China

Coordinates: 35°N 103°E / 35°N 103°E / 35; 103
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People's Republic of China
中华人民共和国 (Chinese)
Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó (Pinyin)
Anthem: "
CPPCC Chairman[c]
Wang Huning
Han Zheng
LegislatureNational People's Congress[d]
Formation
c. 2070 BCE
221 BCE
1 January 1912
1 October 1949
.澳門
(Macau)

China,

financial center
.

Considered one of six

Great Wall, Chinese culture flourished and has heavily influenced both its neighbors and lands further afield. However, China began to cede parts of the country in the late 19th century to various European powers by a series of unequal treaties. After decades of Qing China on the decline, the 1911 Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and the monarchy and the Republic of China
(ROC) was established the following year.

The country under the nascent

Tiananmen Square protests and massacre
in 1989.

China is a

.

Etymology

China (today's Guangdong), Mangi (inland of Xanton), and Cataio (inland of China and Chequan, and including the capital Cambalu, Xandu, and a marble bridge) are all shown as separate regions on this 1570 map by Abraham Ortelius.

The word "China" has been used in English since the 16th century; however, it was not used by the Chinese themselves during this period. Its origin has been traced through

Hindu scripture, including the Mahabharata (3rd century BCE–4th century CE) and the Laws of Manu (2nd century BCE–2nd century CE).[20] In 1655, Martino Martini suggested that the word China is derived ultimately from the name of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BCE).[21][20] Although use in Indian sources precedes this dynasty, this derivation is still given in various sources.[22] Alternative suggestions include the names for Yelang and the Jing or Chu state.[20][23]

The official name of the modern state is the "People's Republic of China" (

History

Prehistory

10,000-year-old pottery, Xianren Cave culture (18000–7000 BCE)

Archaeological evidence suggests that early hominids inhabited China 2.25 million years ago.[31] The hominid fossils of Peking Man, a Homo erectus who used fire,[32] have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago.[33] The fossilized teeth of Homo sapiens (dated to 125,000–80,000 years ago) have been discovered in Fuyan Cave.[34] Chinese proto-writing existed in Jiahu around 6600 BCE,[35] at Damaidi around 6000 BCE,[36] Dadiwan from 5800 to 5400 BCE, and Banpo dating from the 5th millennium BCE. Some scholars have suggested that the Jiahu symbols (7th millennium BCE) constituted the earliest Chinese writing system.[35]

Early dynastic rule

Yinxu, the ruins of the capital of the late Shang dynasty (14th century BCE)

According to traditional Chinese historiography, the Xia dynasty was established during the late 3rd millennium BCE, marking the beginning of the dynastic cycle that was understood to underpin China's entire political history. In the modern era, the Xia's historicity came under increasing scrutiny, in part due to the earliest known attestation of the Xia being written millennia after the date given for their collapse. In 1958, archaeologists discovered sites belonging to the Erlitou culture that existed during the early Bronze Age; they have since been characterized as the remains of the historical Xia, but this conception is often rejected.[37][38][39] The Shang dynasty that traditionally succeeded the Xia is the earliest for which there are both contemporary written records and undisputed archaeological evidence.[40] The Shang ruled much of the Yellow River valley until the 11th century BCE, with the earliest hard evidence dated c. 1300 BCE.[41] The oracle bone script, attested from c. 1250 BCE but generally assumed to be considerably older,[42][43] represents the oldest known form of written Chinese,[44] and is the direct ancestor of modern Chinese characters.[45]

The Shang were overthrown by the Zhou, who ruled between the 11th and 5th centuries BCE, though the centralized authority of Son of Heaven was slowly eroded by fengjian lords. Some principalities eventually emerged from the weakened Zhou and continually waged war with each other during the 300-year Spring and Autumn period. By the time of the Warring States period of the 5th–3rd centuries BCE, there were seven major powerful states left.[46]

Imperial China

Qin and Han

The southward expansion of the Han dynasty during the 2nd century BCE

The Warring States period ended in 221 BCE after the

King Zheng of Qin proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Qin dynasty, becoming the first emperor of a unified China. He enacted Qin's legalist reforms, notably the standardization of Chinese characters, measurements, road widths, and currency. His dynasty also conquered the Yue tribes in Guangxi, Guangdong, and Northern Vietnam.[47] The Qin dynasty lasted only fifteen years, falling soon after the First Emperor's death.[48][49]

Following

Yunnan, and the recovery of Guangdong and northern Vietnam from Nanyue. Han involvement in Central Asia and Sogdia helped establish the land route of the Silk Road, replacing the earlier path over the Himalayas to India. Han China gradually became the largest economy of the ancient world.[51] Despite the Han's initial decentralization and the official abandonment of the Qin philosophy of Legalism in favor of Confucianism, Qin's legalist institutions and policies continued to be employed by the Han government and its successors.[52]

Three Kingdoms, Jin, Northern and Southern dynasties

After the

Liu Song. The various successors of these states became known as the Northern and Southern dynasties, with the two areas finally reunited by the Sui in 581.[citation needed
]

Sui, Tang and Song

The Sui restored the Han to power through China, reformed its agriculture, economy and

Grand Canal, and patronized Buddhism. However, they fell quickly when their conscription for public works and a failed war in northern Korea provoked widespread unrest.[53][54]
Under the succeeding Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese economy, technology, and culture entered a golden age.[55] The Tang dynasty retained control of the Western Regions and the Silk Road,[56] which brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa,[57] and made the capital Chang'an a cosmopolitan urban center. However, it was devastated and weakened by the An Lushan rebellion in the 8th century.[58] In 907, the Tang disintegrated completely when the local military governors became ungovernable. The Song dynasty ended the separatist situation in 960, leading to a balance of power between the Song and the Liao dynasty. The Song was the first government in world history to issue paper money and the first Chinese polity to establish a permanent navy which was supported by the developed shipbuilding industry along with the sea trade.[59]

Between the 10th and 11th century CE, the population of China doubled to around 100 million people, mostly because of the expansion of rice cultivation in central and southern China, and the production of abundant food surpluses. The Song dynasty also saw a

the Song at Jiankang.[62]

Yuan

Warring States' walls to form the Great Wall of China. Most of the present structure dates to the Ming dynasty
.

The Mongol conquest of China began in 1205 with the campaigns against Western Xia by Genghis Khan,[63] who also invaded Jin territories.[64] In 1271, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty, which conquered the last remnant of the Song dynasty in 1279. Before the Mongol invasion, the population of Song China was 120 million citizens; this was reduced to 60 million by the time of the census in 1300.[65] A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang overthrew the Yuan in 1368 and founded the Ming dynasty as the Hongwu Emperor. Under the Ming dynasty, China enjoyed another golden age, developing one of the strongest navies in the world and a rich and prosperous economy amid a flourishing of art and culture. It was during this period that admiral Zheng He led the Ming treasure voyages throughout the Indian Ocean, reaching as far as East Africa.[66]

Ming

In the early Ming dynasty, China's capital was moved from

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) and Later Jin incursions led to an exhausted treasury.[68] In 1644, Beijing was captured by a coalition of peasant rebel forces led by Li Zicheng. The Chongzhen Emperor committed suicide when the city fell. The Manchu Qing dynasty, then allied with Ming dynasty general Wu Sangui, overthrew Li's short-lived Shun dynasty and subsequently seized control of Beijing, which became the new capital of the Qing dynasty.[69]

Qing

Qing conquest of the Ming
and expansion of the empire

The Qing dynasty, which lasted from 1644 until 1912, was the last imperial dynasty of China. The

Northern Song period (960–1127), and other during the Qing period (around 1700–1830).[72] By the High Qing era China was possibly the most commercialized country in the world, and imperial China experienced a second commercial revolution by the end of the 18th century.[73] On the other hand, the centralized autocracy was strengthened in part to suppress anti-Qing sentiment with the policy of valuing agriculture and restraining commerce, like the Haijin during the early Qing period and ideological control as represented by the literary inquisition, causing some social and technological stagnation.[74][75]

Fall of the Qing dynasty

The Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China to defeat the anti-foreign Boxers and their Qing backers. The image shows a celebration ceremony inside the Chinese imperial palace, the Forbidden City after the signing of the Boxer Protocol in 1901.

In the mid-19th century, the

Korean Peninsula, as well as the cession of Taiwan to Japan.[77] The Qing dynasty also began experiencing internal unrest in which tens of millions of people died, especially in the White Lotus Rebellion, the failed Taiping Rebellion that ravaged southern China in the 1850s and 1860s and the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) in the northwest. The initial success of the Self-Strengthening Movement of the 1860s was frustrated by a series of military defeats in the 1880s and 1890s.[78]

In the 19th century, the great Chinese diaspora began. Losses due to emigration were added to by conflicts and catastrophes such as the Northern Chinese Famine of 1876–1879, in which between 9 and 13 million people died.[79] The Guangxu Emperor drafted a reform plan in 1898 to establish a modern constitutional monarchy, but these plans were thwarted by the Empress Dowager Cixi. The ill-fated anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901 further weakened the dynasty. Although Cixi sponsored a program of reforms known as the late Qing reforms, the Xinhai Revolution of 1911–1912 ended the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China.[80] Puyi, the last Emperor, abdicated in 1912.[81]

Establishment of the Republic and World War II

On 1 January 1912, the Republic of China was established, and Sun Yat-sen of the Kuomintang (KMT) was proclaimed provisional president.[82] In March 1912, the presidency was given to Yuan Shikai, a former Qing general who in 1915 proclaimed himself Emperor of China. In the face of popular condemnation and opposition from his own Beiyang Army, he was forced to abdicate and re-establish the republic in 1916.[83] After Yuan Shikai's death in 1916, China was politically fragmented. Its Beijing-based government was internationally recognized but virtually powerless; regional warlords controlled most of its territory.[84][85] During this period, China participated in World War I and saw a far-reaching popular uprising (the May Fourth Movement).[86]

wiped out by the KMT armies in 1934, leading the CCP to initiate the Long March and relocate to Yan'an in Shaanxi
. It would be the base of the communists before major combat in the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949.

In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied Manchuria. Japan invaded other parts of China in 1937, precipitating the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), a theater of World War II. The war forced an uneasy alliance between the Kuomintang and the CCP. Japanese forces committed numerous war atrocities against the civilian population; as many as 20 million Chinese civilians died.[92] An estimated 40,000 to 300,000 Chinese were massacred in Nanjing alone during the Japanese occupation.[93] China, along with the UK, the United States, and the Soviet Union, were recognized as the Allied "Big Four" in the Declaration by United Nations.[94][95] Along with the other three great powers, China was one of the four major Allies of World War II, and was later considered one of the primary victors in the war.[96][97] After the surrender of Japan in 1945, Taiwan, along with the Penghu, were handed over to Chinese control; however, the validity of this handover is controversial.[98]

People's Republic

The founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held at 3:00 pm on 1 October 1949. The picture above shows Mao Zedong's announcement of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square.[99]

China emerged victorious but war-ravaged and financially drained. The continued distrust between the Kuomintang and the Communists led to the resumption of civil war. Constitutional rule was established in 1947, but because of the ongoing unrest, many provisions of the ROC constitution were never implemented in mainland China.[98] Afterwards, the CCP took control of most of mainland China, and the ROC government retreated offshore to Taiwan.

On 1 October 1949, CCP Chairman Mao Zedong formally proclaimed the People's Republic of China in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.[100] In 1950, the PRC captured Hainan from the ROC[101] and annexed Tibet.[102] However, remaining Kuomintang forces continued to wage an insurgency in western China throughout the 1950s.[103] The CCP consolidated its popularity among the peasants through the Land Reform Movement, which included the state-tolerated executions of between 1 and 2 million landlords by peasants and former tenants.[104] Though the PRC initially allied closely with the Soviet Union, the relations between the two communist nations gradually deteriorated, leading China to develop an independent industrial system and its own nuclear weapons.[105]

The Chinese population increased from 550 million in 1950 to 900 million in 1974.

replaced the ROC in the United Nations, and took its seat as a permanent member of the Security Council.[111]

Reforms and contemporary history

1989 Tiananmen Square protests
was ended by a military-led massacre.

After Mao's death, the

constitution on 4 December 1982.[114]

In 1989, there were protests such

his tenure, Xi has consolidated power unseen since the initiation of economic and political reforms.[126]

Geography

Topographic map of China

China's landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from the

Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third- and sixth-longest in the world, respectively, run from the Tibetan Plateau to the densely populated eastern seaboard. China's coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 km (9,000 mi) long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China connects through the Kazakh border to the Eurasian Steppe
.

The territory of China lies between

Amur. To the west sit major mountain ranges, most notably the Himalayas. High plateaus feature among the more arid landscapes of the north, such as the Taklamakan and the Gobi Desert. The world's highest point, Mount Everest (8,848 m), lies on the Sino-Nepalese border.[127] The country's lowest point, and the world's third-lowest, is the dried lake bed of Ayding Lake (−154 m) in the Turpan Depression.[128]

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification map for mainland China[129]

China's climate is mainly dominated by

monsoons, which lead to pronounced temperature differences between winter and summer. In the winter, northern winds coming from high-latitude areas are cold and dry; in summer, southern winds from coastal areas at lower latitudes are warm and moist.[130]

A major environmental issue in China is the continued

water shortages for hundreds of millions of people.[132] According to academics, in order to limit climate change in China to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) electricity generation from coal in China without carbon capture must be phased out by 2045.[133] With current policies, the GHG emissions of China will probably peak in 2025, and by 2030 they will return to 2022 levels. However, such pathway still leads to three-degree temperature rise.[134]

Official government statistics about Chinese agricultural productivity are considered unreliable, due to exaggeration of production at subsidiary government levels.[135][136] Much of China has a climate very suitable for agriculture and the country has been the world's largest producer of rice, wheat, tomatoes, eggplant, grapes, watermelon, spinach, and many other crops.[137] In 2021, 12 percent of global permanent meadows and pastures belonged to China, as well as 8% of global cropland.[138]

Biodiversity

endemic species, at the Chengdu Panda Base in Sichuan

China is one of 17 megadiverse countries,[139] lying in two of the world's major biogeographic realms: the Palearctic and the Indomalayan. By one measure, China has over 34,687 species of animals and vascular plants, making it the third-most biodiverse country in the world, after Brazil and Colombia.[140] The country is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity;[141] its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was received by the convention in 2010.[142]

China is home to at least 551 species of

nature reserves, covering a total area of 149.95 million hectares, 15 percent of China's total land area.[148] Most wild animals have been eliminated from the core agricultural regions of east and central China, but they have fared better in the mountainous south and west.[149][150] The Baiji was confirmed extinct on 12 December 2006.[151]

China has over 32,000 species of vascular plants,

Environment

The Three Gorges Dam is the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.

In the early 2000s, China has suffered from environmental deterioration and pollution due to its rapid pace of industrialization.[155][156] Regulations such as the 1979 Environmental Protection Law are fairly stringent, though they are poorly enforced, frequently disregarded in favor of rapid economic development.[157] China has the second-highest death toll because of air pollution, after India, with approximately 1 million deaths.[158][159] Although China ranks as the highest CO2 emitting country,[160] it only emits 8 tons of CO2 per capita, significantly lower than developed countries such as the United States (16.1), Australia (16.8) and South Korea (13.6).[161] Greenhouse gas emissions by China are the world's largest.[161] The country has significant water pollution problems; only 89.4% of China's national surface water was graded suitable for human consumption by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2023.[162]

China has prioritized clamping down on pollution, bringing a significant decrease in air pollution in the 2010s.[163] In 2020, the Chinese government announced its aims for the country to reach its peak emissions levels before 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 in line with the Paris Agreement,[164] which, according to Climate Action Tracker, would lower the expected rise in global temperature by 0.2–0.3 degrees – "the biggest single reduction ever estimated by the Climate Action Tracker".[164] According to China's government, the forest coverage of the country grew from 10% of the overall territory in 1949 to 25% in 2024.[165]

China is the world's leading investor in

$546 billion invested in 2022;[166] it the world's leading manufacturer of renewable energy technologies and invests heavily in local-scale renewable energy projects.[167][166][168] Long heavily relying on non-renewable energy sources such as coal, China's adaptation of renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years.[169] In 2024, 58.2% of China's electricity came from coal (largest producer in the world), 13.5% from hydroelectric power (largest), 9.8% from wind (largest), 8.3% from solar energy (largest), 4.4% from nuclear energy (second-largest), 3% from natural gas (fifth-largest), and 2.1% from bioenergy (largest); in total, 38% of China's energy came from clean energy sources.[170] Despite its emphasis on renewables, China remains deeply connected to global oil markets and next to India, has been the largest importer of Russian crude oil in 2022.[171][172]

Political geography

Map depicting territorial disputes between the PRC and neighboring states. For a larger map, see here.

China is the third-largest country in the world by land area after Russia, and the third- or fourth-largest country in the world by total area.[s] China's total area is generally stated as being approximately 9,600,000 km2 (3,700,000 sq mi).[173] Specific area figures range from 9,572,900 km2 (3,696,100 sq mi) according to the Encyclopædia Britannica,[12] to 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) according to the UN Demographic Yearbook,[5] and The World Factbook.[4]

China has the longest combined land border in the world, measuring 22,117 km (13,743 mi) and its coastline covers approximately 14,500 km (9,000 mi) from the mouth of the Yalu River (Amnok River) to the Gulf of Tonkin.[4] China borders 14 nations and covers the bulk of East Asia, bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar in Southeast Asia; India, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan[t] and Afghanistan in South Asia; Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in Central Asia; and Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea in Inner Asia and Northeast Asia. It is narrowly separated from Bangladesh and Thailand to the southwest and south, and has several maritime neighbors such as Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.[174]

China has resolved its land borders with 12 out of 14 neighboring countries, having pursued substantial compromises in most of them.[175][176][177] China currently has a disputed land border with India[178] and Bhutan.[179] China is additionally involved in maritime disputes with multiple countries over territory in the East and South China Seas, such as the Senkaku Islands and the entirety of South China Sea Islands.[180][181]

Government and politics

Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party

The People's Republic of China is a

Chinese constitution states that the PRC "is a socialist state governed by a people's democratic dictatorship that is led by the working class and based on an alliance of workers and peasants"; that the state institutions "shall practice the principle of democratic centralism";[183] and that "the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics is the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party."[184]

The PRC officially characterizes itself as a democracy—more specifically, a whole-process people's democracy.[185] However, the country is commonly described as an authoritarian one-party state and a dictatorship,[186][187] with some of the world's heaviest restrictions in many civil areas, most notably against freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, free formation of social organizations, freedom of religion and free access to the Internet.[188] China has consistently been ranked amongst the lowest as an "authoritarian regime" by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index, ranking at 145th out of 167 countries in 2024.[189] Other sources suggest that terming China as "authoritarian" does not sufficiently account for the multiple consultation mechanisms that exist in the Chinese governmental system.[190]

Chinese Communist Party

The Chinese Communist Party is the founding and governing political party of the People's Republic of China.

According to the CCP constitution, its highest body is the National Congress held every five years.[191] The National Congress elects the Central Committee, who then elects the party's Politburo, Politburo Standing Committee and the general secretary (party leader), the top leadership of the country.[191] The general secretary holds ultimate power and authority over party and state and serves as the informal paramount leader.[192] The current general secretary is Xi Jinping, who took office on 15 November 2012.[193] At the local level, the secretary of the CCP committee of a subdivision outranks the local government level; CCP committee secretary of a provincial division outranks the governor while the CCP committee secretary of a city outranks the mayor.[194]

Government

The government in China is under the sole control of the CCP.[195] The CCP controls appointments in government bodies, with most senior government officials being CCP members.[195]

The

highest organ of state power holds the unified powers of the state,[183] though observers often describe it as a "rubber stamp" body.[196] The NPC meets annually, while the NPC Standing Committee, around 150 members elected from NPC delegates, meets every couple of months.[196] Elections are indirect and not pluralistic, with nominations at all levels being controlled by the CCP.[185] The NPC is dominated by the CCP, with another eight minor parties having nominal representation under the condition of upholding CCP leadership.[197]

The NPC elects the

united front" system, which aims to gather non-CCP voices to support the CCP. Similar to the people's congresses, CPPCCs have subdivisions; the National Committee of the CPPCC is chaired by Wang Huning, the fourth-ranking member of the PSC.[198]

The governance of China is characterized by a high degree of political centralization but significant economic decentralization.[199]: 7  Policy instruments or processes are often tested locally before being applied more widely, resulting in a policy that involves experimentation and feedback.[200]: 14  Generally, central government leadership refrains from drafting specific policies, instead using the informal networks and site visits to affirm or suggest changes to the direction of local policy experiments or pilot programs.[201]: 71  The typical approach is that central government leadership begins drafting formal policies, law, or regulations after policy has been developed at local levels.[201]: 71 

Administrative divisions

The PRC is constitutionally a unitary state divided into 23 provinces,[u] five autonomous regions (each with a designated minority group), four direct-administered municipalities—collectively referred to as "mainland China"—as well as the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau.[202] The PRC regards the island of Taiwan as its Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu as a part of Fujian Province, and islands the ROC controls in the South China Sea as a part of Hainan Province and Guangdong Province, even though all these territories are governed by the Republic of China (ROC).[203][30] Geographically, all 31 provincial divisions of mainland China can be grouped into six regions: North China, East China, Southwestern China, South Central China, Northeast China, and Northwestern China.[204]

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous RegionTibet (Xizang) Autonomous RegionQinghai ProvinceGansu ProvinceSichuan ProvinceYunnan ProvinceNingxia Hui Autonomous RegionInner Mongolia (Nei Mongol) Autonomous RegionShaanxi ProvinceMunicipality of ChongqingGuizhou ProvinceGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous RegionShanxi ProvinceHenan ProvinceHubei ProvinceHunan ProvinceGuangdong ProvinceHainan ProvinceHebei ProvinceHeilongjiang ProvinceJilin ProvinceLiaoning ProvinceMunicipality of BeijingMunicipality of TianjinShandong ProvinceJiangsu ProvinceAnhui ProvinceMunicipality of ShanghaiZhejiang ProvinceJiangxi ProvinceFujian ProvinceHong Kong Special Administrative RegionMacau Special Administrative RegionTaiwan Province
List of administrative divisions in the PRC
Provinces ()
Claimed Province

Taiwan (台湾省), governed by the Republic of China

Autonomous regions (自治区)
Municipalities (直辖市)
Special administrative regions (特别行政区)
  • Hong Kong / Xianggang (香港特别行政区)
  • Macau / Aomen (澳门特别行政区)

Foreign relations

Diplomatic relations of China

The PRC has diplomatic relations with 179

developing countries.[212]

The PRC officially maintains the one China principle: the view that there is only one sovereign state with the name "China"—represented by the PRC—and that Taiwan is part of that China.[213] The unique status of Taiwan has led to countries formally recognizing the PRC to maintain unique "one China policies" that differ from each other; some countries explicitly recognize the PRC's claim over Taiwan, while others, including the U.S. and Japan, only acknowledge the claim.[213] Chinese officials have protested on numerous occasions when foreign countries have made diplomatic overtures to Taiwan,[214] especially in the matter of armament sales.[215] Most countries have switched recognition from the ROC to the PRC since the latter replaced the former in the UN in 1971.[216]

Much of current Chinese foreign policy is reportedly based on Premier Zhou Enlai's Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, as well as by the concept of "harmony without uniformity", which encourages diplomatic relations between states despite ideological differences.[217] This policy may have led China to support or maintain close ties with states that are regarded as dangerous and repressive by Western nations, such as Sudan,[218] North Korea and Iran.[219] China's close relationship with Myanmar has involved support for its ruling governments as well as for its ethnic rebel groups,[220] including the Arakan Army.[221] China has a close political, economic and military relationship with Russia,[222] and the two states often vote in unison in the UN Security Council.[223][224][225] China's relationship with the United States is complex, and includes deep trade ties but significant political differences.[226]

Since the early 2000s, China has followed a policy of engaging with African nations for trade and bilateral co-operation.[227][228][229] It maintains extensive and highly diversified trade links with the European Union, and became its largest trading partner for goods.[230] China is increasing its influence in Central Asia[231] and South Pacific.[232] The country has strong trade ties with ASEAN countries[233] and major South American economies,[234] and is the largest trading partner of Brazil, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and several others.[235]

In 2013, China initiated the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a large global infrastructure building initiative with funding on the order of $50–100 billion per year.[236] BRI could be one of the largest development plans in modern history.[237] It expanded significantly over the next six years and, as of April 2020, included 138 countries and 30 international organizations. In addition to intensifying foreign policy relations, the focus is particularly on building efficient transport routes, especially the maritime Silk Road with its connections to East Africa and Europe. However many loans made under the program are unsustainable and China has faced a number of calls for debt relief from debtor nations.[238][239]

Military

Chengdu J-20 5th generation stealth fighter

The

commander-in-chief of the PLA.[247]

Sociopolitical issues and human rights

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