general view of china.pdf

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General Reviewof China

General Review

China of A Reader on Human Resource Development andCooperation betweenChina and other Countries/Regions

A Reader on Human Resource Development andCooperation between China and other Countries/Regions

——A R

eader on Hum

an Resource D

evelopment and

Cooperation betw

een China and other C

ountries/Regions

Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

China Intercontinental Press

Chin

a Interco

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ental Press

The People's Republic of China was founded on

October 1, 1949. The capital of the People's Republic of

China is Beijing.

The People's Republic of China is a socialist state

under the people’s democratic dictatorship led by the

working class and based on the alliance of workers and

peasants

The socialist system is the basic system of the People's

Republic of China. All power in the People's Republic of

China belongs to the people.

Through designed and extensive economic

construction after the establishment of the People’s

Republic of China, the country has become one of those

economic powers with the biggest potentials, and the

people's life there is moderately prosperous in general.

At present China is still in the primary stage of

socialism, and is the world's largest developing country.

Discovering China will be a pleasant ride, something

worth doing. Let’s move on.

Price: 99 Yuan (RMB)

General Review

China of A Reader on Human Resource Development and

Cooperation between China and other Countries/Regions

Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China

China Intercontinental Press

Compilation and Review Committee:

Director: Fu ZiyingDeputy-directors: Liao Jiancheng, Xu Jia’ai, Jin XuMembers: Yuan Qun, Yu Yingfu, Zhu Liugui

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Contents

Preface

Geographical Environment and Administrative Division 1. Geography and Climate .................2

Geographical Location ........................................ 2Climatic Features................................................. 4

2. Landscape and Resources ..............5Landscape ........................................................... 5Resources ............................................................ 7

3. Division of Administrative Regions ...204. 56 Ethnic Groups ........................23

China’s Ethnic Policies ....................................... 23Population and Distribution of the Ethnic Groups .. 26Diverse Cultures of the Ethnic Minorities ......... 27

Political and Administrative Systems1. Political System ..........................33

The National People’s Congress ........................ 33Multi-party Cooperation and Political ConsultationSystem under the Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party .............................................. 35Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities ......... 39Community Level Self-governance .................... 40

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2. Administrative System .................41Position and Power of the State Council ............ 41Organizational Structure of the State Council and the Responsibilities of the Premier ..................... 42

3. Rights and Obligations of the Citizens .. 44

Reform, and Opening up and Economic Development1. Reform and Opening up .................48

Domestic Reform .............................................. 48Opening up ....................................................... 53

2. Economic Development ..................75Goals of Economic Development ...................... 76Development of Industries ................................ 77Development of Regional Economies ................ 98

Social and Cultural Life1. Social life ................................... 104

People’s life ...................................................... 104Social Security ................................................. 107Women and the Population Policy .................. 110Youth .............................................................. 115

2. Cultural Life ................................ 116Education ........................................................ 116Health ............................................................. 119Sports .............................................................. 121Religion ........................................................... 123Mass Media ..................................................... 125Expositions and Museums ............................... 126Holidays and Vacations ................................... 130

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Language, Literature, Arts, Culture and Customs 1. Languages ............................... 1332. Literature ................................ 1353. Arts ........................................ 136

Calligraphy and Painting ................................. 136Music and Dance ............................................ 139Drama and Film .............................................. 141Handicraft and Architecture ............................ 143

4. Culture and Custom .................. 146Food Culture ................................................... 146Wine Culture .................................................. 147Tea Culture ..................................................... 148Folk Houses .................................................... 150

Science, Technology and Intellectual Property 1. Science and Technology ............... 153

Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development ................................................... 153System of Science and Technology ................... 154Science and Technology Achievements ............ 155International Cooperation ............................... 158

2. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights ............................................ 159

Harmonious China and Harmonious World1. Building a Harmonious Society ...... 162

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Goals and Major Tasks .................................... 162Adherence to the Scientific Outlook on Development ................................................... 163The Rule of law ............................................... 165Promoting Economic Restructuring ................ 167Building an Environment-friendly Society ....... 168National Security ............................................. 170

2. Pushing forward the Construction of Harmonious World ........................... 171

Foreign Policies ............................................... 171Shouldering a Developing Nation’s Responsibilities ........................................................................ 174Achieving Common Development with Other Nations ............................................179

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Preface

Dear friends from afar, we live in the same era of development and share the same global village.

From this earth we share, China extends her greetings to you from the far eastern Asia.

We sincerely welcome you to reach out for China and are enthusiastic to demonstrate to you a country on a fast track to prosperity and power.

China unveils herself from a magnificent painting scroll characteristic of both ancient civilization and innovation.

China is ancient, for its civilization conserved uninterrupted for 5,000 years, making it the only ancient civilization in the world to survive till now; China is young, as it innovates with the socialism of Chinese feature. China is on its way of socialism compliant with Chinese characteristics and fundamental interest of the people, achieving world acclaimed progress under guidance of the theoretic system of socialism of Chinese features.

China shows herself in a pretty and simple painting scroll.

China is pretty, as its north is snow white in winter and sky-high Kunlun Mountains, its south embraces such rivers as the Yangtze River. China is simple, as it

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is pragmatic to make political policies to bring peace to the country and welfare to its people.

China finds herself in a painting scroll that has seen all the hardships and is youthful on the other hand.

China has experienced hardships and humiliation, yet none of these can subdue the nation, while China rises again purely on its own diligence and wisdom. China is youthful as it emancipates its mind and keeps up with time, with 1.3 billion people trying to make their country a thriving and prosperous one on earth in the reform and opening-up practice.

China emphasizes “harmony”, as it endeavors to build and promote building of a harmonious world so as to closely link its great rejuvenation with peace and prosperity of the entire world.

China is hospitable and warmhearted, as it is always happy to welcome friends from afar!

Dear friends, please come to China, a country with splendid history, charismatic sceneries, thriving reforms and particularly lots of opportunities for development.

Friends, welcome to China. China’s mountains and rivers, cities and villages

welcome you! Come to learn about the ancient culture. Come to embrace a promising China.

Once you set your foot on this land of 9.6 million square kilometers, you will be embraced by friendship and passion. You will be touched by 1.3 billion happy Chinese people and surrounded by flags of reform and opening-up, in addition to the aspirations of the nation and call of the time. At the foot of Mt. Everest, you will see the snow mountain rising into the sky; by the Yellow River, you will hear folk songs all along; on the

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ancient Silk Road, you will learn the meaning of long history and profoundness; on top of the Great Wall, you come to know its magnificence.

Everywhere you go, you will be accompanied by pleasure and joy.

Discovering China will be a pleasant ride, some-thing worthy doing. Let’s move on.

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China has a civilization of over 5,000 years and was one of the 4 ancient states in the world history. The ancestors of the Chinese lived and labored in this vast land as early as 1 million years ago, creating brilliant material and spiritual civilizations. China has witnessed 5 social formations, namely primitive, slavery, feudal, semi-colonial and semi-feudal as well as socialist societies.

The People’s Republic of China was founded on October 1, 1949, with Beijing being its capital.

The People’s Republic of China is a socialist country led by the working Class and based on the worker-peasant alliance.

Socialism is the fundamental system of the republic. All its power belongs to the people.

Since its founding, China has grown to be one of economic powers with the highest potentials thanks to the large scale economic development. On the whole, the people have reached a well-off standard of living.

Currently, China is in the primary stage of socialism and is one of the largest developing countries in the world.

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China lies in east of Asia and west coast of the Pacific Ocean, as its map resembles a golden rooster with its head facing east and tail west. China is a populous country with vast territory, and highly complex and diversified natural and geographical environments. Dating back 5,000 years, Chinese ancestors began to work and multiply on this land, and now their descendants keep developing, utilizing and changing the surroundings year after year.

GeographicalEnvironment andAdministrative Division

General Review of China

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Topographic Map of China

1. Geography and Climate

Geographical Location China rests on the east slope of Eurasia, the

largest continent in the world, facing the Pacific, the largest ocean in the world. Its entire lay of the land centers on the highest plateau on earth – Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. From west to east, it descends stage by stage, joining China’s continental part with the ocean basin of the Pacific Ocean through the vast continent shelf.

China lies in the north hemisphere, in the eastern and central part of Asia, along the west coast of the Pacific, facing the sea to the east and extending into the inland to the west. Its long coastlines make it a country of seas and continent. The land area of China amounts to 9.6 million square kilometers, accounting for one fourth of the

Geographical Environment and Administrative Division

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land area of Asia, one fifth of that of the world. It ranks the third largest country in the world next to Russia and Canada. China’s sea area covers 4.73 million square kilometers, approximately one third of its land area.

From east to west, China’s territory spans longi-tude of 60 degrees, one time zone, approximately 5,200 kilometer, while it spans about 50 degrees altitude from north to south, about 5,500 kilometers. China borders on 14 countries, with Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar to the south; India, Bhutan, and Nepal to the southwest; Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan to the west; Mongolia to the north; Russia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the northeast; and Japan, Republic of Korea, as well as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei across the sea.

The north-south demarcation line in China is the Qinling Mountains-Huai River Line, the area south of that line is referred to as South China, and the area north of that line North China. Geographically, the North consists of the Northeast, North China, and Northwest China. The geographical South consists the Southwest, Central-south and East China.

China’s east-west demarcation line is Heihe-Tengchong Line, east of which is referred to as the East China, and west of which West China. Geographically, China’s east consists of the Northeast, North China, Central-south and East China. China’s geographical West consists the Northwest and Southwest. East China has a bigger population and economically more developed than West China.


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Climatic FeaturesChina’s vast territories span many altitudes.

Noticeable differences in distance from the sea, height above sea level, diversity in landforms and mountain directions, result in diversified combinations of climate and waterfall, and colorful climate patterns as a result.

The most part of China lies in the north temper-ate zone of mild temperature and distinct seasons, ideal for human settlement. Continental monsoons are characteristic of the climate in China. As China lies on the east of Eurasia, the largest continent on earth and sits on the west coast of the Pacific and is close to the Indian Ocean to the southwest, its climate is significantly affected by the continent and ocean. In winters, north wind prevails from land in the north to the sea in the east while in summer south wind prevails from the sea to the land. Winter winds arise from Asia’s inland, carrying chilly and dry weather to most areas in China, which is especially true in China’s north. In summer however, winds bring most areas with rainfall and heat. As China’s monsoon climate is mostly continental, it is also referred to as the continental monsoon climate.

From September to April of the coming year, dry and chilly winter monsoon blow from Siberia and Mongolian Plateau, driving the temperature in Mohe, Heilongjing province down to under -30℃. In South China, the temperature stays above 0℃. In places like Sanya, Hainan Island the temperature is above 20℃. The temperature difference of the


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north and south is so striking when the north is all snow white, flowers just begin to blossom in the south. From April to September each year, warm and humid summer monsoon will come from the sea from the east and south, creating a climate of high temperature and abundant rainfall. During this period therefore, high temperature prevails nationwide except for high places like Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, without significant temperature gap between the south and north. In this sense, huge south-north temperature gap, i.e., warm south and cold north, features the temperature layout of winter in China.

In the capital city Beijing, January temperature averages -4℃, while that in July averages 26℃. In freezing winter days, Beijing’s temperature will fall below -10℃, while that in summer will exceed 40℃.

2. Landscape and Resources

LandscapeChina boasts a vast territory with magnificent

plateaus, criss-crossed and stretching mountains, endless deserts, as well as gigantic and rich basins, boundary-less plains, and hilly areas. All these landforms are intertwined and magnificent.

Among the 12 mountains higher than 8,000 meters in the world, seven reside in China. These mountains mostly run in east-west and northeast-southwest directions, which are Altai Mountains, Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, Karakoram


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Mountains, Himalaya Range, Yinshan Mountains, Qinling Mountains, Nanling Mountains, Greater Hinggan Mountains, Changbai Mountains, Taihang Mountains, Wuyi Mountains, Taiwan mountain range, and Hengduan Mountains. There are four major plateaus in China, which are Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, the Loess Plateau, and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. China has four major basins, which are Qaidam Basin, Tarim Basin, Junggar Basin and Sichuan Basin, and has three major plains of the Northeast Plain, North China Plain, and the Mid-Lower Yangtze River Plain.

China is a country with countless famous mountains, each featuring magnificence, oddness, smartness or elegance. Top mountains, however, are

Mount Qomolangma (Everest)


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the Three Mountains and Five Peaks (mountain), each offering unique sceneries and splendid views. Three Mountains refer to Huangshan Mountain, Lushan Mountain and Yandangshan Mountain whereas the Five Peaks refer to Taishan Mountain, Huashan Mountain, Hengshan Mountain, Heng Mountain and Songshan Mountain. The four Buddhist Mountains are Puduoshan Mountain, Wutaishan Mountain, Jiuhuashan Mountain and Emei Mountain. Other well-known mountains are Kunlun Mountain and Wuyi Mountain, among others.

ResourcesPopulation ResourceChina is the most populous country in the

world. By the end of 2008, China’s population totals 1.328 billion, accounting for one fifth of the world population. China is also a country with the highest population density, averagely 137 persons per square kilometer.

A most distinct feature of population layout in China is high density in the east, and low density in the west. In the east coast areas, population density is over 400 persons per square kilometer; in central areas, the figure is 200 persons, while in the western plateaus, the figure is less 10 persons.

Since 1980s when the reform and opening started, China’s urbanization has accelerated. In 2008, the urbanization ratio of China’s population hit 45.7%. However, in comparison with other countries, this figure is rather low, as 54.3% of


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its population still lives in rural areas. China’s urbanization falls not only behind most developed countries, but many developing countries as well.

Land ResourceThe absolute number of farmlands, forests and

grasslands in China rank among the highest in the world, but the per capita average falls far below the world average for its huge population base.

Farmlands in China total 122 million hectares, accounting for 10.2% of the world. This figure ranks the world’s second place, while its per capita farmland is less than 57% of the world average. Farmlands are concentrated in the eastern part, such as the Northeast Plain, North China Plain, the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain, Pearl River Delta, and Sichuan Basin. The Northeast Plain covering 350,000 square kilometers is characteristic of fertile black soil, and is abundant with wheat, corn, soybeans, sorghum, flax and sugar beet. The deep, brown soil in the North China Plain is planted with wheat, corn, millet and cotton. The Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain features flat terrain and has many lakes and rivers, which enable people to plant paddy rice and breed freshwater fish. Hence it is called the “land of fish and rice”. This area also produces large quantities of tea and silkworms. The purplish soil of the warm and humid Sichuan Basin is green with crops in all four seasons, including paddy rice, rapeseed and sugarcane. Its yield per unit area of paddy rice ranks the first place in China. The Pearl


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River Delta abounds with paddy rice that is gathered 2-3 times every year, making it a “Pearl in South China Sea”.

195.45 million hectares of forests in China account for 20.36% of the world, ranking the fifth in the world, yet the per capita forest area falls less than one fourth of the world average. The forest coverage nationwide hits 18.2%, 60% of the world average (30.5%), and its forest storage volume is 11.27 billion cubic meters. Excluding that in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the area of man-made forest totals 46.667 million hectares in China, taking the first place in the world. Most of the forests are found in remote northeast and southwest areas. Among these areas, the largest natural forests are located in the Greater Hinggan Mountains, Lesser Hinggan Mountains and Changbai Mountain ranges. Major tree species found here include conifers, such as Korean pine, larch and Olga Bay larch, and broadleaf trees such as white birch, oak, Manchurian ash, poplar tree, and elm. Major tree species in the southwest natural forest include the dragon spruce, fir and Yunnan pine, as well as teak, red sandalwood, camphor, nanmu and padauk. Known as a “kingdom of plants”, Xishuangbanna in the south of Yunnan Province is a rare tropical broadleaf forest area in China, playing host to more than 5,000 species.

Grasslands in China cover an area of 400 million hectares, ranking the second place in the world and stretching more than 3,000 km from the northeast to the southwest. With the per capita grassland less


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than 57% of the world average level, most of the grasslands are located in the north and west areas. They are the centers of animal husbandry. The Inner Mongolian Prairie is China’s largest natural pastureland, and is home to the famous Sanhe cattle, Sanhe horses and Mongolian sheep. The important natural pasturelands in the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang are ideal for stockbreeding. The famous Ili horses and Xinjiang fine-wool sheep are raised here.

Water ResourceChina has under its jurisdiction three million

square kilometers of marine area, equivalent to the land area of 30 Zhejiang provinces. China’s seas are vast, in terms of geographical range, the marine area spans latitude of about 38 degrees, and longitude of 24 degrees. Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea are linked as a chain of shining pearls. Generally speaking, the natural environment and resources of China’s seas are superior with plenty of bio-species and great potential.

China is rich in rivers and lakes, and has over 1,500 rivers with river basin area over 1,000 square kilometers. The distribution of these rivers and lakes is uneven, with both inland drainage and exorheic drainage areas. Rivers can be divided into exorheic rivers and inland rivers. Drainage areas of exorheic rivers running to the sea approximate 64% of China’s land area; those of inland rivers running to either inland lakes or missing in deserts approximate


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36% of the land area. Tarim River in southern Xinjiang, for example, is the longest inland river in China, stretching 2,179 kilometers. These rivers and lakes reserve immense natural resources. Most of major rivers in China come from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, so there is a big drop from the river source to its outlet.

Yangtze River is the longest river in China, stretching 6,403 km in length. The river originates from the Tanggula Mountains on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, flowing through the whole or part of 13 provinces including Tibet. It is the third longest river in the world next to the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in South America. Yellow River is the second longest river in China, which is respected as the “Mother River of China”. It originates from Qinghai, flowing through nine provinces and autonomous regions of Qinghai, Sichuan, Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan, and Shandong. Collecting over 40 important tributary courses and 1,000 rivers and streams, it runs 5,464 kilometers and all the way into the Bohai Sea. Pearl River is the largest river system in southern China, running 2,214 kilometers. It is referred to as one of the seven large rivers in China, along with the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Huai River, Hai River, Songhua River, and Liao River.

This Grand Canal is a famous man-made waterway in the world. Starting from Beijing in the north, the Canal runs through Beijing, Tianjin cities, and Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang


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provinces to end in Hangzhou in the south. Linking Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River and Qiantang River systems, it runs 1,801 kilometers. Excavated 785 years ago, it is the oldest and longest man-made canal in the world. It has made immense contributions to the economic, cultural development and exchange between northern and southern China, especially conducive to the rise and boom of the industry and agriculture of the regions alongside. In addition, it plays an important role in irrigation, flood control and drainage as well. In the east route of “South-to-North Water Diversion” project, the Canal serves as the water transfer channel for sending Yangtze River’s water to the north. The Canal and the Great Wall are called the two greatest projects in ancient China, known worldwide.

China boasts numerous lakes, dotting like pearls on the country. Most important five lakes are Dongting Lake in Hunan, Poyang Lake in Jiangxi, Tai Lake and Hongze Lake in Jiangsu, as well as Chao Lake in Anhui. All of these freshwater lakes are found in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River. Saltwater lakes are mostly found on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, such as Qinghai Lake, Namco Lake, and Qilin Lake. On Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, however, lakes are formed mainly through stratum rupture and sinking. For example, Lake Dian in southern suburb of Kunming City in Yunnan province is typically such a lake. Figures about the lake are as follows: surface height of 1,886


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meters above sea level, 39 kilometers from north to south, 13 kilometers from east to west, 163.2 kilometers of lakeshore, and 300 square kilometers of space. Therefore it is called “500-li Dian Lake”, and is a state-level tourist resort.

China boasts numerous long rivers which cover a lot of areas. However, the total water resources from these rivers are unevenly distributed and so inadequate. The water resource per person averages 1,785 cubic meters, less than 1/4 of the world’s average level.

Marine ResourceAs a big developing marine nation, China has

a coastline of over 18,000 kilometers under the jurisdiction of a marine area of three million square kilometers, an equivalent to the land area of 30 Zhejiang provinces that incorporate 6,500 islands. China’s seas are vast, in terms of geographical range, the marine area spans latitude of about 38 degrees, and longitude of 24 degrees. Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea are linked as a chain of shining pearls. Generally speaking, the natural environment and resources of China’s seas are superior with plenty of bio-species and great potential.

The characteristics of the sea bays in China are as follows: Divided by Hangzhou Bay, the area north of that bay features plain bays which are small in number and large in size, such as the magnificent Liaodong Bay, Bohai Bay, Laizhou Bay, and Haizhou Bay. The area south of that bay features


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bays characteristic of mountains, hills and bedrocks, which are large in number but small in size. These bays tend to have long and narrow coastlines, namely Sanmen Bay, Luoyuan Bay, and Qinzhou Bay. In general, there are 150 bays with an area of over 10 square kilometers for each.

The Chinese government a t taches h igh importance to development of the marine economy, as it encourages and supports the emerging marine industries in parallel with steady promotion of traditional marine industries. Since 1980s, the Chinese government takes an active position in restructuring its marine industry by optimizing the industry layout, and advocating advanced science and technology. All these efforts maintain a high momentum of marine economy growth in recent years. The recent two decades have witnessed the gross output of China’s dominant marine industries growing at 25% in yearly average, five times than 20 years ago. At present, there are already 90 marine natural reserves of all levels built and maintained in China. These natural reserves serve to protect marine ecology, such as the coastlines, river mouths, and islands, which are valuable for research, education and nature and history. In addition to such rare and endangered marine animal species as Chinese white dolphin and their habitats, these reserves also protect typical marine ecosystems as mangroves, coral and seaside wetlands.

Metallic Mineral ResourceChina is among countries of rich metallic


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mineral resources in the world, and all of the world’s known metallic minerals can be found here with proven reserves. Resources with the proven reserves ranking first in the world include tungsten, tin, antimony, rare earth, tantalum, and titanium; those with the proven reserves ranking second include vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, beryllium, and lithium; the fourth ones include zinc, while the fifth ones include iron, lead, gold, and silver.

In China, metallic minerals are distributed nationwide, yet relatively concentrated in a few regions. For example, iron mines are mainly found in the three regions of Anshan-Benxi, northern Hebei, and Shanxi; bauxites in Shanxi, Henan, Guizhou, and Guangxi; tungsten ores in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Hunan provinces. Some of the metallic minerals are highly competitive in the world for their large reserve and high quality, namely tungsten, tin, molybdenum, antimony, and rare earth.

China depends to a great extent on its own energy resources for economic development, having an energy self-sufficient ratio above 90%, a figure much higher than many developed countries. China’s present energy output ranks the second in the world, and maintains a powerful infrastructure for energy production and supply. Despite China’s rich energy reserves, its energy possession per capita falls far below the world average for its huge population base.

Non-metallic Mineral ResourceAs a few countries with complete reserves of


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non-metallic minerals in the world, China has over 5,000 non-metallic mineral mines with proven reserves. The majority of these mines have rich proven reserves. For example, the proven reserves of magnesite, black lead, blue john, French chalk, asbestos, gypsum, barite, aedelforsite, alum stone, bentonite, and rock salt are in front rank of the world; those of phosphorus, kaolin clay, pyrites, glauber salt, bergmeal, zeolite, pearlite, and cement limestone take important positions in the world; its rock materials of marble and granite boast high quality and rich reserves; especially noteworthy is China’s resources of rare earth, which account for 41.36% of the world total and at least 71% of the

Daqing Oilfield


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world total reserves. China is the only producer on the earth to offer all the 17 rare earth metals. Of the 92.61 million tons of rare earth mineral, at least a half is deposited in Bayan Obo, Inner Mongolia. In comparison, however, China is relatively short of leopoldite and boron mineral resources.

Biological ResourceAnimal ResourceAs a country with most of the species of the wild

animals in the world, China has rich and colorful biological resources. Its vertebrates alone account for 11% of the world total, amounting to 4,880 species. Among which there are 410 species of mammals, 1,180 kinds of birds, 300 kinds of reptiles, 190 kinds of amphibians, and 2,800 kinds of fish. Panda, golden monkey, white-flag dolphin, white-lipped deer, takin, brown eared pheasant, Yangtze alligator, and Crested Ibis are unique animals only found in China; red-crowned crane in the northeast, golden pheasant in Shaanxi, Sichuan and Gansu, blue peacock in Tibet and Yunnan, as well as paradise flycatcher, swan and green parrot are valuable birds; precious species of butterflies are found in Taiwan, Yunnan and Sichuan.

China has also scored progress in building natural reserves, as it has built 460 natural reserves of all levels, covering 2.4% of the territory. Among the reserves, Changbaishan Natural Reserve in Jilin province, Dinghushan Natural Reserve in Guangdong province, Wolong Natural Reserve in


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Sichuan province, Fanjingshan Natural Reserve in Guizhou province, Wuyishan Natural Reserve in Fujian province, and Xilinguole Natural Reserve in Inner Mongolia have been designated as World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO under its Man and Bioshpere Program.

Plant ResourceAs one of the countries with the richest botanic

resources in the world, China encompasses more than 30,000 plant species including 2,800 arbors, ranking the third in the world, next only to Malaysia and Brazil. There are 13 families, 71 genus and 750 species of gymnosperms worldwide, with 11 families, 34 genus and 240 species being found in China. The number of total softwood species in China

Panda Natural Reserve in Wolong, Sichuan


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accounts for 37.8% of the same species in the world. Almost all the important plants found in the arctic zone, warm zone and tropical zone in the northern hemisphere can be found in China. In addition, China has its unique species of redwood, water pine, sliver fir, Cunninghamia lanceolata, Pseudolarix amabilis, Taiwania, Fokienia hodginsii, Chinese dove tree, eucommia, and Camptotheca acuminata tree. Maidenhair trees can be found now and then in Beijing. In prehistory, redwoods were widespread in East Asia, North America and Europe, but they perished in the Quaternary ice age, leaving but their fossils. In 1940s, China found over 1,000 redwoods of elegant shapes in Sichuan and Hubei provinces, a happy surprise for the world. Since then, China donated redwoods to many countries and let them take root in Europe and Americas.

There are eight plants in China designated as plants under Grade 1 Protection, which are valuable for science and business alike. These plants include spinulose tree ferns (called “dinosaurs in botanic world”), ginseng (named one of the three treasures in the northeast), silver fir (nicknamed “panda in the botanic world”), redwoods (referred to “living fossil”), Taiwania flousiana and Shorea wantianshuea, as well as the Chinese dove tree (nicknamed “dove tree”), and golden tea tree (referred as “tea tree queen”).


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3. Division of Administrative Regions

Division of administrative regions is for the sake of convenience in administration of the country. As stipulated in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the administrative regions of the country are as follows:

The country is divided into provinces, autono-mous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government; under the provinces and autonomous regions are autonomous prefectures, counties, autonomous counties and cities; under counties and autonomous counties are townships and minority townships and towns. Municipalities directly under the Central Government and larger cities are composed of districts and counties. Townships are the most grass-roots administrative unit in China. Autonomous regions, prefectures and counties are autonomous areas designed for ethnic minorities which are inseparable parts of the country. The state may decide when necessary to establish special administrative regions. In addition, the government may conduct necessary adjustments and changes to the administrative regions, for the purpose of administration and economic development and consolidation of unity among the ethnic groups.

At present, China has 34 province-level administrative regions, including 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities directly under the Central Government, and two special administrative regions. In compliance with history


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Name Short Form

Government Seat

Area (10,000 sq.km.)

Beijing Jing Beijing 1.68Tianjin Jin Tianjin 1.13Hebei Ji Shijiazhuang 19.00Shanxi Jin Taiyuan 15.60

Inner Mongolia Meng Huhhot 118.30Liaoning Liao Shenyang 14.57

Jilin Ji Changchun 18.70Heilongjiang Hei Harbin 46.90

Shanghai Hu Shanghai 0.62Jiangsu Su Nanjing 10.26Zhejiang Zhe Hangzhou 10.18

Anhui Wan Hefei 13.90Fujian Min Fuzhou 12.00Jiangxi Gan Nanchang 16.66

Shandong Lu Jinan 15.30Henan Yu Zhengzhou 16.70Hubei E Wuhan 18.74Hunan Xiang Changsha 21.00

Guangdong Yue Guangzhou 18.60Guangxi Gui Nanning 23.63Hainan Qiong Haikou 3.40

Chongqing Yu Chongqing 8.20Sichuan Chuan Chengdu 48.80Guizhou Qian Guiyang 17.00Yunnan Dian Kunming 39.40

Tibet Zang Lhasa 122.00Shaanxi Shan Xi’an 20.50Gansu Long Lanzhou 45.00Qinghai Qing Xining 72.00Ningxia Ning Yinchuan 6.64Xinjiang Xin Urumuqi 160.00

Hong Kong HK Hong Kong 0.1092Macao Mac Macao 0.00235Taiwan TW Taibei 3.60

Administrative Divisions in China


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and customs, each province-level administrative region has an abbreviated name. The seat of a province-level people’s government is called provincial capital, and that of the Central People’s Government is the capital of the country. Beijing is the capital of China.

Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing are 4 municipalities directly under the central government.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao Special Administrative Region are situated by two banks of the Pearl River estuary, with Hong Kong on the east, and Macao the west. Hong Kong and Macao have been part of the territory of China since ancient times. The Chinese government resumed the exercise of sovereignty of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997, and established the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. On December 20, 1999, the government resumed the exercise of sovereignty of Macao, and established the Macao Special Administrative Region.

Taiwan Province is located in the southeast of the Chinese mainland. It faces the Pacific to the east, and neighbors on Fujian Province across the Taiwan Strait. Inclusive of Taiwan Island itself, adjacent islands, and Penghu Islands, the total area of Taiwan is 36,000 square kilometers. Taiwan is part of China. In an effort to solve the Taiwan problem and achieve national reunification, the Chinese Communist Party and Government have made persistent and unswerving efforts. President Hu Jintao, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, made four


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comments on the cross-strait relationship in the new situation: We will never waver in our commitment to the One-China principle, never abandon our efforts to achieve peaceful reunification, never change the policy of placing our hopes on the people in Taiwan and never compromise in our opposition to the secessionist activities aimed at “Taiwan independence”.

4. 56 Ethnic Groups

China’s Ethnic PoliciesChina is a unified, multi-national country,

with 56 ethnic groups as recognized by the Central Government. Among the 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, people of Han Nationality accounts for 91.59% of the total population and the rest 55 ethnic groups are generally referred to as minorities. All the ethnic groups are uniformly called “the Chinese nation”. China is a unified nation with 56 ethnic minorities living peacefully together like in a big family.

China’s ethnic minority policies stipulate that all ethnic groups should be united as equal, help each other and prosper together. Autonomy is encouraged. Cadres from the ethnic groups will receive proper trainings. Help is needed to promote economic and cultural development of the ethnic minorities. Their customs religious believes should be respected. A lax population policy shall be adopted.


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MAP OF THE PEOPLE’s REPUBLIC OF CHINA


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Population and Distribution of the Ethnic Groups

The Han people can be found all over the country, mainly in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, Yangtze River and Pearl River, and the Northeast China Plain. In spite of the smaller population size of the 55 minorities, they are found in extensive areas which account for 64.3% of the total national area, mostly in Northeast, North, Northwest, and Southwest border areas of China.

As discovered in the fifth national population census in 2000, the 56 ethnic groups are as follows in a descending order of their population: Han, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uyghur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Bouyei, Korean, Manchu, Dong, Yao, Bai,

56 Ethnic Groups in China


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Tujia, Hani, Kazak, Dai, Li, Lisu, Wa, She, Gaoshan, Lahu, Shui, Dongxiang, Naxi, Jingpo, Kirgiz, Tu, Daur, Mulam, Qiang, Blang, Salar, Maonan, Gelao, Xibe, Achang, Pumi, Tajik, Nu, Ozbek, Russian, Ewenki, De’ang, Bonan, Yugur, Jing, Tatar, Drung, Oroqen, Hezhen, Monba, Lhoba, and Jino.

Diverse Cultures of the Ethnic Minorities

Languages and Religions Han ethnic group has its own language and

characters. Chinese language is the official language in China, and one of the common languages in the world. In the 55 ethnic minorities, Chinese language prevails in Hui and Manchu ethnic groups, while the rest 53 use their own languages; 22 of them have their own characters, totaling 28 sets of characters. Schools mostly oriented to ethnic minorities use textbooks in their own characters and teach in their own languages. In the meantime, these schools also provide courses in Chinese language, promoting Putonghua and standard Chinese characters which are commonly used nationwide.

All the 55 ethnic minorities have their own writers and authors of great fame. Some of the ethnic minorities with less population have bid farewell to the history of no written literature and writers. The first generation of literary writers from ethnic minorities is already known in the Chinese literature community, making immense contributions to a more prosperous diversification of the Chinese culture.


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At present, China has collected over one million kinds of ancient books from ethnic minorities, with 5,000 of them published; China has published five series of books including Brief Records of Ethnic Minority and comprising over 400 kinds of books, covering all aspects of ethic minorities; the State has studied, translated and published the three heroic epics, including Tibetan Epic Gesar, Mongolian epic Jianggar, and Kirgiz epic Manas; China has also made special grant for publishing Tripitaka, the traditional Tibetology encyclopedia, while the famous work Kutadgu Bilig(Wisdom of Fortune and Joy) which had almost been missing was published in Uygur language in 1984.

The indigenous religion in China is Taoism. Also worshipped in China are such religions as Buddhism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity, as well as Shamanism, Eastern Orthodox and the Naxi people’s Dongba religion. Hui, Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tatar, Ozbek, Tajik, Dongxiang, Salar and Bonan ethnic minorities adhere to Islam; the Tibetan, Mongolian, Lhoba, Monba, Tu and Yugur believe in Tibetan Buddhism (also known as Lamaism); and the Dai, Blang and De’ang adhere to Hinayana Buddhism; Large numbers of people from Miao, Yao and Yi are Catholics or Christians; Religious Han Chinese tend to believe in Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism or Taoism.

As the fundamental elements of the intangible cultural heritage, cultures of ethnic minorities are the priorities in the preservation and development


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of Chinese culture in recent years. All the 55 ethnic minorities have their heritages included in the state-level list of intangible cultural heritage protection. For example, Mongol’s Changdiao Folk Singing and Uygur’s Twelve Muqam have been elected by the United Nations into the World Intangible Cultural Heritage for Protection. In national autonomy areas, the state has designated 366 national cultural heritage conservation units. As stipulated in Regulations on Implementing the Law of Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities of the State Council, the art festival for ethnic minorities is held every five years, an effective measure to conserve and develop the Chinese culture.

Clothes and FoodThe clothes and food of the ethnic minorities

in China are diversified and colorful in terms of their materials, color, style and way of matching. Diversification features the culture of ethnic minorities’ dress and accessories. Their dress & accessories may find origins from their history, culture, and the environment in which they work and live. For example, ethnic minorities living in plateau pastures and engaged in animal husbandry, such as Mongolian, Tibetan, Kazak, Kirgiz, Tajik, Yugur and Tu, find their clothing mostly made from animal furs. Coats or gowns trimmed with precious animal furs used by Tibetans are graceful and warm; “Kupu” used by Kazaks is a wide coat stuffed with camel hair and has big sleeves, making


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the coat light and warm; Mongols dress themselves in long and big coats with high collar, long sleeves and fur-trimming, and they like to wear belts of bright colors and leather boots to fit their needs for riding a horse to herd their livestock. In southern China, ethnic minorities there are good at growing hemp and cotton, with which they make burlaps and native clothes for dresses. The textile is delicate and pretty with figures and patterns. As the climate is hot and humid, their dresses tend to be short, thin and light, with needlework ornaments and jewelry or other accessories for women’s clothing. For example, collars of women’s clothing of Yao are often trimmed with elegant wide laces, ornamented with beads decorated by red pompons and red decorative ears as well as metal chest flowers. These ornaments join both traditional and modern beauty in a perfect harmony; women of Lhoba, Dai, Wa, and De’ang love to use pretty silver ornaments on their waist. Women of Gaoshan and Li wear silver ornaments on their feet; young men of Miao in Guizhou love the hats decorated with pheasant hair, when they dance Lusheng in festivals. Men of Jingpo and Bai ethnic groups love to wear white scarves on their head, with ornaments of red pompons on one side of the scarf.

Ethnic minorities in China have developed their unique ways of eating and drinking in their long-term production and living. As Hezhens live by rivers on Sanjiang Plain and make a living by fishing and hunting, they feed on fresh and salt fish, dried fish and fish roe as well as the fresh and


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dried animal meat; Kazaks live mostly in Xinjiang as nomads in grasslands. They live on beef, mutton, rice, flour and milk products, and drink horse milk wine and milk tea. Dai ethnic group mostly dwelling in southwest Yunnan Province is among the earliest ethnic groups to grow rice, as agriculture and rice growing find a dominant place in their economy. Dai people therefore make rice their main diet, and prefer steamed rice and “bamboo rice”. Lisu ethnic group is mostly found in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan. As they mainly grow corn and buckwheat, they normally eat two meals of corn porridges each day. Jing ethnic group lives at seaside, and love seafood of fish and shrimp as a result. Gelao ethnic group dwelling in Guizhou, Yunnan and Guangxi provinces makes a living by agriculture, growing rice, corn, potatoes, tea, vegetables and fruits. Therefore they makes rice and corn the main food, alongside other grains, potatoes, and sour and spicy appetizers as well. As Gelao people are good at brewing, the famous Moutai liquor was developed based on the ancient “Ke Wine”.

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China’s political system refers to the laws, systems, regulations and customs applied on China’s mainland to regulate the fundamental issues including state power, government system, and state-society relationship, since the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949.

China’s administrative system refers to all the regulations and customs regarding the formation, sys tem, powers , and ways of operat ion of the administrative departments of the state.

The state institutions of the People’s Republic of China include National People’s Congress, President of the republic, the State Council, the Military Commission of the republic, the regional People’s Congress and their governments, Autonomous institutions, People’s Courts and Procuratorates .

Political andAdministrativeSystems

Political and Administrative Systems

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Tian An men, the Gate of Heaven has become a symbol of New China since its founding

1. Political System

The National People’s Congress The People’s Congress system is a fundamental

political system in China. According to Chinese consti tution, The

National People’s Congress is the highest executive institution with the biggest power in China. The Congress is managed by its Standing Committee.

The people’s congress system is a comprehensively representative system, and a fundamental form for people to rule the country. Principles for the democratic centralism are implemented to guarantee people’s democracy and rights, and ensure the concentrated and unified exercise of state powers. Under the premise that the people’s congress exercises state powers in general, clear-cut divisions of the executive, judicial, procuratorial powers, and leadership of the armed forces make the coordination


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and cooperation among state power departments and other state departments as executive, judiciary, and procuratorate possible.

The National People’s Congress is the highest state power of China, and the highest legislature of the country. Deputies to the congress are elected based on a general election, from provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, special administrative regions and PLA. Composition of the deputies is highly representative, as they come from all walks of the society, various localities, ethnic groups, classes and statuses.

Deputies to the people’s congresses at all levels are elected in democratic elections. As stipulated in the Constitution, all citizens of the People’s Republic of China aged 18 or above, irrespective of ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education, property status or length of residence, have the right to vote and the right to be elected, except for those who have been deprived of political rights according to the law. China selected an election system applicable to its specific conditions, i.e., direct election for deputies to the people’s congress of the county level and below, and indirect election for those above the country level. This system enables the people to choose deputies they know and trust. Based on experiences gained in years, the election practice is further improved as to use competitive election in place of the previous single-candidate election.

The National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee shall exercise state legislative power. The


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National People’s Congress exercises the following functions and powers: to amend the Constitution and to supervise its enforcement; to enact and amend basic laws governing criminal offences, civil affairs, the state departments and other matters; to examine and approve the plan for national economic and social development and the report on its implementation, and to examine and approve the state budget and the report on its implementation; to elect the President and the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China, the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, the President of the Supreme People’s Court, as well as the Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate; and to choose the Premier of the State Council upon nomination by the President of China.

The current President of the People’s Republic of China is Hu Jintao, and the Vice President is Xi Jinping.

The permanent body of the National People’s Congress is the Standing Committee. The National People’s Congress is elected for a term of five years, and a meeting is held every year. When it is not in session, its Standing Committee will exercise state power. The current Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress is Wu Bangguo.

Multi-party Cooperation and Political Consultation System under the Leadership of the Chinese Communist Party

The Chinese Communist Party is the only ruling Party in China. The Chinese Communist


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Party is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and that of the Chinese people and Chinese nation, as well as the core of leadership for the socialism with Chinese characteristics. It represents the development trend of China’s advanced productive forces, the orientation of China’s advanced culture, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. There are already 77.995 million Party members (as of 2009).

The Party’s political and organizational principle is the democratic centralism.

The central organizational framework of the Chinese Communist Party consists of the National Congress, the Central Committee, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, and the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, the Secretariat of the Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. The National Congress of the Party is held every five years.

The Central Committee is the highest leading organ of the Chinese Communist Party. The leading organ of the Central Committee is the Political Bureau, Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, and General Secretary of the Central Committee. Hu Jintao is the current General Secretary of the Central Committee and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

The multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is a fundamental system


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to safeguard people’s democracy. It is designed to guarantee that all social levels, people’s associations, and patriots from all walks of the society can express their views and play their role in the political and social life of the country.

In addition to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, there are also eight parties referred to as the democratic parties, which are Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for Promoting Democracy, Chinese Peasants’ and Workers’ Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Party (Party for Public Interest), Jiu San (September 3) Society, and Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League. These eight democratic parties are not ruling parties or opposition parties. They are friendly parties and political participating parties jointly engaged in the socialist cause. Their relations with the Chinese Communist Party are “long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, sincere treatment with each other and the sharing of weal or woe”.

Political consultation is a key to this multi-party cooperation system. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is an important organization in this multi-party cooperation and political consultation system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. CPPCC plays an important role in developing socialist democracy in the political life in China. In CPPCC, democratic parties may express their views on major national or


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local matters and multi-party cooperation and work in political consultation. They may also supervise the Communist Party to promote the ruling capability of the Communist Party and self-development of themselves. CPPCC functions as a vital carrier and a channel for consultative democracy. The parties, associations, and individuals from various ethnic groups and circles may participate in the administration and discussion of state affairs at the meeting and activities run by CPPCC. This is a way to expand democracy among people and realize that people master their own country.

CPPCC consists of a National Committee and local committees. The National Committee of CPPCC consists of delegates from the Chinese Communist Party, democratic parties, non-party individuals, people’s organizations, ethnic groups and all circles of the society, and those on behalf of HKSAR, Macao SAR, Taiwan compatriots, returned overseas Chinese, and individuals of special invitation. The current Chairman of CPPCC is Jia Qinglin.

Building a harmonious inter-party relationship is a key aspect to enhance the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system in the new era. The profound changes experienced by China currently are promoting political development in the country. From the perspective of political development in present China, it is important to observe the role of inter-party harmony in China’s social development, and explore the way to achieve inter-party harmony both theoretically and practically.


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Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities

China carries out a system of regional autonomy for ethnic minorities. That is, under the unified leadership of the state, corresponding autonomous institutions should be established with the minorities taking charge of their own local affairs at their own land. The regional autonomy for ethnic minorities is a fundamental political system of the country.

Law of the People’s Republ ic o f China on Regional Autonomy for Ethnic Minorities is the basic law safeguarding the practice of the regional autonomy system for ethnic minorities. The Central Government provides effective support to regional autonomy regions financially and materially, encouraging the development of local economy and culture. The state also endeavors to train officials and technical professionals of the minorities by establishing regular institutions of higher education, university (college) for nationalities, and schools for ethnic groups.

China has five autonomous regions, which are Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Tibet Autonomous Region, as well as 30 autonomous prefectures, 120 autonomous counties, and over 1100 ethnic townships. The autonomy departments in the regional autonomy areas are the people’s congress and people’s government of the autonomous regions, prefectures and counties.


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The Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress in these areas, as well as the Chairman of the autonomous regions, governor of the autonomous prefectures and counties will be elected from the ethnic group of regional autonomy.

The autonomous organ can not only exercise the same powers as other local state departments of the same ranking, but also enjoy extensive autonomous rights. These rights include enacting autonomous regulations and specific regulations in view of the political, economic and cultural features of the local ethnic groups; autonomously deploying the financial revenue of the regional autonomy areas; autonomously arranging and managing the local economic development, education, science, culture, health, and sports; protecting and organizing the cultural legacy of the ethnic group, and developing ethnic culture to achieve prosperity.

Community Level Self-governanceIn the political report at the 17th Party Congress

of the Chinese Communist Party, “community level self-governance” is included into the political system of Chinese feature for the first time. The system of community level self-governance aims at developing democracy at the grass-root level, and ensuring that the people enjoy more practical democratic rights; the people exercise their democratic rights according to law, and manage grass-root public affairs and public-interest institutions. This system features self-governance, self-service, self-education, self-


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supervision, and democratic supervision on the officials. It not only helps to perfect the socialist national political system, but also promotes the development of socialist democratic politics. This is a new development of the national political system with Chinese characteristics.

Specific practice of the system is as follows: Building and perfecting the energetic grass-root self-governance mechanism under the leadership of Party, expanding the coverage of community level self-governance, and improving the democratic adminis trat ion system. The a im i s to bui ld harmonious communities with effective management, complete service and civic virtue. At present, many rural areas have established such self-governance organizations, for example the villagers’ committees; in enterprises and public institutions, the workers congress has been built and perfected for the staff to exercise their democratic rights in management; and in urban communities, the residents committees, the community-based self-governance organizations, have been established and developed. These systems are important parts in the political system of the socialist country. People can enjoy the rights of self-governance and running their own affairs.

2. Administrative System

Position and Power of the State Council

The central administrative organ is the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, i.e., the


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Central People’s Government. It is the executive body for the highest organ of state power, and the highest state administrative organ.

The State Council exercises the following functions and powers: To lay down administrative measures, enact administrative rules and regulations and issue decisions and orders in accordance with the Constitution and the law; lead the state administrative departments at all levels in the localities; compile and execute the national economy and social development plans and national budget, lead and manage economic work, urban and rural development, education, science, culture, health, sports, family planning, civil affairs, public security, judiciary administration, supervision, and national defense development; administrate foreign affairs, and conclude treaties and agreements with foreign countries; appoint and dismiss, train, assess, reward and punish administration staff according to law. The State Council is accountable and reports on its work to the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee.

Organizational Structure of the State Council and the Responsibilities of the Premier

Departments under the State Council are as follows:

Departments responsible for macro-control include the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Finance, and People’s Bank of China;


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Administrative departments of the specialized economy sectors include the Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Construc-tion, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Information Industry, and Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense;

Departments for social security include the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry of Personnel, and National Population and Family Planning Commission;

Resources management department is the Ministry of Land and Resources;

Departments for foreign affairs, internal affairs and security include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of State Security, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Supervision and National Audit Office;

Administrative departments for education, science, culture and health include the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Culture, and Ministry of Health.

The routine affairs office of the State Council is the General Office of the State Council, taking care of its day-to-day matters.

The State Council is composed of the Premier, Vice Premiers, State Councilors, Ministers of the ministries, chairmen of the committees, auditor-general, and secretary-general.


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The premier responsibility system is adopted in the State Council. In the ministries and committees, it is the minister or chairman responsibility system. For local governments at all levels, it is the responsibility system for governor of the province, chairman of the autonomous region, mayor, prefecture chief, county governor, district chief, and township chief respectively. The current Premier of the State Council is Wen Jiabao.

3. Rights and Obligations of the Citizens

China is a democratic country governed by rules of law, with every citizen’s rights protected by the Constitution.

Rights entitled by citizens in China’s political life as stipulated in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China are as follows: Every citizen is equal before the law; all citizens who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and be elected; all citizens enjoy the rights of expression; freedom of religious belief; inviolability of their personal freedom; freedom of correspondence; freedom of criticism and suggestion; right to state compensation; right to work, right of welfare, right to education, academic freedom and creation liberty, as well as the equal rights between men and women.

Obligations of citizens in China’s political life as stipulated in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China are as follows: Citizens are obligated to protect the unification of the country and maintain


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the unity among ethnic groups in China; citizens must abide by the Constitution and laws, keep state secrete, take good care of public property, observe labor disciplines and public order, and respect social virtue; citizens are obligated to protect national security, honor and interest; It is the sacred duty of every citizen to defend the motherland and resist aggression; it is the honorable duty of citizens to perform military service and join the militiaman in accordance with the law; it is the obligation of the citizens to pay tax according to the law.

In addition to the aforementioned five obliga-tions, citizens have the duty to work as well as the right to receive education; both husband and wife have the duty to carry out family planning policy; and children who have come of age have the duty to support and assist their parents.

In April, 2004, the provision “The State Respects and Guarantees Human Right” was included into the Chinese Constitution for the first time. China has formed its own perspectives on human rights and formulated appropriate laws and policies, based on its history and specific conditions as well as experiences on years of practice. As stipulated in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, all power belongs to the people. Human rights in China have three typical characteristics: First, it is comprehensive. Subjects entitled to human rights are all of the Chinese citizens, instead of a minority or part of some classes and statuses. The human rights entitled by Chinese citizens are comprehensive, as


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they cover not only the right of survival, personal and political rights, but also economic, cultural and social rights. The State not only focuses on protection of individual human rights, but also those of collectives. Second, it is fair. China implements the socialist system, in which the exploitation system and exploiting class are eliminated, and civil rights are given to all the citizens, regardless of their money, property status, as well as ethnic, race, gender, occupation, family background, religious belief, education and length of residence. Third, it is authentic. The State guarantees the human rights systematically, legally and materially. Citizens’ rights as stipulated in the Constitution and laws are consistent with those enjoyed by the citizens in their real life. The human rights legislation and policies of China are advocated and supported by all walks of people, all the parties, and social organizations.

As a developing country, China also experienced setbacks in its practice to protect and develop human rights. In spite of its immense achievements in protection and promotion of human rights, there still remains plenty of room for improvement. It is still a historic mission for the Chinese people and government to develop and realize complete human rights as required by socialism with Chinese characteristics for a long time.


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Reform, Opening up and Economic Development

Since the establishment of the republic in 1949, particularly since 1978 when the country adopted open-up policies, China has made tremendous economic achievements. The reform and opening-up have powerfully emancipated the productive forces, propelling the national economy to increase at an average annual growth rate of 10% for 30 years, and 10.6% in the recent five years. At this pace, China has become the second largest economy in the world. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is full of vigor and vitality in this oriental nation, which makes the ancient country more energetic and powerful. This proves the fact that the reform and opening-up are the only way toward the great resurgence of the Chinese nation.


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1. Reform and Opening up

Domestic ReformEstablishment and Perfection of the

Socialist Market Economic SystemEconomic reform is one of the most important

part in China’s reform and opening-up efforts which primarily centered on such areas as diversifying public ownership, developing other types of ownerships, establishing a modern enterprise system to meet the needs of market economy, establishing a unified and open market system nationwide, linking the domestic market with international one, promoting optimal allocation of resources, transforming the government role in economy management, building a well-functioning macro-control system, providing social security system for rural and urban citizens, which fits the actual conditions in China, so as to realize economic development and social stability.

China’s socialist market economy is closely linked to the socialist public ownership, leadership of the communist party and pursuit of common prosperity, which is totally different from the capitalist market economy based on private ownership. Such an economy has the following features: Economically, it is a market economy with the public ownership remaining dominant and coexistent with diverse economic sectors such as private business developing side by side; Politically, this economy is under the leadership of the communist party and strongly regulated by the central government; this economy is


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Production Line of the Electronic Products

designed to achieve common prosperity among all the Chinese people. The essential feature of this economy, however, is the integration of the fundamental socialist political system with the socialist market economy.

From 1992 to the end of the 20th century, this economy took shape in general, as its role in resources configuration becoming more important and the macro-control system more efficient, a pattern is formed with the public ownership as the mainstay and non-public sectors such as individuals and private sectors coexisting and developing together. The economic growth evolved from the extensive model to an intensive one. If all goes well as planned, China will be able to establish an improved socialist market economy by the year 2010, and a highly matured one by 2020.


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Fundamental Economic System at the Primary Stage of Socialism

The socialist market economy system refers to the fundamental socialist economic system, in which public ownership plays the leading role and diverse ownership forms develop together. The current public ownership of the state and collective economies, the private ownership including individual, private, and foreign investment economy in China are already different from the previous ones as people thought they are. The contents and forms have been tremendously changed.

State-owned enterprises have undergone reforms on the ownership of stocks and established modern corporate system, under which layout and structure of the state-owned economy are optimized, making it more dynamic, powerful and influential.

A large portion of state-owned economy has grown into a mixed ownership economy with the State taking control; the majority of rural and township collective enterprises have been changed into private enterprises or joint-stock enterprises; medium and large private enterprises have mostly grown into private limited companies and limited liability companies, forming a mixed ownership economy; emerging economic and social organizations constitute the new social economy and public economy. China has formulated principles, policies and laws for reforming the state and collective-owned economic entities while developing non-public economy. The laws and policies for the equal competitions among


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the non-public enterprises have been passed and implemented.

At present, non-public economy has grown into the largest community of enterprises in China. It weighs over a half of the GDP, about two third of the nation’s GDP growth, creating over 70% of the urban and rural employment. The system and policy have been continuously improved, which fundamentally changed the system itself and the social environment for non-public economy. This change stimulates non-public economy, encourages millions of people to become self-employed, and provides immense room of investment for private capital.

Fundamental Income Distribution System at the Primary Stage of Socialism

The income distribution system at the primary stage of socialism emphasizes on distribution according to work, and coexistence of diversified modes of distribution. Combining distribution according to work with one according to production factors, we should give priority to efficiency with due consideration to fairness.

The principle that labor, capital, technology and management and other production factors participate in the income distribution in accordance with their respective contributions, is a brand new system under the socialist market economy in China. At the primary stage of socialism, the basic economic system, presence of commodity economy, efficient operation of the market mechanism, and


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leap-forward development through a new way to industrialization make this distribution essential. These two distributions are harmonious and unified in the socialist market economy.

The system at this stage helps to realize the strategic planning of allowing “some regions and some people prosper first, letting others to follow suit and gradually prosper as well.” as proposed by Deng Xiaoping, the Chief Designer of China’s reform and opening-up policies.

The turn of the century found China at the stage to better the socialist market economy, with further reforms in income distribution system, and an increase in income of urban and rural citizens. The reasonable distribution system is a key to social justice. On the basis of economic growth, further focus is placed on social justice with the national income distribution pattern adjusted and further regulated. These efforts will enable all the people to enjoy the fruits of reform, the opening-up and socialist modernization. While upholding and improving the distribution system in which distribution according to work is dominant and a variety of modes of distribution coexist, efficiency and justice are emphasized on initial distribution and secondary distribution, especially one for the secondary distribution. Residents’ income will take a greater share in the national income distribution gradually, so does the work reward ratio in the initial distribution. The income of the low-income earners will see a substantial increase as evidenced


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in the maintenance of higher standards for poverty alleviation, minimum pay and mechanism for normal growth of enterprise staff’s salary. A system that guarantees payment will be established. More people will be able to possess property income. Legitimate income should be protected, excessively high income be regulated, and illegitimate income be confiscated. Transfer payment should be expanded, taxation regulation be intensified, monopoly in certain sectors be broken, fair opportunities be created, distribution order be rectified, and the gap in income distribution be narrowed down gradually.

Opening upBuilding an Open EconomyIn the late 1970s, the CPC and Chinese

government came up with the open policy, leading the entire nation for a wider opening to the rest of the world. From the coastal areas to hinterland, from the east to the west, China has shaped an all-dimensional, multi-tiered and wide-ranged opening pattern. It has achieved huge success, setting up a successful model for an open economy in the world. Building an open economy by opening up infuses new energy and vigor into the economy and society and accelerates modernization so as to form an open development mode with Chinese characteristics. In view of China’s specific conditions and international experiences, China has taken a strategy of opening-up in a progressive way in the open areas, namely from dots (special economic zones) to lines (coastal


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areas), and from lines to planes (inland areas); in respect of the fields to open, cargo trade precedes service trade, followed by manufacturing industry, gradually expanded till totally opened up, with the market rules gradually conforming to multilateral trading system and international practices.

All-dimensional Opening-up at a Greater Width and Depth

Opening to the outside world in all directions

Having opened to the rest of the world from late 1980s to early 1990s, China staged a strategy of a diversified market. In line with the multi-polar trend in world economy and politics, it forms an opening-up pattern to the rest of the world, new to a number of countries. Thanks to years of endeavor, this diversification strategy proves successful as evidenced in growing number of trading partners in 220 countries and regions in the world.

The Chinese government at taches great importance to bi lateral economic and trade communication and exchange with other countries and regions in the world. As of present, it has established joint economic and trade committee mechanism with over 140 countries and regions for regular meetings and comprehensive discussions on bilateral ties to ease conflicts and promote health development of economic and trade relations. China has established dialogue mechanisms with EU, USA, Japan and so on, and plays an active role in the


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regional organizations such as APEC and SCO. It undertakes obligations and plays a constructive role in WTO and other multilateral world organizations as well. This proves that China is a comprehensive player in the world economy.

Wider Opening-upOpening-up is focused on yet not confined to

economic affairs. It also involves politics, culture and social matters as well. Regarding the favorable changes in world economic and political situation, China’s opening-up not only expands its commodity trading, but also permits foreign businessmen to engage in investment of enterprises and processing trade. This expands the existing foreign economic and trade exchanges from trade only to investment and production.

In-depth Opening-up The opening up and preferential policies first

adopted in special economic zones and coastal open cities are gradually spread to vast inland provinces, geographically one step further. China’s admittance into WTO accelerates the opening-up and as a result unveiled a new era. China concluded with ten ASEAN countries on founding the free-trade zone in a decade, and started the “Early Harvest Program”. This program stipulates decreased or even zero tariffs, and reduces the number of non-tariff measures, expediting the trade liberalization with the degree beyond the WTO multilateral trade system.


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All the FTAs that China signed by now, such as the Early Harvest Programs under China-Chile Free Trade Zone and China-Pakistan Free Trade Zone, are embodiments of in-depth opening-up, showing a higher degree of opening-up in the world today. China is seeking cooperation with more countries and regions on wider ranges and deeper level for mutual benefit and win-win growth.

Efficient Use of Foreign InvestmentEfficient use of foreign investment makes an

important component in China’s reform and open policy, and is a key to this opening-up as well. To attract and use foreign investment, the government has enacted laws and regulations, paving the way for building a friendly environment for foreign investment.

Foreign investment in China is made normally in the form of direct investment. Most popular direct investment forms include Sino-foreign equity joint ventures, Sino-foreign cooperative joint ventures, sole foreign-owned enterprises, limited companies with foreign investment, and cooperative development. Other forms include compensation trade, and processing and assembling business.

Direct investment takes the lion’s share of foreign investment in China. Since 1993, China has been maintaining its top position as the largest developing country with regard to foreign investment inflow in the world, with its size topping all developing countries for years. Since 2002, it ranked top three in


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the world. By the end of 2008, US $855.41 billion dollars of foreign investment were used. Over 480 of the World 500 multinationals have invested in China. Over 30 of them have their headquarters and 700 of them their R&D centers relocated to China. As of 2009, 23,435 foreign enterprises have been approved for establishment with total contracted investment volume up to USD$193.51 billion, of which USD$ 90 billion FDI. In addition to the foreign aids from international financial institutions and foreign governments, China also gets loans from international financial organizations, foreign governments and commercial banks, and financing on the world market from the listed companies. More and more channels are called into full play for using foreign investment.

Ways to Attract More Foreign Invest-ment

The first way is to permit qualified domestic enterprises to go public on the overseas markets. The government encourages such listings, in an effort to broaden channels of financing and participate in international competitions. It was calculated that by the end of 2009, 159 domestic enterprises were listed overseas, raising a total sum of 114.653 billion dollars.

The second way is to proactively implement the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) and Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) systems. At present, the investment quota for QFII has been lifted to US $30 billion dollars.


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54 foreign institutions are granted QFII status, and their investment quota approximates 10.5 billion US dollars, while 5 foreign banks are permitted for QFII trust business in China.

The third one is to open securities business within the WTO framework. By the end of 2009, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has approved seven Sino-foreign joint venture securities companies and 35 Sino-foreign joint venture fund management companies. Notably, the share rights of foreign parties have reached 49% in 15 fund management companies.

The fourth one is to improve merger policies for foreign investment. In 2006, the Regulations on Fore ign Inve s tor s Merg ing and Acquir ing Domestic Enterprises was promulgated, a move that significantly improved the policies and environment for foreign investors in China. By the end of 2007, foreign investors had acquired shares of 21,800 enterprises within the Chinese border, accounting for 7.6% of the total foreign investment enterprises. Namely, foreign investors purchased the share rights of the Chinese investors in 19,400 foreign investment enterprises, and share rights of 2,373 domestic investment enterprises; the registered capital of the enterprises merged amounts to 134.3 billion US dollars, accounting for 11.6% of the registered capital of the foreign investment enterprises.


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The industrial structure of foreign investment in China is gradually optimized.

China has amended relevant policies, and enacted the new Enterprise Income Tax Law, and issued the Catalogue of Foreign Investment Industry Guidance, which called for a super national treatment for foreign investment enterprises, further opened the service industry and restricted foreign investment projects of low level, high consumption and heavy pollution. In the meantime, these enterprises are encouraged to play active roles in innovation. Regional layout of foreign investment is optimized; and new ways to use foreign investment are called into play; proactive and steady steps are taken to expand the opening-up in such services as finance, insurance and telecom for foreign investment.

Focuses of foreign investment have evolved from manufacturing to high-tech industry, basic industry, and infrastructure development. Especially in recent years, high-tech projects invested by foreign investors in R&D centers, integrated circuits, computer, and communication products are increasing. With opening-up of service trade, such services as commerce, foreign trade, telecom, finance, insurance, and real estate are very hot in the new round of foreign investment.

Qualitative changes have occurred to the internal and external environments of foreign investment utilization, as the existing ways are falling behind demand of the time. Therefore, the Chinese government has proposed innovative ideas such as


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trying to attract foreign investment of higher quality, guiding overseas merger and acquisition to optimize industrial structure, and relaxing industry limits for foreign investment into the central and west regions in China, improving the environment for merger and acquisition, and establishing legal system; optimizing the software and hardware conditions, making great efforts in intellectual property protection, supporting foreign R&D institutions to work with Chinese enterprises and science institutions and universities, developing technology sharing, joint research and talent exchange, encouraging MNCs to set up outsourcing enterprises in China to undertake outsourcing jobs of their own and other enterprises, elevating the competitiveness of China to compete for international service outsourcing; effective using overseas capital market, encouraging qualified overseas institutions to hold shares of domestic securities companies and fund management companies, and enlarging qualified overseas institutional investors.

The “Going Global” StrategyThe government initiated the “Go Global”

strategy in 1998, which marked a turning point for wider opening-up and a key move in building a more open economy.

Key elements of the strategy include encourage-ment and support for relatively competitive enterprises of all ownerships to step out of China and engage in international economic and technical cooperation


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and business operations; promoting export of goods and labor services by means of overseas investment and foreign project-contracting and labor service cooperation; fully using domestic and overseas markets and resources to develop the economy, and building a number of Chinese MNCs and renowned brands overseas. “Go Global” is an optimized combination of capital, technology, management, raw materials and market resources at the international level, and an optimal match of the absolute advantage and comparative advantage.

Chinese enterprises are taking fast steps to “go global”, as the scale grows, fields broadens and level rises. By the end of 2009, there were over 13,000 Chinese investors have invested in enterprises in over 180 countries and regions with a total direct investment of over US $200 billion dollars. Turnover of the projects in the capital and technology intensive industries such as electricity, metallurgy, petro-chemistry, railway transportation and electronics have taken up half of the total volume.

The Chinese government always encourages enterprises to open up international market with a series of policy support. The policy system is taking shape. The State Council has promulgated important documents for guidance. The government requires a close combination of “Come in” and “Go Global”. It further calls for “developing large companies and large enterprise groups with international competitiveness via market and policy guidance”, “Encouragement and support for relatively com-


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petitive enterprises of all ownerships to invest abroad in order to increase export of goods and labor services and bring about a number of strong multinationals and renowned brands”.

Relevant departments under the State Council have worked out detailed supportive measures, including foreign trade development funds to support the small and medium enterprises to open to the world market, information platforms for enterprises to go global, and establish the “overseas economic cooperative zones”. All these measures effectively promoted the “Go Global” strategy. At present, constructions of the eight economic and trade cooperative zones is under way beyond the borders, as the government powerfully supports enterprises to go global with policies, funding and supporting services.

Actively Involved in the Global Economic Cooperation

November 10, 2001 witnessed China’s admit-tance into the World Trade Organization, an event of monumental significance for China’s opening-up. This broadens the fields and space of China’s opening-up, with traditional cargo trading evolving into service trading and regional opening-up into all dimensional one. Market access conditions grow more legal, transparent and normalized. WTO creates a new platform for China to participate in international competition on equal footing and grow more open.

China is taking an active stance in the economy


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globalization. Its position in various economic cooperative organizations and trade institutions is growing more and more important than before.

This growing influence of China in the economic globalization results from a healthy economic growth. Opening-up elevates its international position and influence in the world. Three decades of reform and opening-up have transformed China into a power of developing market, of export and foreign investment inflow in the world. Booming Chinese economy is creating for the world economy more trade and investment opportunities. And this gigantic emerging market is benefiting more and more economies in the world. The two gigantic opportunities offered by China to the world: A low cost and high efficiency outsourcing market for high quality products; a market of great potential from its 1.3 billion people. The total annual flow of investment in the world averages 650 billion US dollars, in which China accounts for almost 10%.

China will take a “three-fold” general strategy in promoting its economic and trade cooperation with other countries: Advocating regional and bilateral free trade cooperation, in parallel with multilateral free trade cooperation. China is participating in the regional integration based in East Asia. The free trade initiatives of China-ASEAN “10+1”, China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN “10+3”, and “China-Japan-South Korea” are all under way at the same time. In an important way, China is growing into a vital player in the world economy.


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Developing Foreign Trade Foreign trade is the center and starting point

for China’s opening-up. In the three decades since the initial reform and opening-up, China has scored magnificent achievements in its foreign trade.

Since December 2001 when China was officially admitted into WTO, China plays an active role in economic globalization process. Taking hold of the historic opportunities of faster pace of international industries transfer, China’s foreign trade becomes more energetic than ever before to catch the golden opportunity for development in its history. The total volume of imports and exports in China has crossed the threshold of USD$1,000 billion in 2004, and the threshold of 2,000 billion in 2007. In 2009, China’s total volume of imports and exports amounted to USD 2,207.27 billion dollars. Chinese goods took up about 9% of the world total. As of December 2009, the monthly export volume reached record high, the fourth highest level in history.

Trade in Goods In 2009, total imports and exports of goods

amounted to USD 2,207.27 billion, 13.9% down as compared to the 1st half of the year. The goods export volume went down to USD 1, 2017 billion, 16% lower. The goods import volume was USD 1,005.6 billion, 11.2% lower. The difference between the two was USD 196.1 billion, 102 billion less than the 1 half of the year. However, China became the biggest exporter in the world in 2009 and has taken up 9.6%


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of the total volume of the world. The structure for goods trading is constantly

optimized. In respect of the structure of exported goods, the s tructure has been evolved from dominantly primary products to manufactured goods, from labor intensive products such as textile and other light industry product to capita-related and technology intensive products such as electromechanical and high-tech products. This shows an ever upgrading structure of China’s exports, in which electromechanical and high-tech products are playing a greater role. From the perspective of the structure of goods imported, the share of primary products such as resources and basic raw materials is growing significantly, along with a rapid rise of electromechanical and high-tech products. In respect of the structure of trading partners, China now boasts 220 trading partners since its reform and opening-up, as a diversified pattern of

Container Terminal in Tianjin


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trading markets is taking shape. With the progress in economic globalization and regional economy integration, trading cooperation between China and three economies of US, EU and Japan welcomes a booming growth. Efforts in developing emerging markets as ASEAN, Russia and India are paying off, while relations with other trading partners are also growing rapidly.

Service Trade Since its entry into WTO, China strictly abides

by its promises of opening up the service trade, which effectively boosts the sector’s development. In 2008, the total imports and exports of China’s service trade (calculated by international revenues and expenditures, excluding government service, same below) amounted to USD 289 billion US dollars, 4.0% of the world total, ranking sixth in the world. In 2009, the total serve trade amounted to USD 286.2 billion dollars.

Service trade structure is being steadily optimiz-ed, with a general development pattern covering communication, insurance, finance, exclusive right use fees and franchise fees, computer and information service, consultation and advertisement.

Foreign Investment Cooperation and Foreign Aid

Foreign Investment CooperationFrom zero to all, China’s foreign economic and

technical cooperation is now presenting a variety of


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forms, including undertaking engineering projects overseas, labor cooperation, overseas investment, acceptance of foreign economic and technical aid, and provision of economic and technical aid to foreign countries. These forms play critical roles in helping Chinese enterprises to embrace the world, open up world market, and enhance their cooperation with other countries, especially developing countries.

China’s Overseas Direct Investment China’s direct overseas investment is on a fast

track as the annual growth of such investment averaged 71.3% in the last few years, making China an emerging foreign investment power in the world. China keeps broadening its field to directly invest overseas, with higher level and capabilities. Chinese enterprises are diversifying their markets, and have invested in over 170 countries and regions, mostly in Asia and Latin American countries. In 2009, the non-financial overseas direct investment amounted to USD43.3 billion, up 6.5% and totaling 177 billion. The overseas direct investment for the year 2011 will reach USD60 billion, becoming the biggest foreign investors in Asia. The investment in resource industry will take up 2/3 of the total investment, followed by port construction, automobile, banking, telecommunication and electronics.

China’s direct foreign investment not only benefits China’s investors, but also the countries and enterprises of investment inflow. For example,


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the direct investment and net imports from Africa and Latin America have become important positive factor for the international revenue and expenditure of many such countries, supporting their economic development.

How to explain the fast rise of China’s direct foreign investment? The fast growth of China’s economy in three decades has fueled Chinese enterprises with great strengths. To find rooms of development, Chinese enterprises begin to look beyond the horizons. With the fast globalization of the world economy, China has made itself a key player in the transnational production and global manufacturing network. For the purposes of organizing production elements and reasonable deployment of resources, Chinese enterprises now find it necessary to invest overseas; foreign governments are making greater efforts to improve their investment environment and attract foreign investment; the Chinese government has staged series of policies and measures to encourage and help Chinese denterprises in their foreign investment. All these powerfully propel the fast progress of China’s foreign investment.

Undertaking Engineering Projects Overseas

Undertaking engineering projects overseas refers to Chinese enterprises or inst itutions under taking construct ion projects in other countries, covering such fields as consultation, survey, design, supervision, bid invitation, cost


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estimate, procurement, construction, installation, commissioning, operation and management activities. To normalize this business, China has promulgated a special-purpose law “Regulations on Foreign Project Contracting”. Other than this law, government departments adopted and perfected promotional measures for undertaking engineering projects overseas, in order to establish and perfect the service system and risk assurance mechanism for undertaking these projects. To guarantee project quality and completion time, and safeguard interests of the client, the Chinese authorities require all business units engaged in undertaking engineering projects overseas must be qualified for undertaking such projects as approved by the commercial authorities, and apply for project bidding approval as regulated. At present, China has approved 2,300 enterprises as qualified for undertaking engineering projects overseas.

Chinese enterprises have mature technologies and rich experiences in undertaking projects overseas. For example, its engineering construction and supportive industrial equipments manufacturing capabilities rank among the highest in the world, some of which even leading in the world. China also enjoys obvious comparative advantages in infrastructure fields such as metallurgy, electric power, transportation, communication, petroleum chemistr y, water conservancy, and hous ing construction. Now Chinese enterprises are capable of designing and building the longest bridges, highest


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buildings, largest hydropower stations, and railways of the highest altitude in the world. China’s foreign undertakings have covered 180 countries and regions all over the world, including Europe and USA. In 2009, the completed amounts of undertaking foreign engineering projects by China amounted to USD77.7 billion, up 37.3% as compared to the previous year.

The Chinese government always regulates enter-prises undertaking foreign engineering projects with the basic principle of “Harmonious development and mutual benef i t for win-win”. It h ighly emphasizes the guidance and management for these enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities. The government instructs these enterprises to abide by the laws, observe contract provisions, local customs, eco-system protection, and promote local economic and social development of the countries they work; encourages the enterprises to localize their operations by hiring local employees as many as possible to alleviate local employment pressure, and training local people with production skills, enhancing the self-development capabilities of the countries of residence; and take active actions to communicate with local government and all walks of society for harmonious relations with local communities and residents. The above-mentioned measures of Chinese enterprises are appreciated and accepted by governments and people of the countries in which they work, which embody the Chinese concept to build a harmonious world.


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In the business process to secure and launch foreign engineering projects, China adheres to the market rules and business operations, and enterprises are allowed to choose their fields and business manners independently based on their competitive strengths and development needs, in line with international customs. The Chinese government

Chinese oil workers are assembling equipments at a Saudi drilling site


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is willing to build and maintain work mechanisms and communication channels with governments in relation, and create ideal conditions for enterprises of both countries by concluding inter-governmental cooperation agreements on infrastructure field. At present, China has concluded such agreements with Indonesia, Philippines, Brazil, Argentine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Canada.

Overseas Labor Service CooperationChina’s foreign labor service began in late

1970’s, as a key component of its foreign economic cooperation. In China, foreign labor service abides the principle of mutual benefit and win-win. Enterprises approved by the Ministry of Commerce for foreign labor service qualifications send labor workers in shortage for the labor import destination as required by the employers in an organized manner. This is a way of economic cooperation to involve in the local economic development. Foreign labor service not only helps alleviate the labor shortage in some industries of import destinations to enhance its industrial competitiveness, but also enables China to work these countries upon complementary advantages of each other.

In 2009, China has sent out 34.7461 contract workers of various fields to other countries. These people are mainly found in such countries as Japan, Singapore, Korea, Algeria, Russia, USA, and Molecules, and regions like Hong Kong and Macao. In addition to laborers in manufacturing,


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construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and animal husbandry, China also sends high-level technical contract workers of professional designers, computer service, sailors and civil air stewardess. The turnover for the labor service reached USD 8.9 billion, up 10.6%, which involved totally over 600,000 workers.

To normalize and promote bilateral labor service cooperation, the Chinese government has promulgated a series of policies on foreign labor service. These mainly include qualification approval for foreign labor service operation, and project approval for foreign labor service, while foreign labor service projects must clearly acknowledge such items as the charging standards, foreign labor training, and protection for foreign labor workers. The government also promotes the conclusion of bilateral labor service agreements, for normalizing such cooperation and protecting the legitimate rights of Chinese workers.

Foreign AidSince 1950, the Chinese government has been

faced with a giant task of domestic development. However, China has provided as much as it could, aids to over 100 countries and regions in Africa, Asia, East Europe, Latin America and South Pacific region, in the forms of free economic aid, interest-free loans and loans of preferential interest rate. These aids help the recipient countries to build 2,000 projects bearing close relations to the production and life of the locals, including hospitals, schools,


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gymnasiums, theaters, agriculture demonstration centers, housing, roads, and bridges, covering a wide range of industry, agriculture, transportation, communication, culture and education, and health among other social and public facilities. China has also provided aid recipient countries with numerous materials and cash, and reduced or waived the debts of some poor countries and least developing countries owning heavy debts. In the meantime, the Chinese government has invited 100,000 officials and technical personnel to China for training, and sent specialists, technicians, young foreign aid volunteers, and foreign aid medical teams to these countries for cooperation. China also provides

Tanzara Railway


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emergency humanitarian aids to countries in need, and takes active part in international rescue operations to help with post-disaster reconstruction.

China as a developing country is still limited in its size of foreign aid, a practice falling into the category of “south-south cooperation”. The Chinese government adheres to “Eight Principles of China’s Foreign Economic and Technical Aids”, fully respecting the choices and wishes of aid recipient countries, with aids provided on equal footing; no additional political conditions attached, without intervention of the internal affairs of the recipient country, without seeking any privilege; aided projects take full account of the actual needs of the recipient country, for improvement of the infrastructure conditions, taxation and employment, prosperity of their urban and rural economy to benefit local people, and promotion of economic and social development of the recipient countries to benefit the people directly.

With the cont inuous growth of China’s economy and national strength, the Chinese government will continue to provide foreign aids to developing countries at large as much as it can, and further enlarge such aids to make its contributions to the early accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.

2. Economic Development

China’s economic development follows the


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roadmap of “Five-Year Plans”. From 1953 to 2000, China had formulated and accomplished nine “Five-Year Plans” and laid a solid development foundation for the economy. The tenth “Five-Year Plan” from 2001 to 2005 proved an immense success, enabling the Chinese economy an unprecedented fast growth. At the advent of the 21st century, China staged its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) for comprehensive development of a well-off society, in which the Chinese economy maintains the momentum of high-speed growth. In 2009, the annual GDP exceeded RMB 33.5 trillion, 8.7% up from the previous year; the financial revenue amounted to RMB 6.85 trillion, an increase of 11.7% as compared to the previous year. The tax revenue reached RMB 5.9515, an increase of 52.91 billion, up 9.8%.

China’s foreign exchange reserve has rocketed from a negligible sum to the current first place in the world. Since February 2006, China maintains its position as a nation with the largest foreign exchange reserve in the world. By the end of 2009, the foreign exchange reserve in China amounted to USD$ 2.3992 trillion, an increase of 453.1 billion as compared to the previous year.

Goals of Economic DevelopmentChinese government keeps a clear goal for its

economic development, i.e., the three-step strategy as brought forward in 1987. Step 1 aimed to double the GDP level in1980 during which people could afford adequate food and clothing, a goal basically


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accomplished in late 1980s. Step 2 aimed to quadruple GDP level in 1980, a goal accomplished in 1995 ahead of schedule Step 3 aimed to basically get the nation modernized by the mid-21st century, when the per capita GDP reaches that of the medium-level developed countries and people becomes relatively well-off.

Development of IndustriesAgricultureChina is a large agricultural country with a

rural population of 721 million, 54.3% of the total population. Since the rural reform in 1978, China’s agriculture has developed rapidly. Under the framework of the collective ownership, the market-oriented rural reform in China broke the bondage of the traditional system, in an effort to explore new forms of collective economy in market economy.

Production of Farm ProduceIn 2009, China witnessed another harvest for

the 6th consecutive years with the grain output of 530,820,000 tons, up 0.4% as compared to the previous year. The per capita share of grain in China was 404 kilograms, an amount over the world’s average and is sufficient to feed 1.3 billion people. Apart from grains, cotton yield rose from 444,000 tons in 1949 to 6.09 million tons in 2009; the yield of oil-bearing crops rose from 2.56 million to 31.00 million tons; the yield of the meat products grew from 2.21 million to 76.42 million tons, while the yield of


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the aquatic products increased from 450,000 tons in 1949 to 51.20 million tons in 2009. For years, China remains to be the world champion in output of grains, oil-bearing crops, vegetable, fruit, tea, meat, poultry and egg, milk and aquatic products. Thanks to these achievements, China has not accepted any free food aids from the World Food Program since 2006, and is becoming an important food donor instead.

Farmers’ Income From 1978 to 2009, the net per capita income

of farmers rose from RMB 134 to 5,153, averagely an annual rise of 7.1% if the price factor is deducted. The income structure of the farmers presents new characteristics: First, the ratio of the household

A Mechanized Farming Scene


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income characterized by agriculture-related incomes is falling. Second, the ratio of income from wages as represented by income from migrant workers is steadily rising, which has become a main source of income. In 2009, the per capita income from wages of the rural residents accounted for 41% in their net per capita income. The rural families have made their passage into the age of electrization and information, with their living standards getting closer to that of a well-off society.

Infrastructure Development in Rural Areas

The Chinese government at taches great importance to the development of the infrastructure in the countryside, which involves roads, power grids, culture and education, respects that concern the long-term development. Notable achievements have been made in this respect. Size and intensity of the rural infrastructure development have been increased, after the fundamental historic task of building a socialist new countryside is put forward. At present, the countryside puts its emphasis on the water saving irrigation, land rearrangement and reclamation, transformation of medium and low yield fields and turns them into land with high yields. Nationwide, the ratio of administrative villages connected by highway and with access to telephone and television signal coverage and electric power amount to over 95%. Over 80% of the townships have postal and telecom services


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facilities. Cultural, educational, environmental conditions and healthcare services in the countryside have been improved substantially. Over 85% of the administrative villages have primary schools within three kilometers, ones that offer free compulsory education. Over 98% of the townships have hospitals or clinics. 72% of them have centralized water supply, and 37% have garbage disposal stations.

Township EnterprisesTownship enterprises refer to ones launched

by farmers in the countryside. These enterprises cover such a great variety of fields as industry, farm products processing, transportation, construction, commerce and catering services. Among these industries, farm products processing is emerging as a dynamic development force for township enterprises. The added value of the township enterprises in the country amounted to RMB 9.25 trillion in 2009, up 10% over the same period of the previous year. These figures indicate that township enterprises have become the main source of higher income for the farmers and driving force behind a bigger economic growth in the rural areas.

Agricultural Science andTechnology

Progresses in the farming technology have been made in China in the form of biotechnology, high-tech and basic research. China takes the lead in such areas as plant cells and tissues cultivation, anther


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cultivation, haploid breeding and its application studies.China has reached or neared the world advanced level in two-line system intervarietal hybrid rice, hybrid corn breeding and multi-cropping techniques of intensive farming. In recent years, the planting area of the hybrid rice accounts for 57% of total rice planting area in China, i.e., 60 million hectares. Hybrid rice yield in China averaged 7.2 tons per hectare, almost 1.4 more tons per unit than that of the regular rice species. With the support from the Chinese government, the hybrid rice technique is being popularized in more and more countries in the world. The objective for the third stage of the Super Hybrid Rice cultivation program presided over by Yuan Longping is to achieve an yield of 13.5-ton per hectare by the year 2010. He is called “Father of hybrid rice” in the world.

Yuan Longping, Father of Hybrid Rice


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Poverty Alleviation in Countryside The Chinese government has implemented

successively the development-oriented poverty relief program and “Seven-Year Priority Poverty Alleviation Program”. More poverty alleviation funds are offered and relevant measures are better taken. 592 poverty-stricken counties nationwide have been designated as the key areas for poverty relief efforts. The state has promulgated the “Outline of China’s Rural Poverty Alleviation and Development (2001-2010)”, under which industrialized poverty alleviation and labor output serve as support, village by village. Poverty alleviation has made progress. Special organizations and poverty alleviation funds are set up in China, which helped cut back the poverty-stricken population from 250 million to around 20 million in short order. In 2009, new poverty alleviation standards have put in place, which aim at comprehensive implementation for low income population in the countryside. The new standard raises the poverty alleviation level up to RMB 1,196, and covers 40.07 million poverty-stricken people. The 35.66 million farmers can enjoy the minimum life insurance. Rural poverty alleviation program has made tremendous achievements that enjoy worldwide attention. In 2009, the government further improves strategies and policies for its poverty alleviation program, by allocating more fu nds and adhering to development-oriented poverty alleviation efforts. These efforts are focused on villages, training of labor forces in the countryside,


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poverty alleviation by industries and for relocated farmers, guaranteeing a stable supply of food and clothing for the poor so they are able to shake off poverty and get rich.

Despite of the spectacular achievements, China is still faced with a huge poverty-stricken population and a heavy load of poverty alleviation work. By the poverty standard for the farmers in China of annual income of RMB 1,196 yuan per capita, there should be 35.97 million rural people under the poverty level by the end of 2009.

New policies that Benefit Farmers Abolishing tax on the special agricultural

products. Since 2008, the Chinese government abolished the special agricultural product tax, as an effort to promote tax reform trials for the reduction or exemption of the agricultural tax and eventually abolish the agriculture tax in five years nationwide. This signifies that the agriculture tax which has been in existence on this land for 2600 years will be history soon. The loss of the local financial revenue due to the reduction of the agriculture tax will be borne in principle by the areas in the same coastal developed regions, while that of the major grain yielding and mid-central regions will be subsidized by the central finance through transfer payment. Complete abolishment of the special agricultural product tax is a major system innovation and social change in China’s countryside. Comprehensive and long-term protection of peasant rights and the rural marketization process


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will have profound effect on the country. Direct subsidies to agriculture. Since 2004,

the government began to directly subsidize grain producing farmers. Furthermore, it adopted a comprehensive direct subsidy policy in 2006 to make up for the increased expenditures due to price rise of diesel, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. All the subsidies will be borne by the central government finance. In 2009 alone, direct subsidies for agriculture in China amounted to RMB 120 billion.

New Rural Cooperative Medicine (NRCM). NRCM refers to a mutual medical aid system among farmers. Organized, guided and supported by the government, focusing on comprehensive arrangement for serious diseases, the program gets fund from individuals, collectives and the government. In other word, funds are raised by means of individual payment, collective support and government financing. In October 2002, the Chinese government announced its roadmap to eventually establish the NRCM characterized by comprehensive arrangement for serious diseases. In 2003, the central finance paid a cooperative medicine subsidy of RMB 10 per capita annually to the farmers covered by NRCM program in the central and west areas, except for urban residents. As part of the arrangement, the local finance subsidies the farmers no less than RMB 10. In the event of hospitalization, farmers covered by NRCM will be entitled to medical charge reimbursements by certain percentages accordingly. This is the first time in the


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history that the Chinese government is investing such large sum of its financial resources to provide basic medical care for the health of the farmers. Since 2006, the central finance raised its subsidy to the aforesaid farmers from RMB 10 to 20, so is the case of the local finance in question. By 2010, NRCM coverage will blanket over 80% of the countryside.

NRCM plays a key role in ensuring farmers’ basic medical care and health, alleviating their poverty caused by or due to illness. It serves as a showcase for the solutions to general and universal headache for all countries, especially developing countries. It is not only warmly embraced by farmers in China, but also highly appraised by the countries in the world, especially third world countries.

Chinese new-type socialized old-age insurance undertaking in rural areas. Trials for the new social old-age insurance system for the countryside were launched before October 1, 2009. This is a program under which the Chinese farmers can enjoy a generalized preference from the state over 60 years old. This system is funded by a combination of individual payment, collective support and government financing. Central finance will subsidize the localities, and directly to each farmer.

IndustryAs early as the mid 19th century China began

its industrial pursuit, yet an effort in vain, as its industry was almost zero when new China was founded in 1949. Its per capita output of yarn,


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crude coal, electricity generated, steel, and crude oil was but equivalent to that at the early years of the British Industrial Revolution. 90% of the economy was separated, individualized, agricultural and of handicraft. China nowadays boasts a relatively self-contained industrial system, with strengthened traditional industrial sectors of steel, electricity, coal, and petroleum processing and the new industries like space and aviation, automobile, and electronics which have grown from nothing and are developing rapidly. All industry categories in the industry classification by the United Nations can be found in China.

In the 60 years of development s ince its founding, especially since the reform and opening-up, China’s industry has kept a rapid growth. The industrial added value in 2009 amounted to RMB 13.4625 trillion, up 8.3% as compared to the previous year. The added value of all industrial enterprises above designated size amounted to 11%. Since the reform and opening-up in 1979, production of the major industrial products in China have maintained a growth rate dozens of or even hundreds of times faster, many are which are sold to overseas markets. China’s output of steel, coal, cement, chemical fertilizer, TV set, electricity generated, cotton cloth, and chemical fiber ranks among the top three in the world. For 14 years, China has been the biggest producer and consumer of steel with an output of 568 million ton crude steel and 696 ton steel products in 2009, up 12.9% and 16.5% respectively.


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Information Industry Information industry has become the top

pillar of all the industries in China. The output value, sales volume and profitability of electronics and communication equipment manufacturing industry have far exceeded those of the traditional industries, taking the lion’s share of contributions to national economy growth. For the post and telecommunication service, a basic, nationwide postal network has taken shape, which is based in Beijing and major cities, covering all over the country. As for telecommunications network construction, a basic transmission network with large capacity and high transmission rate has been built and put into operation. The transmission is mainly dependant on optic cables and aided by satellite and digital microwave. All provinces in China have satellite ground stations in operation, with up to 20,000 satellite circuits and digital microwave transmission that reaches as long as 60,000 kilometers. China also takes part in the construction of a number of international land and submarine optic cables, namely China-Japan, China-Korea, and Asia-Europe submarine cable, and China-Russia on-land cable. The 27,000 kilometer Asia-Europe land optic cable project initiated by China is the longest land optic cable system available in the world. This cable starts from Shanghai in the east, and ends in Frankfort, Germany in the west, running through 20 countries. At present, there are already over 200 countries and regions operating telecommunication communication with China. In the end of June 2010, the number of


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phone users in China has reached and 305 million billion, including 805 million mobile phone users and 305 million fixed line phone users. The number of telephone users in China tops the world. The telecom sector is speeding up the development of new services such as data communication and information service, by offering new services of like providing email boxes, electronic data interchange, videoconference, telephone information service, and internet access. China had itself connected with the Internet in 1994. The completion of Chinanet in 1995 marked the beginning of the application stage of Internet in China. There are 300 million netizens in the country, including 270 million with access to the broadband service. In the end of June 2010, the number of netizens in China amounted to 420 million, among them 364 billion user of broadband. 31.8% of the population use internet. The size of the internet and Broadband netizens and number of top domain names registered in China rank first in the world. Internet services have witnessed rapid growth in distant learning, e-banking, on-line transactions, e-advertisement, online news, online video service, paid email service, IP telephone service, SMS, online recruitment service, online information service, and on-line games.

Energy IndustryElectric power industry boasts the fastest

growth. In 2009, the production and supply of electricity and heating power rose by 6%. At present, the installed power-generating capacity


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and generated energy in China rank the second in the world. Power grids construction is witnessing the fastest growth in history, which covers all the cities and most of the rural areas. The 220 kv power grid is being replaced by 500 kv ones to send and exchange electricity across provinces and regions. Computer-based, automated electricity dispatching systems have found their general and actual use. At present, six trans-provincial or trans-regional power grids (excluding that in the northwest), and five independent 500kV main power grids at provincial level have already been completed. Furthermore, several large power stations have been put into operation. All these indicate that China’s electric power industry has entered a new era characterized by the large generators, large power stations, large power grids with extra-high voltage and level of automation. The completion of the Three-Gorge project manifests that China has taken a leading position internationally in hydroelectricity engineering technology and equipment technology.

Increasing Coal Output. Since 1980s, the State has invested heavily in a number of large-scaled, modernized coal mines, which raised coal output year by year. In 2009, the coal output amounted to 2.96 billion tons, up 12.7% over the previous year. For the coal enterprises above designated scale, the added value for mining and washing in 2009 increased by 8.3% over the previous year, which makes China the second largest coal exporter in the world. Technically, the coal industry in China


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is capable to design, construct, equip and manage open air coal mines with 10 million ton capacity and medium to large mining areas. Coal washing technology keeps improving and capacity expanding, while coal liquefaction and underground gasification are actively underway.

The petroleum output in 2009 stabilized at 100 million tons. Natural gas output has kept an over 10% increase for 7 consecutive years. The increases of petroleum and natural gas output significantly increase their percentages in the energy consumption pattern. Growth of the petroleum industry drives the development of the local economy and related industries of machine making, steel and transportation. In 2009, oil processing, coking and nuclear fuel processing rose by 5.2% over the previous year. A 4,000-kilometer long gas pipeline has been installed that benefits over 200 million people in over 80 cities of 12 provinces.

Machinery Industry China’s machinery industry is capable of

providing various industries and sectors with complete sets of large-sized, high-quality equipments, including large combustion turbines, large pumped-storage sets, nuclear generator sets, ultra-high voltage DC power transmission /transformation equipments, large metallurgical and petrochemical equipment sets, equipments to make chemical fertilizer, urban rail transits equipments, new paper-making and textile machinery among others. Machinery and


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electronic products made in China have become mainstay products in the country’s foreign trade. In 2009, electromechanical machinery and devices manufacturing industry gained a 12% increase over the previous year.

Automobile Industry At present , China has become the third

largest automobile maker and the second largest automobile market in the world. Auto industry has become one of the pillar industries in the country’s national economy, which plays an important role in speeding up economy, readjusting industrial structure and improving livelihood. In 2009, the civilian automobiles in use in China amounted to 76.19 million, up 17.8% over the same period of the previous year, including 52.18 million private cars, an increase of 28.6%. Private cars, once durable high-priced consumer products rarely possessed by Chinese families in the past have now become the retail commodity with the fastest growth in China. In 2009, automobile sales in China exceeded 13.6448 million, up 46.15%. making China the largest new cars market in the world. Auto industry is an embodiment of modern industries of machinery, electronics, chemical industry, textile and light industry products, metallurgy and energy. It is an industry with high correlation and spread effect. For example, one per cent increase in the automobile industry can bring about 10 per cent growth in other sectors in the national economy,


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creating three to five times of output value growth in related industries. Automobile industry makes huge contributions to China’s economic construction and social development.

Domestic TradeChina pays great attention to the important role

the domestic trade plays in the fields of production guidance, consumption expansion, employment promotion, economic progress and social develop-ment and improvement of living standard. The development strategy of domestic trade is to make great efforts in promoting innovations in circulation, urban areas bringing along rural areas, coordinated development among regions, and revitalization upon brands. With the growing prosperity of commercial distributions and expansion of domestic market size, the consumption structure keeps upgrading. In 2009, the retail volume of the social consumables amounted to RMB 12.5343 trillion yuan, up 15.5% over the previous year.

The Chinese government is speeding up science progress in domestic trade by promoting the modern way of distribution; actively developing e-commerce business; developing new retail formats, transforming and adjusting the traditional retail industry; promoting the operation innovation in the wholesaling industry and service modes; speeding up development of modern commercial logistics system; upgrading commodity exchange markets; speeding up reforms in important commodities distribution


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system; in respect of enhancing rural market systems, focusing on the “Market Project for Ten Thousand Villages and Thousand Towns” to build a smooth and efficient farm products distribution system and perfect the new service system for agricultural production materials distribution. At present, various new and old business formats of distribution exist in China, including convenience stores, supermarkets, department stores, specialty shops, shopping malls, and online sales. In 2009, the total consumer goods sales in the rural areas amounted to RMB 4 trillion, Half of the over 600,000 administrative villages in China already have “farmers’ shops” in chain store operation. The year-on-year increase of retail sales of consumer goods in the countryside exceeded that of the cities for the first time.

TransportationSince China has always regarded highway con-

struction as a key to its infrastructure development. Transportation in China refers to highway transportation, railway transportation, river boat transportation, sea transportation and air transportation. A three-dimensional structure has been formed with highway and railway transportation being the backbones. As of today, the total mileage of the national highway network reached 65,000 kilometers. 148 airports for civilian aviation have been put into use. Total port capacity comes up to 6.91billion metric tons. The total mileage of railways reached 86,000 kilometers. July 1, 2006 marked the full-length opening of Qinghai-


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Tibet Railway, 1118-kilometer passage going across Qinghai and Tibet. This railway functions as a strategic linkage connecting Tibet and Qinghai with the rest of China, and a key backbone of the railway network deep in the west region of the country. As it spans the highest plateau on earth, the railway is also called “Sky Way”.

Water ConservancyWater conservancy is the foundation and guarantee

for national economy and social development in China. In recent years, China has developed a sustainable, people-oriented water control concepts that harmonizes relations between man and nature and achieve a sustainable use of water resources, making the water conservancy development benefit the people.

The period from 1998 to 2008 witnessed a 5.5

Multiple Unit Train


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times increase over the period from 1949 to 1997, during which trillions of yuan investment was made in large scale water conservancy projects. Typical water control projects include the Three Gorges project, Xiaolangdi project, and the South-to-North Water Transfer Project. 286,900 kilometers of river banks are built, a length equivalent to seven rounds around the terrestrial equator. The coverage of the irrigated farmland is expanded to 877 million mu, accounting for 20% of the world total, top in the world. By the end of 2008, the number of reservoirs in China grew from 1,223 in 1949 to 86,353. In 2009, those reservoirs could averagely provide enough safe drinking water for the 166,000 rural population per day.

The South-to-North Water Transfer Project is designed to go three ways and has made substaintial headways. A huge and superb dam of 2,309 meters long and 185 meters tall built at the Three-Gorges on Yangtze River was completed in 2006. The dam is effectively used for preventing flood, electricity generation and river navigation.

FinanceSince reform and opening-up especially since

mid-1990s, China has made ever-accelerated progress in commercializing and opening its financial sector. At present, total assets of its finance amounted to RMB 86.5 trillion, 53 times more than that of 20 years ago. As the financial industry gets more modernized, commercialized and internationalized, a


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financial system compliant with the socialist market economy has gradually taken shape. Financial resources are deployed in a more optimal manner, the credit demands of enterprises further satisfied, the dynamism of the enterprises and social productivity immensely unleashed. Furthermore, financial life for Chinese people at large is upgrading all the time. The Chinese people are provided with higher quality and more convenient money management products and financial services such as banking cards, stock market, credit consumption and insurance coverage.

In 1980, China restored its legitimate seat in International Monetary Fund and World Bank. With years of efforts, China achieved a quota increase in IMF, advancing its quota ranking from No.11 to No.6. China has also joined in the Revenue Commission of IMF, Structural reform of the World Bank High Level Committee of the World Bank, and Board of the Bank for International Settlements.

China’s central bank is the People’s Bank of China. The four state owned banks are Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Agricultural Bank. The three major banks, the Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China are among the world largest banks with the highest market value. By the end of 2009, there are 3,857 banking institutions including policy-based and commercial banks, 106 securities companies, 61 fund management companies and 166 futures companies.


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The legal tender of The People’s Republic of China is Renminbi (RMB) which is printed and issued solely by the People’s Bank of China. The unit of the Renminbi is yuan and the units of the fractional currency of the Renminbi are jiao and fen. The Renminbi in current distribution is the fourth and editions issued by the People’s Bank of China since 1987 and the fifth edition issued in 1999. Both edi tions are in circulation at the same time.

ConstructionConstruction industry is one of the pillars of

national economy in China. In recent years, the growth rate of both total output value and total profit maintains at a level of 20% each year. Scale of the construction industry keeps growing steadily, and industry prospective is promising as indicators showing new high all the time. In 2009, the added values of the entire construction industry nationwide amounted to RMB 2.2333 trillion, up 18.2% over 2008. The total profits made by the qualified general and professional construction contractors in China was RMB 266.3 billion, up 21% over 2008.

TourismChina boasts magnificent mountains and rivers,

colorful folk culture and customs, peculiar animals, plants and countless cultural relics, in addition to unique dramas, operas, music, dances, and world renowned gourmets. These advantageous tourism resources attract numerous domestic and overseas


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tourists each year. At present, China has become the largest tourism market with the fastest growth and biggest potential in the world, and it is also the fourth largest inbound tourist country in the world. Tourism in China gets RMB 150 billion of new funding each year. In 2009, the number of outbound Chinese tourists reached 1,900 million, up 11% over the previous year. The revenue of tourism in China amounted to RMB 1.0184 trillion, up 16.4% over last year. The outbound tourism earned as much as USD 39.7 billion. Since 1992, the State Administration of Tourism has been staging a tourist theme every year, each characterizing one particular type of tourism. The theme for the year of 2008 was “Year of the Olympics in China”, for which the slogan was “the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing”. The theme for 2009 is “Year of Eco-Tourism in China”, with slogan of “Walking into Eco-tourism, Feeling Eco-civilization”. The theme of the China tour in 2010 is “Country Tour in China”.

Development of Regional EconomiesThe Chinese government adopts a strategy

of promoting coordinated regional development, i.e. pushing forward the developing of the West, revitalizing the Northeast, promoting the rise of the Central part and supporting the East.

Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone Yangtze River Delta lies in the outlet of the

river, covering Shanghai and the coastal areas of


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Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. Its land space includes Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Nantong of Jiangsu Province, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Zhoushan of Zhejiang Province, and Shanghai. These 14 cities and 74 counties cover a land space of 109,600 square kilometers and 81.21 million people. The city belt in this delta area as headed by Shanghai has been recognized as one of the largest in the world. This delta is home to a complete metropolitans group, boasting powerful industry, finance and trade as well as strong educational, scientific and cultural strengths. These strengths play vital roles for bringing along economic development in the Yangtze River bas in, which connects domestic and overseas markets, attracts overseas investment, promotes industrial and technology transfer and international competition and regional reorganization.

This area is under humid subtropical monsoon climate, with mild temperature and fertile soil. Teemed with aquat ic resources , the famous Zhoushan Fishing Ground, Lusi Fishing Ground and Yangtze River Mouth Fishing Ground are closely gathered. This area is advantageously located to be given the name of the “Golden Coastline” and “Golden Waterway”, with numerous navigation channels and criss-crossed railways.

Pearl River Delta Economic Zone Si tuated in Guangdong Province , Pear l


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River Delta is spearheaded by Guangzhou and supported by Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Fongduan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing. With 31 cities and counties, it accounts for 23.4% of the total area and 33% of the total population of Guangdong Province. This delta is situated on a flat terrain, crisscrossed by river networks. At the convergence of tropical and subtropical climates, it enjoys abundant rainfall. Farm products and fruits like rice, sugarcane, rubber, orange, lichi, pineapple, and banana grow all year round, making the area the richest in the province.

This area also maintains the highest economic growth in the country, with the gross domestic product in recent years accounting for 70% of the provincial total. As a result of its fast economic

Coal Terminal for the Industrial Park at Caofeidian


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growth, social development in the area feature highly industrialized countryside and rapid integration of rural and urban areas. At present, almost half its GDP come from foreign trade, and its total exports account for over 10% of China’s total. Taking full advantage of its geographical vicinity with the neighboring Hong Kong and Macao plus hometown to numerous overseas Chinese, Pearl River Delta area has grown into a favorite place for foreign investment and with influx of foreign enterprises. In addition, this area enjoys many fine harbors, rich supply of workforce, and preferential policies offered by the state.

Bohai-rim Economic Zone Bohai-rim region is located in Northern China,

with center in Beijing, extending all the way to Bohai Sea, covering large regions in the northeastern, northwestern and northern China. This region totals a space of 1.86 million square kilometers, accounting for 19.4% of the total area and over 22% of the total population in China.

Bohai-rim region enjoys rich resources with developed agriculture. Its farmland covers over one fourth of the country’s total with its grain yields accounting for 23%. Furthermore, its oil-bearing crops, aquatic products, pork and mutton output also take up a high percentage in the national aggregate. With a strong industrial strength, Bohai-rim region is a place where heavy industry and chemical industry and defense industry are based. It is also the economic center in north China for


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its policy and government resources which play an important role in market adjustments. In the meantime, this economic center in the north boasts strong reserves of talents, as Beijing’s Zhongguancun area alone has 64 key universities and colleges which keep providing the country with top talents. In the coming one or two decades, the economy in the north will be the largest regional economic center in China with huge potentials.

Beibu Gulf (also Gulf of Tonkin) Economic Zone

Beibu Gulf Economic Zone is composed of the administrative region that covers the “three harbors and one city”, comprising Beihai, Qinzhou and Fangchenggang along Beibu Gulf including Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Autonomous Region. It totals a land area of 42,500 square meters, with a population of 12.55 million, serving as the international and domestic multi-region cooperative showcase of the largest area in China. This zone is positioned as the logistic base, commerce base, processing base and information center for China-ASEAN opening and cooperation, designed to bring along the opening-up and economic development of southwest China. It is expected to grow into a “strategic highland” to support the Great West Development and a key area for international regional economic cooperation.


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The three decades since reform and opening-up have witnessed historic changes in China. Nationwide, people made a historic leap from having only adequate food and clothing to leading a well-off life. China has taken firmer steps toward the great rejuvenation. Thanks to the development of the national economy, people’s life is greatly improved.

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1. Social life

People’s lifeIncome In 2009, the per capita disposable income of

urban and township residents was RMB 17,175 whereas the per capita net income of rural residents reached RMB 5,153, a real increase of 9.8% and 8.5% respectively. The proportion of expenditures on food to the total consumption expenditures of households were 37.9 percent for the urban households and 43.7 percent for the rural residents. By the end of 2009, urban and rural residents’ savings deposits amounted to RMB 26,077.2 trillion. Other financial assets of foreign exchange deposits, shares, bonds, employee stock, and cash in hand by residents also rose considerably.

ConsumptionIn 2008, consumer prices rose by 5.9 percent, 1.1

percentage higher than that in the previous year. This includes 5.6% price rise in cities and 6.5% in the countryside. As people’s living standard improves, education, housing, cars, computer, shares, and overseas tourism have become the main subjects of investment or consumption in people’s daily life. Great changes have taken place in respect to food, clothing, housing and transportation: People pursue fashionable clothes, nutritional food, and spacious and comfortable house. It is common to see people taking taxi or driving their own cars.


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Employment As a populous countr y, China i s added

with 10 million more workforces each year. The present total employment is 775 million people. Therefore, creating jobs is becoming the biggest task for the Chinese government. Employment is the toughest challenge for development in the first decade of the new millennium. The Chinese government attaches great importance to people’s livelihood, and gives priority to employment in its social and economic development. As government departments cooperate and support each other, active employment measures are carried out one by one. With a heavy employment burden, the number of employed people continues to increase and the stability of employment is maintained. The government places the employment of university graduates into the general arrangements for employment package. It clearly points out that for university graduates, employment in urban and rural grassroots units is the general orientation, and small and medium enterprises and non-public sectors shall be taken as the main channels. Graduates are encouraged to become self-employed, and key enterprises and science institutions are encouraged to recruit university graduates. To improve the employment and self-employment capabilities of the workforce, the government plans to provide targeted occupational training to employees of those enterprises in hard times, jobless migrant workers, unemployed people, and new workforce from 2009


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A Residential areas in Fuzhou, Fujian

to 2010. From 2006 to 2010, China will provide jobs to 900 million people a year in average, keeping the unemployment rate in the urban areas within 5%. By the end of 2009, 779.95 billion people are employed in urban areas, 5.15 million more people than the first 6 months. These figures indicate that the employment situation is generally stable.

HousingThe existing housing policy is market-oriented.

The country explores possible systems and measures to solve the housing problems facing the middle-income families, sets the low-rent housing as the key point of the housing assurance system, and focuses on small and medium commercial houses at a low and medium price level.


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Since 2007, the policy for the government to resolve the housing difficulty of low-income families has been further clarified. In 2008, construction of low-income housing accelerated, providing eligible low-income families that have housing difficulties with benefits to which they were entitled. In 2009, China presses on its efforts in building low-income housing. In the coming three years, China will make RMB 900 billion investment to build low-income houses in line with the investment plan for expanding domestic demand and increasing economic growth. This will alleviate the housing difficulty of 13 million low-income families.

Social SecurityThe social security system in China is of the

social mutual aid pattern, that is, the three parties of the state, the unit (enterprise), and the individual jointly pay for the social security. This will be the reform orientation for a long time. In 2009, the central finance appropriated RMB 290.6 billion yuan as social security fund.

The system is a program jointly cooperated by the central government and local governments. The central government is responsible for making nationally unified laws, regulations and standards, and financing those regions with financial difficulties, while the local governments are responsible for making local laws, regulations and standards based on the unified policies of the central government, raising social security funds and paying for social


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security benefits. A socialized security network has taken initial

shape, which is independent of enterprises and institutions, and has multiple functions in old age support, medical care, unemployment insurance, and minimum standard of living.

Coverage of the social security is expanding from state-owned enterprises and collective enterprises to non-public enterprises and institutions, as the right that guarantees people a flexible employment is ensured.

The Subsistence Security SystemThe subsistence security system is established

in all cities and county seats, providing basic living security for all families with per capita income less than the minimum local standard. At present, the poor population in cities is entitled to be covered by the system and get subsidies. Many rural areas have started to set up subsistence security system. In 2009, 23.47 million urban residents received minimum living allowance from the government, 129,000 more than the previous year; 47.593 million rural residents received such allowance from the government, 4.53 million more than the previous year.

The Old-age Insurance SystemThe old-age insurance system comprises three

parts: basic old-age insurance, supplementary old-age pension from enterprises, and old-age insurance by personal savings. By the end of 2009, the number of urban residents participating in the basic old-age insurance program amounted to 234.98 million


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people, an increase of 16.07 million than 2008. Since October 1, 2009, China has established a new type of rural old-age insurance system to pay basic pensions to peasants.

The Healthcare systemExpansion of the coverage of the basic healthcare

system has made great progress, as the number of urban workers and residents under the coverage exceeded 330 million, and 830 million people have been covered by the New Rural Cooperative Medical System (CMS). In 2009, the urban residents’ basic medical insurance system blanketed all cities in China, as 390 million urban workers and residents have been covered by medical insurance. Plus the population covered by CMS, altogether over 1.2 billion Chinese citizens can now enjoy basic medical security. While expanding the coverage, the country also improves the quality of medical security.

The Unemployment Social Security SystemThe unemployment social security system is

a key part in the social security system. Since this system was in force in China, the scope and the targeted recipients have been expanded. Formerly, 1% of the standard gross wages of all employees in state-owned enterprises should be paid as the unemployment insurance premium. Now, 0.6% of the gross wages of workers in China should go to such insurance. Those falling below will be withdrawn at 1% at maximum. The payment level (equivalent to 120%-150% of the social relief benefit stipulated by the local civil authorities) is


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appropriately raised, and the payment period is prolonged.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Finance are the main institutions under the central government responsible for social security. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is in charge of old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, medical insurance for urban workers, employment injury insurance and maternity insurance and so on; the Ministry of Civil Affairs is in charge of social relief, social welfare, and veteran benefit and placement; the Ministry of Health is in charge of the Rural Cooperative Medical System; the Ministry of Finance is responsible for formulating the financial policies and accounting systems for social security, implementing financial supervision over the fund revenue and expenditure, and providing subsidies for social security plans. The same administrative authorities are also established at provincial, municipal and county levels for corresponding social security functions.

Women and the Population PolicyBy the end of 2008, women in China account

for 48.53% of the total population. The Chinese government puts emphasis on the development and progress of women, and promotes equality between men and women as a basic objective in China’s social development.

While formulating the national macro policies,


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the government follows the principles of equality between men and women, common development and mutual benef i t , encouraging women to participate in social development. These measures ensure that women enjoy the same rights as men in politics, economy, culture, society and family life.

In China, men and women get equal pay for equal work. Working women enjoy the special labor protection and labor insurance. Currently employed females account for 45.4 percent of the total number of employees. Women’s right to education is also respected. The number of female students in school increased. The growth rate of the length of education enjoyed by women above the age of 15 and the declining rate of their illiterates are larger than that

Women Delegates of CPPCC


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of the Chinese men, and the gap between men and women is narrowing.

The Chinese government has always attached great importance to the role women play in the country’s political life, as more and more women are elected into the party committee, people’s congress, government and CPPCC leadership at all levels. At present, the number of women cadres has approximated 40% of the total officials, showing that the extent of women’s involvement in the country’s political activities and management rise.

In China, women are entitled to have the complete personal and property rights in their families. In April 2001, the Standing Committee of the NPC promulgated the revised Marriage Law. This new version stipulates that bigamy shall be prohibited; cohabitation of a married person with any third party shall be prohibited; domestic violence shall be prohibited. The invalid marriage system is added; the matrimonial property regimes are improved; divorce indemnity system is established, with greater penalty for behaviors damaging family life. The provisions preserve women’s status in family life at the present stage. To establish family relations on an equal, harmonious and civilized basis, the country maintains a long-term campaign of “Build Five-Good Families”, and adds it into the overall plan for its economic and social development and spiritual civilization.

The state also pays special attention to protecting women’s right to freedom of choice in marriage and


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forbids mercenary and arranged marriages and other acts of interference in other people’s freedom of marriage. The judicial departments have taken stern measures according to law against criminals engaged in the sale of women.

All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) is a social organization for women from different ethnic groups and all walks of life. Its fundamental roles include uniting and mobilizing women to participate in economic and social development; representing and protecting women’s interest and promote gender equality.

The government implements a family planning policy in the light of the Constitution, as family planning is a basic national policy. China is the most populous developing country in the world, with a 1.334 billion population (exclusive of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan), and 16 million newborns each year. It is estimated if the birthrate remained unchanged as in the 1970s, the existing total population will exceed 1.7 billion, and the per capita share of land, water, forest and energy resources will be at least 20% lower than the present level.

The government encourages late marriage and late births, fewer and healthier births and advocates the practice of “one couple, one child”. Rural families facing difficulties can have a second child after several years. Family planning is also being encouraged among ethnic groups to achieve prosperity, and is based on their own will. The specific requirements for minorities are different


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from those for Han families and are determined by the governments of autonomous regions and provinces according to their population, economy, resources, culture and customs. This policy, taking into account both the state’s need to control popula-tion growth and the masses’ real problems and degree of acceptance, tallies with China’s economic and social situation and conforms to the people’s fundamental interests.

China adheres to the principle of combining government guidance with the wishes of the masses when carrying out its family planning policy. The government has always given priority to publicity and educational work among the masses to enhance their awareness that birth control, as a fundamental policy, is of vital importance for the nation’s prosperity and the people’s happiness. China has designed a system offering special support for families practicing family planning. In 2008, RMB 1.23 billion of family planning fund was offered to 2.05 million people in the country under the incentives and support system for rural families of family planning. In 2009, the central government provided fund of RMB 719 million to the “fewer-children-means-faster-prosperity” program that benefited over 71,900 households.

China has scored a gigantic success in its family planning campaign. The birthrate, natural population growth rate and the total child-bearing rate of the Chinese women have dropped sharply. Without the family planning policy adopted by the


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government in 1971, China would have to feed 400 million more people. To a certain extent, this success has mitigated the contradiction between China’s ballooning population and its economic and social development. It has played an important role in advancing socialist modernization and raising the living standard and the quality of the population. Also it has made an important contribution to the stability of the world’s population.

The Population size remains the key problem restricting China’s economic and social development. The government insists on the stabil i ty and continuity of the population policy, in order to keep the total population within 1.36 billion by the end of 2010 and within 1.45 billion by 2020.

YouthYoung people are the future and hope of a

country. By the end of 2005, the total number of young people from 14 to 29 years old reached 294 million, accounting for 23% of the total population. In recent years, the educational level of school-age young individuals in China has risen sharply. Compared to 2000, the per capita length of education grew from 4.5 to 8 years, of which the population with college degree rose by 21.39 million, and those with senior high school and junior high school education rose by 9.74 million and 37.46 million respectively. It is shown in the China Youth Employment Research Report in 2009 that the average educational level of young Chinese women is slightly higher than that of men.


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Chinese Communist Youth League (CCYL) is a mass organization of advanced youths led by the Chinese Communist Party, with the democratic centralism being its organizational principle. The national organ of the CCYL is the national congress and the central committee elected at the national congress. The National Congress of the CCYL is held every five years. The Communist Youth League has a magnificent history. It serves as a vital new force and shock brigade in the founding of the new China, consolidation of the socialist system and development of the socialist economy, politics, and culture, promoting healthy growth of the younger generations.

2. Cultural Life

EducationAs a country respecting teachers and emphasiz-

ing education, China attaches great importance to educational development. The strategy of developing the country through science and education is the fundamental strategy for the country. The government has promulgated numerous laws to guarantee its citizens’ entitlement to education, especially for the minorities, children, women and disabled people. With sustained efforts paid in five decades, China has made great progress in education, and formed an educational system adapted to economic and social development. This system feautures multiple levels and forms, and covers almost all disciplines. It includes basic education, secondary vocational


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education, regular higher education, education for adults, education for ethnic groups, and non-government funded education. At present, there are 20.21 million students in universities and colleges, 88.11 million students in middle schools, and 103 million in primary schools.

The system of basic education is under the macro-guidance of the central government, with the provincial governments taking the main responsibility for overall planning. The Ministry of Education is responsible for formulating the regulations, principles and policies on basic education as well as general development planning and basic system of education; establishing special funds for poor regions, minority areas and normal education; guiding and supervising local education departments. Provincial governments are responsible for the basic education within their respective region.

More foreign friends come to study in China


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In the early years of the 21st century, a nine-year compulsory education has been made universal by and large; since 2003, “Distant Learning” program has blanketed 360,000 middle schools and primary schools in mid and western regions; in the spring of 2007, tuitions and fees for all primary and middle school students in the countryside have been exempted; in the autumn of the same year, a new funding policy for college and secondary vocational school students from poor families was carried out; in September, 2008, China exempted all the tuitions and fees for compulsory education in cities and countryside alike.

Education is among the first opened-up sectors in China. At present, China’s bilateral and multilateral cooperation and exchanges keep growing, as it has established educational cooperation and exchanges with 188 countries and regions in the world as well as 28 international organizations including UNESCO. 154 bilateral and multilateral agreements on educational cooperation are concluded and in force, while 77 intergovernmental projects are underway. China has signed agreements on mutual recognition of diplomas and degrees with 33 countries and regions. China has grown into a leading country for students’ outflow, which is welcomed among other countries. In the meantime, China has become a new destination country for overseas students, as the growth rate of students’ inflow exceeding that of the outflow. New breakthroughs have been made in international promotion of the Chinese language


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which has become one of the most popular foreign languages taught in many countries.

HealthThe healthcare sector in China has made signifi-

cant progress since the reform and opening-up. Public healthcare, healthcare service system, healthcare security system and medicine supply security system have taken shape gradually. Medical education and scientific research is developing rapidly. Traditional Chinese medicine is being inherited and developed. Besides, progress and development have been made in aspects such as primary healthcare, disease prevention and treatment, patriotic health movement, health laws system, national health indicators, and international health exchanges and cooperation.

In China, there are 1.52 medical doctors and 2.45 hospital beds per thousand people. There are high-level specialized hospitals for cancer, cardiovascular, ophthalmology, TCM, dental, infectious diseases, as well as numerous general hospitals in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing. Medium-sized cities in the provinces and autonomous regions also have general hospitals and specialized hospitals with modern medical facilities. A three-level network of medical treatment, prevention and health care at county, township and village has taken a basic shape, as counties have central hospitals, townships have healthcare centers and administrative villages have clinics. Thanks to the establishment and improvement of healthcare facilities, and the


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cultivation of good health habits among the people, a noticeable improvement of urban and rural people’s health has been made. The average life expectancy has reached 72.95 years, approximately up to that of the moderately developed countries.

“Prevention first” practice has been one of the successful experiences for healthcare work in China. All the administrative regions in the country have established sanitation and anti-epidemic stations featuring disease prevention and health care, which also has health supervision and disease control functions. Thus, a nationwide network for health surveillance and disease control has formed. Establishment and operation of the emergency response mechanism for unexpected health events have been brought under a system of laws and standards. The state has allocated huge investment to establish the rescue and treatment system against unexpected health events, in an effort to strengthen and upgrade the response speed and capabilities of emergency rescue centers, medical rescue system, and hospital information management systems. The country continues to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization in these respects.

Centering on the community healthcare centers (stations), a network of community healthcare services with other grass-root medical institutions is taking shape gradually in medium and large cities in the country. Community healthcare services providing prevention-based, general treatment and healthcare, have extended the coverage from a few


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to the majority of cities in recent years as propelled by urban health system reform and community development. These services are becoming more and more popular among residents. Development of community healthcare service is adapted to such changes as urbanization, population aging, and social status variations, and provides feasible plans for better healthcare services.

SportsAs sport has developed vigorously in China,

the physical health quality of the Chinese people has greatly improved, fully deserving the title as an internationally recognized sporting power. In cities or villages, on high streets or small lanes, people do physical exercises by playing shadow boxing, fitness

Sport Activities for Common People during the “Keep Fit Day”


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dance, playing balls and kicking shuttlecocks at sunrise and sunset. In 2009, the State Council set August 8 of each year as the “National Fitness Day”.

At the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angles, Chinese shooter Xu Haifeng took the gold medal in Men’s 50m pistol (60 shots) contest, the first for the 1984 Olympics, and became the first gold medallist for China in the Olympic history. At the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games attended by 204 countries and regions, Chinese athletes created one record after another and have won 51 gold medals, ranking the first in terms of the number of gold medals. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, the disabled athletes challenged the human limits and outdid themselves by winning 89 gold medals, 70 silver medals and 52 bronzes, ranking the first in terms of the number of gold medals and the number of total medals.

Chinese Athletes at 2008 Beijing Olympics


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China is the only country in the world to hold national farmers games. It was first launched in 1988. Since then, it has been held every four years. In October 2008, the Sixth National Farmers Games was unveiled in Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, which was the first national sports event held in China following Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympics Games. In 2010, the 16th Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, China.

ReligionChina is home to many religions. The main

religions in China are Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Christianity. Citizens may freely choose and express their religious beliefs, and make clear their religious affiliations. Incomplete statistics show that China now has more than 100 million religious believers, 130,000 venues for religious activities, 360,000 clerical persons and 5,500 religious organizations. In addition, there are 110 religious schools and colleges run by religious organizations for training clerical personnel.

National religious organizations in China include China Buddhist Association, China Taoist Association, China Islamic Association, Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, Chinese Catholic Bishops College, Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of the Protestant Churches of China and the China Christian Council. Religious leaders and leading departments of these religious bodies are selected in accordance with their own regulations. In


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China, thanks to these correct policies on religions, different religions and religious organizations as well as religious people and nonreligious people respect each other and live in harmony.

China’s Constitution stipulates that the citizens enjoy freedom of religious belief. The state protects normal religious activities and the lawful rights and interests of the religious circles. The Criminal Law, Civil Law, Electoral Law, Military Service Law, Compulsory Education Law and some other laws contain clear and specific provisions which protect religious freedom and equal rights of religious citizens. No state organ, social organization or individual is allowed to force others to believe in, or not to believe in any religion; nor may they discriminate against others who believe in, or do not believe in any religion.

The Chinese government actively supports Chinese religious organizations and religious personnel in their friendly exchanges with foreign counterparts on the basis of independence, equality and mutual respect. International relationships between religious circles are regarded as part of the non-governmental exchange of the Chinese people with other peoples in the world. In recent years, Chinese religious organizations have established and developed friendly relations with more than 70 countries and regions and sent delegations to attend many international religious conferences and symposiums. Chinese religious groups have joined world religious groups such as the World Fellowship


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of Buddhists, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, the World Conference on Religion and Peace, the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace and the World Council of Churches.

The government department responsible for the country’s religious affairs is the State Administration for Religious Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

Mass MediaFreedom of speech and freedom of the press

are guaranteed by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China. Since the reform and opening-up, mass media also diversifies as the economic develops. By the end of 2009, there were 251 radio stations, 272 TV stations, 2,087 broadcasting and TV stations, 44 educational TV stations, 173.98 million cable TV users and 62 million digital cable TV users nationwide. The comprehensive population coverage of broadcasting programs and that of TV programs reached 96.3% and 97.2% respectively. A broadcasting and TV coverage network with satellite, wireless and cable transmissions was basically formed. In 2009, 43.7 billion newspapers, 31 billion periodicals, and 7 billion copies of books were published. The Internet and mobile phone SMS which are the most popular and fastest means of information transmission, find an explosive growth in China, becoming new information carriers. New media are growing drastically in China, as the number of TV, Internet, and mobile phone users


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and netizens already top the world. The number of the listed new media companies is two to three times more than traditional types of media companies.

Expositions and MuseumsExpositionsShanghai World ExpoThe 2010 Shanghai World Expo is the first such

event in China. With “Better City, Better Life” as its theme and with a total investment of RMB 30 billion, this Expo is expected to attract 70 million visitors from all over the world. It is also the largest one in the history of the World Expo. As a tradition of the World Expo, organizers will provide USD 100 million worth of aid money to help developing countries with their participation, in an effort to

China Pavilion at Shanghai Expo


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attract more developing countries and international organizations.

China Import and Export FairFounded in the Spring of 1957, China Import and

Export Fair is also referred to as the Canton Fair, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and held twice a year in Spring and Autumn in Guangzhou (Canton). Through over 50 years of efforts, it has grown into a comprehensive international trade event with the longest history, highest level and largest scale in China. It has the most complete commodities, covers the most countries and regions, boasts the most businessmen, the best transaction effects and reputation. Each fair provides 50,000 international standard booths and attracts 260,000 to 300,000 overseas businessmen, earning the title “No.1 Trade Show in China”.

China-ASEAN Expo Founded in 2004, the China-ASEAN Expo

is a state-level international economic and trade event jointly hosted by China, economic and trade authorities of the ten ASEAN countries and the ASEAN Secretariat. It is regularly held in Nanning, Guangxi in China. This Expo has been held successfully for four times. With the powerful support from governments of the 11 countries involved, boasting broad markets and preferential policies of China-ASEAN free trade zone, this Expo is very popular among political and business


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communities in these 11 countries. It is growing into an optimal platform to promote China’s cooperation with ASEAN countries in trade, investment and tourism.

China Beijing International High-tech Expo

China Beijing International High-tech Expo was first staged in 1998 by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information Technology, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the State Intellectual Property Office, and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. This large state-level science and technology exhibition is undertaken by Beijing Council for the Promotion of International Trade in May each year in Beijing. The mission is to promote the commoditization, marketization and internationalization of high-tech industry. Over a decade, the expo keeps extending its coverage of fields and deepening its service functions. With an ever-growing domestic and overseas importance, this event has become a key activity in China’s international exchanges and cooperation for science and technology, economic and trade with other countries. Moreover, it has established a noticeable brand of professional and international level in showing the latest scientific and technological results, disseminating pioneering ideas, releasing industry information, and promoting international economic and technical cooperation.


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MuseumsAt present, there are 1,593 museums in China.

With the addition of some special museums sponsored by non-governmental organizations and individuals, there are totally over 2,300 museums, which comprise four categories. Firstly, the history museums such as China National Museum and Museum of Qin Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses. Secondly, the arts museums such as the Palace Museum. Thirdly, the nature and science museums such as China Geography Museum and lastly, museums for general purposes, such as Shandong Provincial Museum and Museum of Tibet.

Palace Museum The Palace Museum sits in the heart of Beijing,

previously called the Forbidden City. As the royal palace for Ming and Qing dynasties, it was the place for 24 emperors to administrate state affairs and to live. This priceless cultural relic is a symbol of both supreme authority and mystery. Construction starting in 1406 and completed in 1420, the palace has an approximate space of 725,000 square meters and 155,000 square meters of floor area. Most of the structures within the Palace Museum are made of wood. Buildings in the complex are roofed with yellow glazed tiles, placed on greenish white marble base, and decorated with splendid paintings. The Palace Museum is the largest and most intact ancient architecture complex of unparallel position in the world.


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Holidays and VacationsThe first category of holidays and vacations

is weekends, which means two days off each week (Saturday and Sunday).

The second is holidays for everyone, which include the New Year (one day off on January 1), the Spring Festival (three days off, starting from the Lunar New Year’s Eve plus two more days thereafter), the International Labor Day (one day off on May 1), the National Day (three days off on October 1, 2 and 3), the Tomb-sweeping Day (one day off), the Dragon Boat Festival (one day off ), and the Mid-Autumn Festival (one day off).

The third category holidays and memorial days are just for some people. These include the Women’s Day (half a day off on March 8), the Youth Day (half a day off on May 4 for youths above 14 years old), the Children’s Day (one day off on June

The Palace Museum


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1 for children under 13 years old), and the Army Day commemorating the founding of the People’s Liberation Army (half a day off on August 1 for all the soldiers in service).

The fourth category holidays are based on customs of the ethnic minorities, which are decided by the local people’s governments where the minorities live in light of their specific customs.

If holidays for everyone happen to fall on Saturday or Sunday, then people can get one or two days off on workdays. As for the holidays for just some people, if they coincide with Saturday or Sunday, they will not be put off in turn on workdays.


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China’s literature and arts have a long history. They are the treasures of the nation and greatly enrich the fruits of the human civilization.

China is one of the countries with the richest intangible cultural heritages in the world. In June 2006, the State Council promulgated the list of the first group of state-level intangible cultural heritages, which included a total of 518 items in ten categories, including folk literature, folk music, folk dance, traditional drama, folk art forms, acrobatics and athletics, folk fine arts, traditional craftsmanship, traditional medicine and folk customs. China’s Kunqu opera, Guqin art, the art of Chinese Uyghur Muqam and Pastoral Songs of the Mongolian ethnic group have all won the title of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” conferred by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In 2001, Chinese Tibetan epic King Gesar, the longest epic in the world, was listed by UNESCO in the world millennium memorials.

The policy for the development of China’s litera-ture and arts is to let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend.

Language, Literature, Arts, Culture and Customs


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1. LanguagesChina is a country that advocates the Chinese

characters and attaches importance to recording thoughts with the characters. The Chinese characters record the Chinese language. With a history of more than 6,000 years, they are one of the oldest written characters in the world. Oracle bone inscriptions, the oldest Chinese characters discovered so far, were used more than 3,400 years ago and were very mature and advanced characters. The fact that the Chinese characters go down in history for several thousand years and remain unchanged is something in which the nation can take pride.

There is no accurate statistics as to the number of Chinese characters.Approximately there are 100,000 and the number of modern characters in common use lies somewhere between 4,000 and 8,000, most of them being phonograms. Long years have led to changes between ancient and current pronunciation, but the form and the meaning remain relatively stable, so Chinese characters have become an important means in spreading Chinese civilization. It is not only the written signs of the Han Nationality but also the universal signs for all ethnic minorities. And it represents the official language of China in international activities as well, playing an immeasurable role in maintaining China as a unified multi-ethnic country.

The Chinese language is the language with the most speakers in the world, with a total of about 1.2 billion people. In addition to the Chinese mainland,


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Taiwan Province and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao, a considerable portion of people in Singapore and Malaysia also speak Chinese. Tens of thousands of Chinese descendants living in every part of the world also speak various dialects of Chinese as their mother tongue.

China has a vast territory and a large population, and even when speaking Chinese, people in different parts speak different dialects. Currently the Chinese language includes seven dialects, namely, the dialects of north, Wu, Xiang, Gan, Hakka, Min, and Yue. If people in different parts all speak their own dialects, they will have difficulties in communicating with one another. The government attaches great importance to the popularization of Putonghua (Mandarin Chinese) and encourages people to speak it. Putonghua facilitates communication between people from different areas and ethnic groups.

With the rapid economic development of China and the continuous increase of international exchanges, the application value of the Chinese language keeps on rising, with the global “Chinese Fever” escalat ing continual ly. According to incomplete statistics, over one hundred international organizations, multinationals, international media and world-famous universities have their own Chinese websites and web pages. The State Department of the United States has also established its web pages in Chinese. Against the background of globalization, learning Chinese means having the


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key to the gate of an important and vast market. Today in the world, the number of people who learn Chinese through a wide spectrum of means is more than 30 millionmore than 2,500 universities in one hundred countries are teaching Chinese; more and more middle and primary schools begin to provide Chinese courses; and the number of social training institutions keeps on increasing with a strong and swift development momentum.

2. LiteratureAs the first written collection of Chinese

poetry edited in the 6th century BC, the Book of Odes stands for the earliest accomplishment of China’s literature. This book represents the culture of the Yellow River reaches, and embraces a total of 305 poems, of which a lot are masterpieces in the long history of Chinese literature, and are the invaluable heritage of the nation. Written in the Warring States Period, Chu Ci represents the culture of the Yangtze River reaches, and is romantic and diversified in its artistic representation, having a huge impact on Chinese poems of later generations. Tang Poems, Song Ci and Yuan Verses constitute the most colorful articles in the Chinese literature, with a wide spectrum of literary schools such as the Frontier Fortress School, the Mountain-Water-Field School, the Haofang (unrestrained) School, and the Wanyue (subtle) School showing their respective advantages. Literary giants such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Su Shi, Lu You, Ma Zhiyuan, Bai Pu, and Guan


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Hanqing have been remembered by later generations for thousands of years, and have become well-known to every household in China. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, fiction creation reached its summit. With their rich cultural and historical contents and unique artistic styles, four long novels including Romance of Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marsh, Journey to the West, and Dream of the Red Chamber have been enjoying reputations in ancient times and today and will go down forever in the world. The study of the Dream of the Red Chamber has become a special knowledge prevalent in the world.

Modern Chinese literature started from the 1920s and 1930s, with writing colloquial articles being the mainstream and the concept of modern humanity being the value standard. It has remained an orthodox literature form in nearly the whole of the subsequent century. The core spirit is to oppose feudal culture, criticize autocratic system, maintain and show the personalities of the people, and call for the emancipation of humanity. Literary giants such as Lu Xun, Guo Moruo, Shen Congwen, Ba Jin, Lao She, and Bing Xin have created the cause of modern Chinese literature. Since the 1990s, younger writers have stepped onto the stage of Chinese literature, making literature more diversified.

3. Arts

Calligraphy and PaintingCalligraphy is the art of writing Chinese


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characters, an artistic form with aesthetic nature, in which Chinese characters are written with brush in a wide variety of styles such as seal character, official script, regular script, running script, and cursive. It lays emphasis on brush holding, brush using, stipple, structure, ink skill, and composition skill. Calligraphy has a history of more than 3,000 years, burgeoned from bronze inscriptions in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, and evolved later to seal character in the Qin Dynasty, official script in the Han Dynasty, cursive in the Jin Dynasty, tablet inscriptions in the Northern Dynasties, regular script in the Tang Dynasty and running script in the Song Dynasty, each with its respective advantages. Calligraphy is not only the cultural treasure of China but also shows its unique merit in the world cultural and art field. Preface to the Orchid Pavilion, the copybook in the running script and the masterpiece of Wang Xizhi who was a master calligrapher in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, is honored as the “Number One Running Script on the Earth” by the calligraphic circle. A large group of master calligraphers in the Tang Dynasty thronged onto the calligraphic stage, such as Chu Suiliang, Yan Zhenqing, and Liu Gongquan, who had their respective advantages and disadvantages, and diversified styles in calligraphic study.

China’s painting art has a long history and runs a long, long way. After thousands of years of continuous improvement, innovations and developments, artists and painting artisans from Han Nationality and


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ethnic minorities have created rich and colorful forms and techniques with striking national styles and shaped a painting language system with unique Chinese charms, which holds an important position and has influence in the oriental art circle and even the world’s art circle. Relying on the special materials including brush, water ink and rice paper, Chinese painting takes mountains, water, flowers and birds as its themes, seeks more than mere likeness in appearance and pays more attention to likeness in spirit. When depicting mountains, water, flowers and birds, the painters pay attention to their verve and essence and show an elegant, leisured, and lively painting spirit, which has enabled the Chinese painting to hold a unique position in the world. Western paintings such as oil painting, print painting and water color painting also have room to develop in China, and works of diversified styles crop up in the painting circle. Modern art based on various modern

The handwritings by Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher


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materials, formats, frameworks and techniques also has a footing in China, because new media art works including video, digit, cartoon and sound arts frequently show their appearances in contemporary art exhibitions at home and abroad, and are loved by people. Art museums, such as the National Art Museum of China, hold painting exhibitions all the year round and the gallery industry gradually follows international practices in recent years.

Music and DanceChinese music has a history of more than 7,000

years. The nation has created a rich music culture. In the long history, there are many prosperous periods for music culture. For example, lyre music such as Guang Ling San (Guangling Melody), and Hu Jia Shi Ba Pai (Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute), and lute music Shi Mian Mai Fu (Ambush on All Sides), and national orchestral music A Night of Flowers and Moonlight by the Spring River are all typical examples of excellent music in ancient China. Since the middle of the 20th century, Chinese music art has opened a new page in history. Historic progresses have been made in many fields such as symphony, chorus, opera, piano, violin, and musicians have created a group of works that reflect time spirit and national spirit with optimal artistic quality. The following are very good examples: large-scale dance epic The East is Red, film music Liu San Jie, and opera The Red Guards on Honghu Lake. Musicians have made attempts in utilizing western music


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instruments to compose music with Chinese flavor, such as violin concerto Liang Zhu, and piano music The Yellow River (Huang He) and so on.

Chinese musicians and music art performance troupes have extensively participated in all kinds of international music exchanges and competitions, and lots of them have won top achievements. In recent years, China’s national music has been receiving extensive attentions from many countries, and in every Spring Festival, Chinese musicians are invited to hold Chinese New Year Concert in Vienna Golden Hall. To strengthen exchanges with developing countries, China has founded Oriental Song & Dance Ensemble which is dedicated to learning and singing folk songs from other countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and since then the music of developing countries has begun to influence Chinese music.

Large-scale music festivals are also conducted in many places in China. For example, grand arts festivals such as the annual Shanghai International Arts Festival, Beijing International Music Festival and Beijing International Drama Festival have attracted a large group of world-famous musicians and first class music and arts performance troupes to come to China for a visit and performance.

With a long history of more than 5,000 years, Chinese dance has a deep art accumulation. It has various forms of dances from different ethnic groups and regions, which have their unique characteristics and tones. Sacrifice dance, performance dance, social


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intercourse dance, educational dance, religious dance and industrial dance all have a footing in the dance circle. Classical court music dance, gigaku dance, custom dance, religious dance are the important components of the traditional Chinese dance. China has a lot of folk dances, such as Yang Ge of the Han nationality in the northern part of China, “Tea-picking Lantern” and “Flower Lantern” in the southern part of China, and “Mangshi” dance of the Manchu, “Maxrap” of the Uygur nationality, and “Xuanzi” dance of the Tibetan nationality, and they are all beautiful and diversified.

Drama and FilmChinese drama, Greek tragicomedy and Indian

Sanskrit Drama are equally called the three ancient dramatic cultures in the world. Chinese drama includes more than 300 kinds and utilizes songs and dances as the main means to express the plots of plays.

In the past one hundred years, Beijing (Peking) opera was the most influential and representative drama in China. It is rich in opera item, strict in tone and rhyme, and melodious in music, with equal emphasis on performing, singing, playing, reciting and martial arts, utilizing multi-colored facial make-up and employing particular costumes of many styles, shaping a standardized performance system. Artistic schools with unique styles and large groups of artists with perfect performance skills emerged in different development periods of Beijing opera.


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As an outstanding master in this area, Mei Lanfang took over the accomplishments of Chinese opera art from the past and set a new course for its future development.

Prevalent in various places of China are operas with unique styles, which are very active up to now. With innovations being continually made on the basis of their respective traditions, a large spectrum of operas, such as Shaoxing Opera, Hunagmei Opera, Sichuan Opera, Henan Opera, Guangdong Opera, Kunqu Opera and Tibetan Opera, have become very popular with the people.

Chinese drama came into being in 1907 and has undergone a progress of more than one hundred years by now. Works such as Thunderstorm, Sunrise, and Teahouse are classic masterpieces. Beijing People’s Art Theatre was founded in 1952, and its works stand for the top level of Chinese drama. Works such as Teahouse and Dragon Beard Ditch enjoy very high reputations. China’s dramas of the vanguard school have been recognized by most young audiences because their themes are mostly based on the lives of the contemporary people and avant-garde artistic expression techniques are employed in them.

Having undergone a development history of one hundred years, China’s movie has witnessed great changes. As an important carrier, Chinese movie, a new artistic form, has always been shouldering the holy mission of carrying forward the Chinese culture, inspiring national spirit, and invigorating people’s spirit. People have created a large group of


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masterpieces that reflect the spirit of times. Through the arduous and unremitting efforts made by several generations of movie workers, contemporary Chinese movie industry has already created a large-scale system of film making, distribution, and projection, with relatively high artistic and technical levels. China has become one of the main movie producers and consumers in the world. China holds international film festivals annually and the relatively influential ones include Changchun International Film Festival and Shanghai International Film Festival. The top prize for outstanding Chinese movies is the “Golden Rooster Award”. To encourage the development of mainstream movies, the state has established the special the “Huabiao Awards” as well as the “Hundred Flowers Awards” whose winners are elected by the audience.

Handicraft and ArchitectureChina’s handicraft dates back to ancient times.

It is broad and profound, with a wide range of categories and consummate skills. The handicraft works embrace unique Chinese cultural memory, national feeling, and the wisdom and creativity of the nation, and demonstrate people’s understanding of beauty and pursuit of good l i fe , thereby constituting an important and integral part of the Chinese civilization.

Skills for making handicrafts include cutting, tying, twining, weaving, embroidering, carving, molding, and drawing, and have strong local


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features and national styles. In February 2009, the exhibition for traditional skills of intangible cultural heritages with the largest scale and the most complete categories since the founding of the republic was held in Agriculture Exhibition Center. The exhibition focused on displaying invaluable folk skills such as “Cutting, Carving and Drawing”, “Printing and Decorating”, “Pottery Making and Ware Burning”, “Engraving and Molding”, “Metal Forging”, and “Tea Making and Wine Brewing”. 130 representative successors to traditional skill items in the state-level intangible cultural heritage list performed their wonderful and incomparable skills on the spot, which all won praises and exclamations from the audience.

As one of the three main architectural systems in the world, China’s architectural art enjoys the same reputation together with western architecture and Islamic architecture, holding a proud position in the culture of world architecture. Chinese architecture is the only system in the world that is mainly based on wood structure. For example, Qi’nian’dian (Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests) in the Temple of Heaven adopts the traditional Chinese wood structure that is very exquisite, becoming the largest building with round wood structure currently existing in Beijing. In 1998, it was selected to be a cultural heritage and listed in the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO. The buildings of all ethnic minorities have their own styles and have greatly enriched the overall picture of China’s


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Bird Nest, Main Venue of 2008 Beijing Olympic

architectural system. In particular, the architectures of the Tibetan, the Uyghur, the Dai and the Dong Nationalities are very much characteristic.

The architecture of contemporary China develops rapidly with a huge number of creations. The exterior structure of the “Bird Nest”, a landmark building for 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, mainly consists of huge portal steel framework, and the entire building is connected via a huge network structure. The grey mineral-like steel network is covered with transparent membrane materials and it contains a riddle colored stand in the stadium. Here the hollowing method and the porcelain texture lines in traditional Chinese culture perfectly integrate with the most advanced steel structure design in the current age. “Bird Nest” has creative significance in the development history of world architecture and will witness the architectural development of China and the world in the 21st century. The membrane


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structure of the main swimming pool (also called “water cube”) built for 2008 Olympic Games has become the number one in the world. It is designed according to the arrangement form of a cell and the natural structure of a soap bubble, with more than 30,000 steel components being all different in positions. This independent innovative hi-tech achievement filled in the vacancy in the history of world architecture.

4. Culture and Custom

Food CultureIn terms of tableware, one very important

feature is the use of chopsticks. Chopsticks have a long history in China, and they are usually made with bamboo. With one pair of chopsticks in hands, one is able to use them freely as one wishes. And they are inexpensive and convenient. Upon seeing how the Chinese use chopsticks, many people from Europe and America acclaim this is the peak of perfection and claim it is a kind of artistic creation.

In eating pattern, Chinese like gathering together to eat, and this custom originates at an early period and goes down up to today. The long-term prevalence of this custom reflects that the Chinese attach importance to kinship and family values.

The Chinese have always been well known in the world for their extensive cookbooks and exquisite cooking techniques. Chinese cuisine usually includes “Four Flavors” and “Eight Cuisines”. The four


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flavors refer to Lu, Chuan, Yue, and Huaiyang. The eight cuisines generally refer to Shandong Cuisine, Sichuan Cuisine, Hunan Cuisine, Jiangsu Cuisine, Zhejiang Cuisine, Anhui Cuisine, Guangdong Cuisine, and Fujian Cuisine. Beijing cuisine is complex and diversified and embraces flavors from various areas, with a lot of famous cuisines, including cuisine with court flavor, tasty quick-boiled port in casserole, crisp and savory roast duck, and steaming hot pot. There are many beautiful and delicious cuisines for you to enjoy.

In traditional folk festivals, the Chinese have fixed dietary customs. In the Spring Festival, all families in northern China have dumplings and people from almost all parts of the country have rice cakes, symbolizing that life will be better and better. In the Lantern Festival, people in northern China have rice glue balls, while people in southern China have sweet soup balls. In the Dragon Boat Festival, all families have zongzi (glutinous rice dumplings) to commemorate Qu Yuan, the great poet of China. In the Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone has moon cakes to signify the reunion of the whole family.

Wine CultureWine culture has always been holding important

positions in the 5,000-year-long history of the nation. As a special cultural form, wine culture has a unique position in the traditional Chinese culture.

The majority of Chinese wine is brewed with grain, and wine is closely affiliated to agriculture,


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so it becomes a part of the agricultural economy. Chinese wine appears with countless colors and luster. The vast varieties and abundant output can be called Top of the World.

Brewed in Renhuai Town, Zunyi County, Guizhou Province, Guizhou Maotai Wine is one of the three famous distilled wines that enjoy the same reputation. The other two are whisky in Scotland and Cognac brandy in France. Maotaiis honored as “State Wine”. Maotai is pure, transparent, fragrant, soft in mouth, cool, tasty and refreshing, and with long lasting fragrance. It has won international gold medals for 14 times, and won gold medals for all national famous wine appraisements in China, and is sold in every part of the world. At the ceremony celebrating the founding of the republic in 1949, Maotai served as the wine for state banquet, and henceforth it has been appointed to be the wine for state banquets celebrating the National Day every year. In historic events such as Geneva peace talks, establishment of Sino-US diplomatic relations, establishment of Sino-Japan diplomatic relations, Maotai Wine became a special “ice-breaking” medium. For many times, Chinese leaders have given it to foreign leaders as a state gift.

Tea CultureChina’s tea has a long history. There is a very

early record about tea drinking in history. The customs of tea drinking in many places in the world originated in China. China has a wide variety of


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teas, which are beautiful and wonderful. With tea as a necessity in people’s daily life, the tea culture with rich characteristics is formed in the long history. According to different processing methods, tea can be divided into 6 types, namely, green tea, black tea, blue tea, white tea, yellow tea and dark tea. The green tea is a type of tea with the largest output in China, with its main planting bases being Zhejiang, Anhui and Jiangxi. In the international market, China’s green tea accounts for more than 70% of the total amount of the international tea trade, and it is sold to dozens of countries and regionsin Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. The sales volume of green tea in the international market accounts for more than one-third of the total volume sold in China. White tea is China’s specialty, which is mainly planted in Fujian Province.

China’s famous teas are the best teas selected from numerous varieties, enjoying high reputation in the world. China top ten famous teas include West Lake Longjing Tea of Hangzhou, Dongting Biluochun Tea of Suzhou, Maofeng Tea of Huang Shan, Anxi Tieguanyin Tea, Yueyang Junshan Yinzhen Tea, Yunnan Pu’er Tea, Jiujiang Lushan Yunwu Tea, Qimen Black Tea, Suzhou Jasmine Tea, and Liu’an Guapian Tea.

China’s tea ware also has a long history. It has undergone developments and innovations in its long history and its artistic model keeps on improving, emphasizing elaborate processing and decoration. The ware includes two series of products, which are


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the world-famous Jingdezhen porcelain and Yixing purple-sand pottery. People can appreciate all kinds of tea wares while sipping tea, so tea drinking reflects a warm and cheerful aesthetic atmosphere.

Folk HousesDue to different natural environments in China,

different civilian housing styles are gradually formed in various places.

The traditional Chinese housing mainly consists of courtyard houses with wood structures, numerous in quantity and vast in distribution. This kind of houses are mainly houses with wood structures, with the main hall or main house being built on the south-north principal axis line, and with east and west side chambers being built on the left and right sides in front of the main house, and with the two side chambers facing opposite each other, namely, siheyuan (courtyard house) . These houses are distributed in all cities, towns and villages, but they have their own features due to different natural conditions and life styles in different areas. Beijing Siheyua is their representative, as it contains profound cultural connotations and is the carrier of the traditional Chinese culture. The decoration, engraving and colored drawing or pattern on siheyuan demonstrate folk custom and traditional culture, showing people’s pursuit for happiness, good future, wealth and luckiness.

There are a lot of names for house in southern China, whose plane layout is generally consistent


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with that of the siheyuan in northern China. The difference is only that its courtyard is relatively small, called parvis and is only used for drainage and enjoying daylight. In watery town in Southern China, house is usually built by a river, with its front door leading to an alley and its back door facing water. Each household has its own quay for use in washing, getting water and getting onto or off a boat. Thus, it forms a unique housing culture, which is skilful, exquisite and warmhearted.

In areas in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in northern China, there are relatively more cave-houses. In the loess areas including Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan and Shanxi, local civilians dig horizontal caves within natural loess walls. They usually connect several caves and lay bricks within the caves for reinforcement when building cave-houses. In a cave-house, it is warm in winter and cool in summer. It saves land and building cost, so it is the perfect building style based on local conditions.

Due to economic development, the increase of population and the growing modernization, most city dwellers live in storied buildings. Building styles keep on changing and updating and get diversified with colorful features. And buildings are getting higher and higher with each passing day.


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China invented papermaking, printing, compass and gun power. China also invented silk, porcelain and bronze wares. Coming into the 21st century, the Chinese government takes it as the core of the national development strategy and the key to the improvement of comprehensive national power to improve independent innovation capability and build an innovative country, and innovation is in an outstanding position in promoting the national economy. Currently China’s science and technology are developing rapidly, interdisciplinary integration speeds up, new disciplines keep on cropping up, and the period for technical updating and commercialization of research findings becomes shorter. The fastest development and the largest leap in the entire history of the Chinese nation have been realized in the cause of science and technology.

Science, Technologyand IntellectualProperty

Science, Technology and Intellectual Property

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1. Science and Technology

Strategy of Scientific and Technological Development

Science and Technolog y Progress Act, issued and implemented in July, 1993, comprehensively prescribes the goal, role, fund source and awarding system of China’s scientific progress and has become basic code guiding the scientific development in China. Law on Popularization of Science and Technology issued in and implemented since June 2003 makes it a standard code of behavior to popularize and elevate the scientific awareness among citizens.

The State Counci l publ ic ized The State Medium- and Long-Term Program for Scientific Development (2006-2020) on 9 February, 2006. The program defines 16 major scientific fields and crucial issues which the state plans to make technical breakthroughs in the next 15 years. It covers information, biology, energy, resource, environment and health. Also involved are jumbo jet R&D, manned space flight and exploration on the moon. Besides, national engineering centers, key laboratories and technology centers in the IT, biology and environment protection fields are planned. The program will develop key technology and equipments for commuter aircrafts, new energy vehicles and high-speed trains. In 2008, the central government allocated fund of RMB 113.4 billion for scientific development, 13.4 billion more than the previous year. In the next 15 years, China will invest


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a lot more capital in scientific field and establish a diversified and multi-channel technological R&D system. By 2020, the share of GDP representing the fund for scientific research and technological test and development will be increased from 1.34% in 2005 to above 2.5% and the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress above 60%.

System of Science and TechnologyChina has 5 systems pertaining to scientific

research, namely Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), universities, industrial sectors, national defense sectors and regional scientific research institutes. China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) which includes over 160 scientific institutions and their affiliates nationwide is a key force in scientific and technological researches. As the highest level academic institution and comprehensive research center in China, CAS has under its jurisdiction departments of math, physics, chemistry, geology, biology and technology, and over 100 research institutes all over the country. By 2010, CAS plans to have built 80 national research institutes with strong technological, innovative and sustainable development capabilities. 30 of them should be able to become renowned high-level research institutes universally recognized by the world.

CAS Academician, the highest academic title for science and technology in the nation, is an honor for life. There are currently 707 CAS Academicians. As the highest level consultative institution in national


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engineering scientific and technological field, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) makes strategic studies on important engineering scientific and technological issues and provides advisory services. There are currently 704 CAE Academicians and 35 million scientists and engineers in China, ranking first in the world. There are 1.36 million full-time R&D engineers which rank second in the world. Scientists and engineers under age 45, the backbone of the science course in China, account for close to 80% of the total.

Science and Technology AchievementsStarting form 2002, China has changed its

technological development strategy from tracking and imitation to innovation and technological leapfrogs. Reinforcing the innovation capability has become a base point for its scientific and technological development. The overall gap is obviously narrowing between the R&D level in the high-tech field of the country and that of the world. Over 60% of the technology have attained or got close to internationally advanced level, including technology relating to nuclear, space, high-energy physics, biology, IT and human simulation. Other achievements include super hybrid paddy rice, the electron-positron collider, the Galaxy supercomputer and introduction of 1st 64-bit high performance general purpose CPU chips, the sequencing of the human genome and many others. All these achievements have marked the footsteps on the way


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of the technological development. The successful launches of the manned spacecrafts in 2003, 2005 and 2008 indicate the leap-forward progress in China’s space technology. In accordance with moon exploration plan introduced in February 2004, China will launch an unmanned exploratory device to the moon by 2010 and accomplish sample collection on the moon by 2020.

The High Yield Grain ProjectThis project enables the coverage rate of the

improved varieties of the staple grain reach up to over 90%, with increased per unit output and series of high yield record. It is a great achievement recognized all over the world that China supports its people which takes up 22% of the world’s total population and make them live a comfortable life with its arable land that takes up just 9% of the world’s total.

The Laser Phototypesetting System of Chinese Characters

The system is a fundamental breakthrough of the basic theory, which brought about revolutionary changes to the publication and printing industries and greatly increased efficiency. While promoting Chinese culture, the system also has far-reaching effect on the publication and printing industries in Japan and Korea.

Artificially Synthesized Bovine InsulinThis was the first time in human history to have

artificially synthesized protein. Before it happened, it was generally believed that the living things were natural so it was impossible to synthesize. It was the


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Chinese who made this a reality. The technology is a fundamental breakthrough in life science.

ArtemetherThis is a medicine with a brand new chemical

structure, which was invented by the Chinese and is acknowledged internationally as a purely Chinese medicine. Up to the end of 2005, the medicine has been designated as one of the first medicines for malaria by 26 Asian and African countries, setting a milestone in the treatment of this highly infective disease.

Shenzhou (Divine Ship) VII Manned SpacecraftThe spacecraft was launched in October, 2008.

For the first time in the Chinese history, Chinese astronauts did a space walk, a preparation for the orbit dockings in 2009 and 2010.

Chang E SatelliteThe satellite made a three-dimensional, digital

map of the moon, the first in the world, which indicates that China’s exploration project of the moon has entered a new stage, from theory to

Chang’E One Satellite successfully hit the Moon


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exploration and verification. Compass (Beidou) Navigation Satellite China successfully launched its Compass-G1 on

14 April, 2007. Two years later on 15 April, 2009, Compass-G2 was put into the orbit by Long March 3B. Chinese CNSS (Compass/Beidou Navigation Satellite System) is the third mature and proven system after American GPS and Russian GLONASS. China has always been exploring and developing navigation satellite system that possesses its own proprietary intellectual property rights. The well-established system plays a very important role in mapping, telecommunication, water conservancy, traffic and transportation, fishery, prospecting, forest fire protection and national security.

J-10 Jet FighterChina unveiled its J-10 jet fighter on December

29, 2006. Now it has become the most advanced main jet fighter for the Chinese Air force. J-10 Project has been awarded 2006 Special Award for National Technological Progress, the second such award for the key technological program after China’s space program.

International CooperationChina has signed technological cooperative

agreements with over 100 governments and international organizations and joined over 1,000 such organizations. Non-governmental technical cooperation and exchanges are even more active. More than 250 CAS scientists hold positions in various international science organizations.


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National Natural Science Foundation of China has signed cooperative agreements and MOUs with science foundations in 36 countries. By joining the world’s big scientific engineering programs such as human genome program, European Galileo Satellite Positioning and Navigation Program and International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Program, China has entered a new age of win-win on equal footing in the international scientific cooperation.

China International Scientific and Technological Co-operation award is a national award given by the State Council to the foreign scientists, engineers, technical managers, experts and organizations who make important contributions to the bilateral and multilateral scientific cooperation in China’s science and technology cause.

2. Protection of Intellectual Property Rights

China has become a big country with many inte l lectual proper ty r ights . Protect ing the intellectual property rights has become a conscious action of the Chinese government which believes that this protection plays an important role in promoting science and technology, thriving culture and developing economy. It is not only an important system that guarantees the normal operation of the socialist market economy but also the basic environment and one of the conditions for the international exchanges and cooperation in scientific, economic and cultural fields.


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China focuses its intellectual property rights protection strategy on 1) perfecting the IP system, law enforcement and management system; 2) promoting creation and utilization of intellectual property right, making enterprises as the main body of these creation and utilizations; 3) enforcing the protection of the intellectual property right and increasing the punishment for violation; 4) avoiding the right abuses and reasonably defining it so as to maintain fair competition and protect public interests and 5) cultivating an IP culture that respects knowledge, upholds innovation and abides by law.

Though China is still a developing country which faces chal lenges in the protect ion of intellectual property right, it never slows down its steps to strengthen this protection. China has done lots of work in the legislation and execution of intellectual property right.

The functional government departments that enforce intellectual property right protection include State Intellectual Property Office, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration of Press and Publication, National Copyright Administration, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Public Security, General Administration of Customs, the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. In 2004, China established a working group of intellectual property right protection headed by vice premier of the State Council, responsible for the overall coordination of the national IP right protection.


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The theory of building a harmonious socialist society was first put forward at the 4th Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee in 2004. In the following year, China presented this concept for the first time at the Asia-Africa Summit. China is determined to build a harmonious society characterized by “democracy and rule of law, equity and justice, honesty and fraternity, vigor and vitality, stability and order, and harmony between man and nature”. China advocate building a harmonious world where all countries uphold multilateralism for common security, adhere to mutually beneficial cooperation for common prosperity, and uphold the spirit of inclusiveness for a harmonious world.

Harmonious China and Harmonious World

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Harmonious World was proposed at the Asian-African Summit in 2005

1. Building a Harmonious Society

Goals and Major TasksBy 2020, China will achieve its goals and tasks

for building a harmonious socialist society. By that time, the socialist democracy and the legal system will be improved; the basic strategy of the rule of law will be implemented across the board; the people’s rights and interests will be steadfastly respected and guaranteed; the trend of widening difference between urban and rural development and among regions will be gradually reversed; the reasonable and orderly income distribution will basically take shape; the family properties will generally increase; the people will lead a more affluent life; the people

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in our society will be fully employed; a basic social security system will cover all the urban and rural residents; a basic public service system will be further improved; the administrative and service level of the government will see relatively bigger improvements; the whole nation will see a big rise in the ideological and ethical standards; scientific, cultural and healthy qualities will be achieved and the good social morals and harmonious interpersonal relationships will be formed; the creativity of the whole society will be markedly enhanced; an innovation-based country will be established in general; the public administration system will be further improved; the good social order will be attained; the efficiency of utilization of resources will be markedly enhanced and visible progress in ecological environment will be made; the target of building a moderately prosperous society that benefits over one billion Chinese people will be achieved, a society where everyone does his best, attains proper social positions and gets along peacefully with others.

Adherence to the Scientific Outlook on Development

Development is the theme of contemporary China. The Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Government put forward the strategic thought of adopting a scientific approach to commanding the economic and social development. Meeting the new development requirements, the scientific outlook on development is a great strategic

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thinking based on the basic national conditions of the primary stage of socialism by summarizing and drawing on the experience of development and practice of China and other countries.

The basic thought of the Scientific Outlook on Development means putting people first, aiming at a comprehensive, balanced and sustainable development, and promoting the overall development of economy, society, and people.

The profound connotation and basic require-ments of the scientific outlook on development a re comprehen s i vene s s , coo rd ina t i on and sustainability. We should put people first and achieve the comprehen-sive, balanced and sustainable development of the people. Based on the basic interests of the people, we will seek and promote development, continuously meet the increasing material and cultural needs of the people, really guarantee the rights and interests of the people in respect of economy, politics and culture, and let them share the benefits of the development; promote economic, political, cultural and social constructions, achieve the balanced development of modernization in every respect, push forward the coordination between production relations and productive forces as well as between superstructure and economic base, and realize the economic development and overall progress of the society according to the general arrangement of socialist cause with Chinese characteristics.

The scientific outlook on development has the following specific contents: People-oriented

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development view, overall development view, coordinated development view, and sustainable development view.

The fundamental method of the scientific outlook on development is to coordinate and plan as a whole the urban and rural development, regional development, socio-economic development, harmonious development of man and nature, and domestic development and opening to the outside world.

The Rule of lawThe rule of law is China’s basic strategy of

governing the country, and is stipulated in the “Constitution of the People’s Republic of China”. The socialist democracy and the rule of law with Chinese characteristics should follow the road for development by adhering to an organic unity under the leadership of the communist party, allowing people to mind their own affairs and ruling the country by law. The strategic target of the rule of law is to build a socialist country under the rule of law.

The basic requirements of the rule of law are there must be laws to go by, the laws must be observed and strictly enforced, and any lawbreakers must be prosecuted.

It is an unprecedented innovation to build a socialist country under the rule of law. China has so far preliminarily established a socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics. The awareness that “there must be laws to go by, the laws must be

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observed and strictly enforced, and lawbreakers must be prosecuted” has increasingly taken root among the people. China has attained internationally known achievements in respecting and safeguarding human rights, controlling political power according to law, strengthening democratic legislation, enhancing law-based government, reforming the judicial system, improving the legal supervision, achieving judicial justice, and publicizing the concept of rule of law.

In 1994 China started to explore the establishment of a legal aid system. China has by far seen over 3,200 legal aid organizations, employing about 12,000 staff. Since the year 2005, the national legal aid organizations have handled more than 1.9 million cases, providing legal aid to more and more people who are in difficulty.

China has popularized basic knowledge of law, and launched the publicity and education concerning the law among hundreds of millions of people. This is a great pioneering achievement in the history of legal system in the human society. Since 1986 when the first five-year plan of legal popularization is implemented in this country, China has completed four similar five-year plans. The current fifth five-year plan of legal popularization under way, which targets civil servants, leading cadres, teenagers, business managers and farmers, has basically shifted the focus from the enlightened education of law to enhancement of the legal quality-oriented and legal education for all the people in China focusing on the leading cadres. The efforts of over 20 years to give publicity and education of law have comprehensively

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improved the legal awareness and legal quality of all citizens in this country, markedly raised the legalized management of the society, strongly promoted the implementation of the basic strategy of the rule of law, and laid a solid foundation for building a socialist country under the rule of law.

Chinese judicial institutions include courts, procuratorates, public security departments, judicial administrative departments and affiliated lawyer organizations, notary departments, and education-through-labor institutions. The people’s courts are the judicial departments of the state; the people’s procuratorates are state departments for legal supervision. As law enforcement force, the public security departments are responsible for investigating criminal cases, detaining, preliminarily hearing, and arresting criminals. The judicial administrative departments are responsible for managing prisons, reform of cr iminals through labor, lawyers , notarization, people’s mediation, and publicity and education of law. The judicial organizations include lawyer, notarization and arbitration organizations. The purposes and tasks of the judicial work are, in accordance with the law, to protect the basic rights, freedom and other legitimate rights and interests of all citizens, safeguard the public property or legally private property of every citizen, maintain social order, guarantee the smooth progress of socialist modernization, and punish a few criminals.

Promoting Economic RestructuringAccelerate the transformation of economic

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development mode and promote the upgrading of the industrial structure. This is a pressing strategic task vital to the national economy as a whole. Since the policy of reform and opening to the outside world was adopted, China has implemented economic restructuring many times so as to achieve the fast and steady development of the national economy.

In 2010, Chinese government made it clear that the content of the economic restructuring is to continue to revitalize the key industries, breed new industries, further promote medium and small enterprises, and speed up development of service industries. More work should be done in the field of energy saving and emission reduction so as to establish industrial and consumer mode characterized by low carbon emission.

Building an Environment-friendly Society

In the 1980s the Chinese Government set the environmental protection as a basic state policy. China’s environmental protection mode has changed to the current process monitoring from the previous end-of-pipe treatment and treatment after pollution. Ten key energy conservation projects are under way in China, including oil replacement with saving, co-generation of thermal power, utilization of waste heat and building energy efficiency, to support the construction of key and demonstration projects of energy conservation and encourage the application of high-efficiency energy conservation products. By

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A Wind Power Generation Project in Inner Mongolia Aided by Asian Development Bank

2020, the renewable resources will see its proportion in the energy structure rise to approximately 16% from the current level of 7%.

As an impor tant fo rce o f in te rnat iona l environment cooperation, China always actively participates in the global environment activities and plays a constructive role in the international environment affairs. China has maintained the good partnerships with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Global Environment Facility, World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other international organizations, and carried out fruitful cooperation. China has successively signed the bilateral cooperation agreement for environmental protection or memorandum of understanding with 42 countries, including the United States, Japan and Russia, and implemented the cooperation over multiple environmental

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project fields with 13 countries and international organizat ions on the basis of bi lateral non-reimbursable assistance, including European Union, Germany and Canada. Up to now, China has joined over 50 international conventions involving environmental protection and actively performed the obligations under such conventions.

National SecurityThe Chinese armed forces are composed of

the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Chinese People’s Armed Police Force (CAPF), and the militia. The tasks of the PLA are to consolidate the national defense, resist aggression, defend and construct the motherland, and work hard to serve the people. The CAPF shoulders the tasks of frontier defense, internal security and public security and so on. The militia is an armed organization of the masses not divorced from production. As the national military leading organ, the Central Military Commission (CMS) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) assumes unified command of the nation’s armed forces. The CMS consists of chairman, vice-chairman and CMS members. The incumbent chairman of the CMS is Hu Jintao.

China pursues a defensive national defense policy and puts the defense of national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and the guarantee of national development interests and the protection of people’s interests above everything, makes great efforts to consolidate the national defense and

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build a strong army that complies with the national security and development interests, and makes the country prosperous and its army powerful while building a well-off society in an all-round way.

At the new stage in the new century China’s national defense policy include safeguarding the nation’s security and unity, guaranteeing the national development interests, achieving the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of national defense and army construction, strengthening the a rmy qua l i t y con s t r uc t i on marked by informationalization, implementing the military strategy of active defense, adhere to the nuclear strategy of self-defense, and building a security environment in favor of the national safety and development.

2. Pushing forward the Construction of Harmonious World

Foreign PoliciesChina unswervingly holds high the banner

of peace, development and cooperation, and as always, continues to uphold the independent foreign policy of peace. China is committed to developing friendly relations and cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence (Mutual respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression and mutual non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence), follow

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the path of peaceful development, persistently pursue a win-win strategy in opening to the outside world, and build a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. The number of countries maintaining diplomatic ties with China has risen to 171 from 18 in the early period after the establishment of PRC, forming a satisfactory situation where we have friends all over the world.

China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. This is a strategic choice the Chinese Government and people have made in light of the development trend of the times and their own fundamental interests. The Chinese nation is a peace-loving people, and China is always a staunch force safeguarding world peace. China is committed to combining the interests of the Chinese people with the common interests of the people of other countries, and always stands for fairness and justice. China maintains that all countries, big and small, strong and weak, rich and poor, are equal. China respects the right of the people of all countries to independently choose their own development paths, and never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries or imposes its own will on them. China works for peaceful settlement of international disputes and hot issues, promotes international and regional security cooperation, and opposes terrorism in any form. China pursues a national defense policy that is defensive in nature, and it does not engage in arms race or pose a military threat to any other country. China opposes all forms of hegemonism

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and power politics and will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion.

China is committed to developing friendship and cooperation with all other countries on the basis of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. For developed countries, it will continue to strengthen strategic dialogue, enhance mutual trust, deepen cooperation and properly handle differences to promote long-term, stable and sound development of bilateral relations. For its neighboring countries, China will continue to follow the foreign policy of friendship and partnership, strengthen good-neighborly relations and pragmatic cooperation with them, and energetically engage in regional cooperation in order to jointly create a peaceful, stable regional environment featuring equality, mutual trust and win-win cooperation. For other developing countries, China will continue to increase solidarity and cooperation with them, cement traditional friendship, expand pragmatic cooperation, provide assistance to them within its own ability, and uphold the legitimate demands and common interests of developing countries. China will continue to take an actively part in multilateral affairs, assume its due international obligations, play a constructive role, and work to make the international order fairer and more equitable. China will also continue to conduct exchanges and cooperation with the political parties and organizations of other countries, and strengthen the external exchanges of the people’s congresses,

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CPPCC committees, the armed forces, localities and people’s organizations to enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese people and the peoples of other countries.

China will continue to determinedly safeguard state sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, advance the great cause of national reunification, boost the economic, cultural and public diplomacies, actively develop the economic cooperation with other countries, and enhance exchanges and dialogues with other civilizations to increase the international understanding of China. China will continuously adhere to the principle of “putting people first” and “people-oriented diplomacy”, and effectively maintain the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal persons overseas.

Shouldering a Developing Nation’s Responsibilities

China has been an act ive supporter and participant of the multilateral trade system. Since it officially joined the WTO (World Trade Organization) in July 2001, China has strictly kept its commitments to creating more favorable conditions for international economic and technological cooperation. China has sorted out and revised some 3,000 laws, regulations and department rules, continually improved its foreign-related economic legal system, and enhanced the transparency of its trade policies. China has cut its customs tariffs step by step, as promised, and most non-tariff measures had been cancelled. The

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development of opening to the outside world in the fields of service trade, involving banking, insurance, securities and distribution, is being accelerated. China has so far opened over 100 sectors out of a total of 160 in service trade defined by the WTO, reaching 62.5%, close to the level for the developed countries.

Participate in Regional Economic Cooperation

China-ASEAN Free Trade Area is China’s first one where the fastest progress and the most practical results are made. When it completes in 2010, it will cover a population of 1.9 billion, involve $5.2 trillion worth of economic aggregate of 11 countries, $5.2 trillion worth of a total of imports and exports,

Chinese Minister of Commerce signs FTA with Costa Rica government in April 8, 2010

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whereby become a free trade area worldwide with the most population. At present, this trade area is under construction smoothly, sees a total of bilateral trade value of over $200 billion three years ahead of schedule, and overall tax cuts in commodities regarding 7,000 tax items. China has launched negotiations about free trade areas one after another, including the China-Southern African Customs Union (SACU), China-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), China-New Zealand, China-Chile, China-Australia, and China-Pakistan, and signed free trade area agreements with relevant countries. China participates actively and practically in the events such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, Asia-Europe Meeting, and GMS Environment Ministers Meeting. In addition, China signed the bilateral trade agreements or protocols with more than 150 countries and regions, and the bilateral investment treaties with over 110 countries, Agreements for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with over 80 countries. It serves as an active participant in the liberalization and facilitation of bilateral trade investment.

Participate in International Peace-keeping Operations

As a permanent member of the Security Council, China has taken active part in inter-national peacekeeping operations organized by the

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United Nations, and made its own contribution. In 1988 China became a member of United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. It dispatched military observers to take part in the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) for the first time since 1989, which was China’s first participation in the UN peacekeeping operations. So far, China has participated in 16 United Nations peacekeeping operations, having dispatched peacekeeping personnel of more than 7,000 person-times; more than 1,800 personnel are participating in 12 peacekeeping operations. China not only fully performs its due responsibilities and duties in the United Nations, but also demonstrates the good image of the Chinese army as a just force, a mighty force and a civilized force, and gains praise internationally. From now on, China will continue to strengthen its participation in the United Nations peacekeeping operations to make more contribution to world peace.

Participate in International Coopera-tion against Terrorism

The policy on China’s participation in inter-national cooperation against terrorism is consistent and clear: China supports efforts of combating terrorism of al l forms, supports the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council, and maintains that the actions should be based on solid evidence and clear target, observe the purposes and principles of the “Charter of the

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United Nations”; China opposes any expansion of the fighting scope, and opposes the linkage of terrorism to certain countries, ethnic groups or religions. International cooperation is vital to winning the international anti-terrorism campaign.

In terms of multilateral anti-terrorism coopera-tion, China supports the United Nations and the Security Council in playing a leading role in the international anti-terrorism cooperation, actively participates in the relevant discussions at the General Assembly and Security Council, promotes and supports the General Assembly and Security Council to pass counter-terrorism resolutions, and executes the resolutions of the Security Council earnestly and strictly. In the area of anti-terrorism cooperation, China and U.S. have established a mechanism of mid- and long-term anti-terrorism exchange and cooperation, and China and Russia have created an anti-terrorism workgroup that aims to hold regular discussions about international anti-terrorism situation and bilateral anti-terrorism cooperation and other problems. Meanwhile, China has established a similar anti-terrorism cooperation mechanism with Pakistan and India respectively, and has discussed the same with UK, France, and Germany about anti-terrorism. As a permanent member of the Security Council, China will continuously enhance the coordination and cooperation with the international community, and jointly propel the international anti-terrorism campaign to another new stage.

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Achieving Common Development with Other Nations

The Chinese nation always loves peace, pursues and advocates harmony. The idea of “harmony” runs through the whole development process of Chinese culture, deep in the blood vessels of the Chinese nation. The “harmony” tradition has turned into an innovative idea of building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity, and a great idea that reflects the trend and spirit of the time.

The harmonious world China advocates is where there is harmony with differences, harmonious coexistence of diversity, common ground sought with differences reserved. Promote the building of a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity.

When handling the relations with its neighbor-ing countries in Asia, China always adheres to the principles of amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood, and maintains friendly relations with all countries. Meanwhile, China maintains good cooperation with other big countries.

As a developing country, China always takes enhancement of unity and cooperation with developing countries as the basic stand of Chinese diplomacy, and development of unity and mutual beneficial cooperation with them as the basis for Chinese diplomacy.

Facing that the global financial crisis produces a serious impact on developing countries, China will treasure the unity and cooperation with developing

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countries even more. In the situation of the global financial crisis, China neither reduces the assistances to some developing countries nor lowers the cooperation with them, but expands assistances within its ability to developing countries and performs the cooperation agreements signed with relevant countries when ensuring that its economy and society undergo sound and smooth development.

China and all other countries share the same world, and all the people in the world sincerely hope that the earth we coexist upon has lasting peace. The stability and prosperity of this world depend on the harmonious coexistence of all countries. In these days, when international conflicts and disputes frequently occur, it is the common desire of the world’s people to strengthen international cooperation, promote common development, take the road for peaceful development and work toward building a harmonious world of lasting peace and common prosperity. This is also a grand cause benefiting all mankind, and an inevitable requirement of development of the human society.

The Chinese people will continue to hold high the banner of peace, development and cooperation, combine the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the peace and prosperity of the world, join hands with the people of the rest of the world to make unremitting efforts to achieve the durable peace of the big world family, push forward the lofty cause of human peace and development, and create a better future for the human society.

出版发行：五洲传播出版社

地址：北京市海淀区北三环中路31号生产力大楼B座7层

邮编：100088

电话：010-82005927, 010-82007837（发行部）

网址：www.cicc.org.cn

版次：2011年1月第1版

印次：2011年1月第1次印刷

开本：97×177 毫米 1/24

印张：6

099000

出版人：荆孝敏

责编：郑磊

翻译：北京世纪佳择翻译咨询有限公司

设计：北京正视文化艺术有限责任公司

图书在版编目（CIP）数据

中国国情概要 : 英文 / 《中国国情概要》编审委员

会编. -北京 : 五洲传播出版社, 2010.6

ISBN 978-7-5085-1741-4

Ⅰ. ①中… Ⅱ. ①中… Ⅲ. ①中国－概况－英文

Ⅳ. ①D61

中国版本图书馆CIP数据核字(2009)第207535号

general view of china.pdf

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