This page was last updated on 18 December 2008

Legend: Definition Field Listing Rank Order

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, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

Population:	1,330,044,544 (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 91.5%, Zhuang, Manchu, Hui, Miao, Uyghur, Tujia, Yi, Mongol, Tibetan, Buyi, Dong, Yao, Korean, and other nationalities 8.5% (2000 census)
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)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):	total: 11 years male: 11 years female: 11 years (2006)
Education expenditures:	1.9% of GDP (1999)

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:	the China Democracy Party; the Falungong spiritual movement note: no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the organizations listed above as subversive groups
International organization participation:	ADB, AfDB (nonregional members), 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, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, 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: 55 An Jia Lou Lu, 100600 Beijing mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [86] (10) 8531-3000 FAX: [86] (10) 8531-3300 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):	$7.099 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):	$3.251 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:	11.9% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):	$5,400 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:	agriculture: 11.3% industry: 48.6% services: 40.1% (2007 est.)
Labor force:	800.7 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.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:	lowest 10%: 1.6% highest 10%: 34.9% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:	47 (2007)
Investment (gross fixed):	42.7% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:	revenues: $674.3 billion expenditures: $651.6 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt:	18.4% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):	4.8% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:	3.33% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:	7.47% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:	$2.09 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:	$3.437 trillion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:	$4.653 trillion (31 December 2007)
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:	13.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:	3.256 trillion kWh (2007)
Electricity - consumption:	2.859 trillion kWh (2006)
Electricity - exports:	14.04 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:	4.771 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Oil - production:	3.725 million bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption:	7.578 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:	79,060 bbl/day (2007)
Oil - imports:	3.19 million bbl/day (2007)
Oil - proved reserves:	16 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:	69.27 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:	70.51 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:	2.69 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:	3.92 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:	2.265 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:	$371.8 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:	$1.22 trillion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:	machinery, electrical products, data processing equipment, apparel, textile, steel, mobile phones
Exports - partners:	US 19.1%, Hong Kong 15.1%, Japan 8.4%, South Korea 4.6%, Germany 4% (2007)
Imports:	$904.6 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%, South Korea 10.9%, Taiwan 10.5%, US 7.3%, Germany 4.7% (2007)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:	$1.534 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)
Exchange rates:	Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006), 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004), 8.277 (2003)

Telephones - main lines in use:	365.4 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:	547.286 million (2007)
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; nonetheless, by the end of 2006, more than 95% of China's villages had been connected to the telephone network; 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 253 million in 2008; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place international: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik - Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat - Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:	AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
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)
Internet country code:	.cn
Internet hosts:	14.306 million (2008)
Internet users:	253 million (2008)

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: 1,930,544 km paved: 1,575,571 km (includes 41,005 km of expressways) unpaved: 354,973 km (2005)
Waterways:	124,000 km navigable (2006)
Merchant marine:	total: 1,826 by type: barge carrier 4, bulk carrier 451, cargo 689, carrier 2, chemical tanker 69, combination ore/oil 1, container 162, liquefied gas 44, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker 244, refrigerated cargo 33, roll on/roll off 10, specialized tanker 9, vehicle carrier 17 foreign-owned: 20 (Ecuador 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 12, Indonesia 1, Japan 2, South Korea 1, Norway 1) registered in other countries: 1,441 (Bahamas 10, Bangladesh 1, Belize 71, Bermuda 10, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 193, Cyprus 10, France 5, Georgia 10, Germany 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 324, India 1, Indonesia 2, Kiribati 15, South Korea 1, Liberia 11, Malta 12, Marshall Islands 7, Mongolia 1, Norway 36, Panama 532, Philippines 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 94, Sierra Leone 15, Singapore 14, Thailand 1, Tuvalu 16, unknown 39) (2008)
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); PLA Reserve Force (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 militarily significant age annually:	male: 10,760,380 female: 9,710,032 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:	4.3% of GDP (2006)

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 due to cartographic discrepancies; 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 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 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 is expected to be completed by the end of 2008, while the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements in the Gulf of Tonkin, ratified in June 2004, have been implemented; 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 2,000 out of 2,800 hectares of its restricted Closed Area by 2010
Refugees and internally displaced persons:	refugees (country of origin): 300,897 (Vietnam); estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea) IDPs: 90,000 (2007)
Trafficking in persons:	current situation: China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; the majority of trafficking in China occurs within the country's borders, but there is also considerable international trafficking of Chinese citizens to Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America; Chinese women are lured abroad through false promises of legitimate employment, only to be forced into commercial sexual exploitation, largely in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; women and children are trafficked to China from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for forced labor, marriage, and prostitution; some North Korean women and children seeking to leave their country voluntarily cross the border into China and are then sold into prostitution, marriage, or forced labor tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - China is on the Tier 2 Watch List for the fourth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of punishment of trafficking crimes and the protection of Chinese and foreign victims of trafficking; victims are sometimes punished for unlawful acts that were committed as a direct result of their being trafficked, such as violations of prostitution or immigration/emigration controls; the Chinese Government continued to treat North Korean victims of trafficking solely as economic migrants, routinely deporting them back to horrendous conditions in North Korea; additional challenges facing the Chinese Government include the enormous size of its trafficking problem and the significant level of corruption and complicity in trafficking by some local government officials (2008)
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

This page was last updated on 18 December 2008