, there is a vast and densely populated alluvial plain where about 90% of the population lives. These areas are in serious ecological conditions, which is the result of long and intensive agricultural and environmental pollution. In the north is the Mongolian Plateau. Southern China is dominated by hills and low mountain ranges. To the west are high mountain ranges, the most important of which are the Himalayas, with China's highest point on the east side of Mount Everest, while high plateaus appear between drier regions such as the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts.
Waters
In China there are many rivers whose total length is 220,000 km. China's rivers form internal and external systems. Outlying rivers, including the Yangtze, Hoangho, Heilongjiang, Pearl River, Mekong, Nujiang, and Yalutsangpo flow into the Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans, and their basins cover about 64% of the country. Inland rivers cover about 36% of the country, the number of which is small, they are far from each other. They flow into lakes in inland areas or are lost in deserts and salt marshes. There are many lakes in China, with a total area of about 80,000 km². There are also about a thousand artificial lakes. Lakes in China can also be divided into external and internal. That outside mostly rich aquaproduktami freshwater lakes such as Poyang, Dongting and Taihu. The interior includes salt lakes, the largest of which is Qinghai Lake. Many inland lakes are dry, such as the Lob Nor lakes.
Climate
The climate of China is very diverse - from subtropical in the south to temperate in the north. On the coast, the weather is determined by monsoons, which occur due to the different absorption power of the soil and the ocean. Seasonal air movement and accompanying wind bring large amounts of moisture in summer and relatively dry winters. The arrival and duration of monsoons largely determine the amount and distribution of rainfall in the country. The huge difference in latitude, longitude and altitude of China results in different temperatures and weather regimes, despite the fact that most of the country lies in the region of temperate climate. China's northernmost province Heilongjiang is locatedis in the area of moderate climate, and the southern island of Hainan in the tropics. The temperature difference between these two regions during the winter months is large, but in the summer the difference decreases. In the northern part of Heilongjiang, the temperature in January can drop to -30 °C, the average temperature - around 0 °C. The average temperature in July in this area is 20 °C. In the southern parts of Guangdong Province, the average temperature ranges from 10 °C in January to 28 °C in July. Precipitation varies even more than temperature. On the southern slopes of Kinling, large amounts of rain fall, mostly during the summer monsoons. To the north and west of the mountain, the probability of precipitation decreases. The northwestern region of the country is very dry, with deserts (Taklamakan, Gobi, Ordos) and almost no precipitation. The southern and eastern regions of China often (about 5 times a year) suffer from devastating typhoons and floods, monsoons, tsunamis and droughts. A big problem of representation is the spread of deserts, especially the Gobi desert. Although forest buffers planted since the 1970s have reduced the frequency of sandstorms, prolonged droughts and poor farming practices cause sandstorms to plague northern China every spring, and from there spread to Korea and Japan. China loses about 4,000 km² of land annually due to desertification. Water, erosion and pollution control have become important issues in China's relations with other countries.
History
Ancient China is one of the oldest civilizations of mankind.
History of China according to traditional Chinese records stretches back to the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors about 5000 years ago. Written history supported by archaeological evidence dates back to the 16th century BC China is one of the oldest continuous civilizations in the world. A turtle shell used for divination with markings reminiscent of ancient Chinese script from the Sheng Dynasty has been found to date back to around 1500 BC. n. e. The Chinese state originated from the city-states in the Hoangho Valley. Year 221 BC. n. e. is often taken to be the year China was unified into a great kingdom or empire. In that year Qin Sh' Huang was the first to unite China. Successive Chinese dynasties developed a bureaucratic system that allowed the Chinese emperor to control a vast territory.
The conventional view of Chinese history is that the country went through periods of political unity and disunity, and at times it was dominated by foreign peoples, most of whom merged with the Chinese. Cultural and political influences from many parts of Asia, transmitted through successive immigrations, expansions and cultural assimilation, have merged into Chinese culture.
History of the People's Republic of China
The Chinese Civil War ended in 1949. The Chinese Communist Party took over most of China, except for Taiwan. The Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan and some small islands of Fujian. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China. Mao Zedong stepped down as President of China in 1959 after several major economic failures, such as the Great Leap Forward. Li Shaoqi replaced him, but Mao still had enormous influence over the party and remained general secretary of the CPC. For a time, China was ruled by a moderate leadership: Li Shaochi, Deng Xiaoping and others, who started economic reforms. In 1966, Mao Zedong and his allies launched the Cultural Revolution. According to many historians, it was an attempt to purge the leadership of moderate elements. Mao's followers considered it an experiment in direct democracy and the first attempt to fight corruption and other negative influences on Chinese society. The cult of Mao developed, and the country's economy declined during this period. There was great disorder during the Cultural Revolution, so Prime Minister Chu Enlai intervened to reduce the destructiveness and helped the moderate elements. Chu Enlai initiated the normalization of relations with the USA, so China became a member of the UN Security Council in 1971 instead of Taiwan, which until then represented China. In the last years of his life, he openly criticized Mao Zedong's wife and the remaining members of the Gang of Four. He was Deng Xiaoping's closest associate and helped rid China of radical elements after the Cultural Revolution.
After Mao's death in 1976, the Gang of Four was arrested, and Deng Xiaoping succeeded in taking over power from Mao's successor Hua Kuafeng. Deng never became the head of the party or the state, but through his influence on the party he led the country through economic reforms. The pragmatism with which he led China is outlined in his words: "It doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, it matters that it catches mice." The Communist Party has reduced its overall control. Cooperatives were also dissolved, and peasants began to lease land. This is why there was an increase in agricultural production.
Economy
Since the end of 1978, the Chinese leadership has started with economic reforms. Until then, the Chinese economy was a Soviet-type planned economy. It has been reformed into a mixed economy, much closer to a market economy, but still under the political framework imposed by the Chinese Communist Party. Collectivization in agriculture was replaced by privatization of the land. The responsibility of local authorities and factory directors has increased. A large number of smaller private companies were allowed to open, and foreign investments were encouraged by numerous economic and political measures. As a result of these changes, the Chinese economy became mixed, and China was admitted to the World Trade Organization in 2001.
In 5 special economic zones, investment laws are much more favorable with the aim of attracting foreign capital to these zones. Since the 1990s, special economic zones have spread to major Chinese cities including Beijing and Shanghai. This is why China has increased its gross domestic product (GDP) six times since 1978. China has one of the fastest economic growth rates, with an average annual GDP growth of 9.4% over the past 25 years. At the end of 2009, China became the second largest economy in the world by total GDP, and second in the world by GDP calculated by purchasing power parity. Due to the large number of inhabitants, GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is $7,200, which represents 1/6 of the US.
China has largely become a low-cost producer. Manufacturing costs in China are much lower than in Asia or Latin America. Since it fixed the exchange rate of the yuan to the dollar for a long time, there were criticisms that this was the reason for the huge surplus that China has in trade with almost all developed countries, except for Taiwan and South Korea. Since July 21, 2005, the exchange rate of the yuan has become floating. China is harmonizing its tax system, which previously favored export companies. There is a huge wealth gap between China's coastal area and the interior. This is a problem that can potentially destabilize the country, so the Chinese government has started a series of initiatives in recent years to help the interior of China catch up with the economic development of advanced areas. As a result of great economic development, the standard of living in China is significantly higher, and the number of poor has become small.
Source: Wikipedia
China's foreign trade exchange with the world
Over the past twenty-six years, the Chinese economy has undergone enormous changes. From a rigid centralized economy, it has transformed into an economy that is increasingly subject to the influences of the open market. The People's Republic of China today represents a political, military and nuclear power with the fastest pace of economic development. The process of economic reforms included the establishment of special economic zones with significant tax and customs benefits, greater independence in business with the main goal of attracting foreign investors. Special economic zones were first formed in coastal cities, and in a later phase, all capital cities of provinces and autonomous regions would receive the status of open cities. Reform measures were also undertaken in the area of prices, finance, banking, foreign trade, etc. The birth of a new economic giant in the Far East caused a massive outflow of capital to China through the increasingly numerous presence of multinational companies that open production facilities using all the benefits when it comes to foreign capital investment and, above all, cheap labor. The basic principles of the economic development of the People's Republic of China are based on the industrialization and modernization of the export-oriented economy.
GDP reached the figure of 3,410 billion USD, with which China, surpassing Germany, ranked third in the world in terms of total GDP, just behind the USA and Japan. Thus, China recorded a double-digit growth rate for the fifth year in a row.
The growth of the Chinese economy would have been even faster if the government in the second half of 2007 had not taken a series of measures to curb it and prevent it from "overheating" the economy. In the first quarter, growth was 11.1%, in the second as much as 11.9%, in the third 11.5%, and in the fourth it fell to 11.2%, which shows that the government's measures to calm growth have given initial results.< /p>
In 2007, the government increased interest rates six times and raised the level of required reserves of commercial banks ten times, which have now reached 15%, in order to prevent overheating of the economy, excessive liquidity and, as a result, the outbreak of more serious disturbances in the economy.
In 2007, exports grew by 25.7% and reached USD 1,218 billion, while imports grew at a rate of 20.8% and reached USD 955.8 billion, makingobtained a surplus of 262.2 billion USD, which is an increase of 47% compared to 2006. In 2006, China ranked third in the world in terms of the volume of trade with the world.
During 2007, foreign investments continued to flow into China in the amount of 74.8 billion USD. This puts China in third place in the world, after the USA and Great Britain, in terms of the volume of foreign investments.
The foreign trade surplus and the inflow of foreign capital additionally stimulated the growth of Chinese foreign exchange reserves to the amount of USD 1,530 billion, which is a 43.3% increase compared to 2006. By the amount of foreign exchange reserves, China is convincingly in the first place, now far above Japan, which was the world record holder for years.
The government will undertake a number of measures in 2008 in order to curb such a rapid growth of the Chinese economy and prevent the occurrence of major disturbances in the economic life of the country. At the same time, China will take measures to counter the negative impact of a possible US recession on the Chinese economy, since the US is China's largest economic partner.
The Chinese government also made a series of decisions at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008 that indicate that it will lead a "wise" fiscal policy, which means that in 2008 China will continue to increase public spending in order to preserve growth, and will slow down export growth and accelerate import growth.
The consumer price index, which is the main measure of inflation in China, rose sharply in 2007 to 4.8%, and in November 2007 it reached the highest level in the last 11 years of 6.9%. The average for the whole year of 4.8% is much higher than the planned 3%.
Inflation that gripped China especially in the second half of 2007 was primarily caused by the rise in food prices, especially meat, milk, oil and flour. It was officially announced that on average the prices of meat jumped by 31%, and the prices of other foodstuffs by 12.3%.
World analysts estimate that China will soon overtake Japan and become the largest importer in the Asia-Pacific region, the largest exporter by 2010, and the largest trading power in Asia by 2020.
Funds in savings are constantly growing and have exceeded 4,000 billion. dollars and the Chinese government is trying to stimulate public spending by various means.
Source: PKS