China
China,}} officially the '''People's Republic of China (PRC'''),}} is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the world's second-most populous country. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land. With an area of nearly , it is the third-largest country by total land area. }}}}Notably, the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' specifies the United States' area (excluding coastal and territorial waters) as 9,525,067 km2, which is less than either source's figure given for China's area. Therefore, while it can be determined that China has a larger area excluding coastal and territorial waters, it is unclear which country has a larger area including coastal and territorial waters. ----
The United Nations Statistics Division's figure for the United States is and China is . These closely match the CIA ''World Factbook'' figures and similarly ''include'' coastal and territorial waters for the United States, but ''exclude'' coastal and territorial waters for China.
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Further explanation of disputed ranking: The dispute about which is the world's third-largest country arose from the inclusion of coastal and territorial waters for the United States. This discrepancy was deduced from comparing the CIA ''World Factbook'' and its previous iterations against the information for United States in ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', particularly its footnote section. In sum, according to older versions of the CIA ''World Factbook'' (from 1982 to 1996), the U.S. was listed as the world's fourth-largest country (after Russia, Canada, and China) with a total area of . However, in the 1997 edition, the U.S. added coastal waters to its total area (increasing it to ). And then again in 2007, U.S. added territorial water to its total area (increasing it to ). During this time, China's total area remained unchanged. In other words, ''no'' coastal or territorial water area was added to China's total area figure. The United States has a coastal water area of , and a territorial water area of , for a total of of additional water space. This is larger than entire countries like Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Adding this figure to the U.S. will boost it over China in ranking since China's coastal and territorial water figures are currently unknown (no official publication) and thus cannot be added into China's total area figure.}} The country is divided into 33 province-level divisions, for more details.}} inclusive of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two semi-autonomous special administrative regions. Beijing is the national capital, while Shanghai is its most populous city and largest financial center.
One of the cradles of civilization, China has been inhabited since the Paleolithic era, with the earliest dynasties emerging in the Yellow River basin before the late second millennium BCE. The eighth to third centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the Zhou dynasty, accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques, literature, philosophy, and historiography. In 221 BCE, China was unified under an emperor for the first time. Appointed non-hereditary officials began ruling counties instead of the aristocracy, ushering in more than two millennia of imperial dynasties including the Qin, Han, Tang, Yuan, Ming, and Qing. With the invention of gunpowder and paper, the establishment of the Silk Road, and the building of the Great Wall, Chinese culture—including languages, traditions, architecture, philosophy and technology—flourished and has heavily influenced East Asia and beyond.
After decades of struggle, the monarchy was overthrown in 1912 and the Republic of China (ROC) was established. Despite China's eventual victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War in general, numerous atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre left lasting effects on the country. Concurrently during this period, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) government were fighting sporadically since 1927, with a brief truce as a united front when Japan began invading the country. The second phase of the civil war resumed not long after Japan was defeated, and by 1949, the CCP had established control on most of the territories of the country. As the KMT retreated to Taiwan, the country was split with both sides claiming to be the sole legitimate government of China. After the land reforms, later attempts to realize communism failed—the Great Leap Forward led to a massive famine of millions of citizens, while the Cultural Revolution caused a chaotic period of persecution and zealous Maoist populism. In 1971, the PRC replaced the ROC as China's representation in the United Nations (UN). Following the Sino-Soviet split, the Shanghai Communiqué in 1972 marked the beginning of normalized relations with the United States. Economic reforms that began in 1978 led by reformists within the CCP moved the country away from a socialist planned economy toward an increasingly capitalist market economy, spurring significant economic growth, although liberal and democratic political reforms stalled after the June Fourth Incident in 1989.
China is a unitary one-party socialist republic led by the CCP. It is a founding member of the UN and one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. It is a founding member of several multilateral and regional organizations such as the AIIB, the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, and the RCEP. It is a member of the BRICS, the G20, APEC, the SCO, and the East Asia Summit. Making up around one-fifth of the world economy, the Chinese economy is the world's largest economy by GDP at purchasing power parity, the second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and the second-wealthiest country, albeit ranking poorly in measures of democracy, human rights and religious freedoms. The country has been one of the fastest-growing major economies and is the world's largest manufacturer and exporter, as well as the second-largest importer. China is a nuclear-weapon state with the world's largest standing army by military personnel and the second-largest defense budget. It is a great power and a regional power.
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81Published 1925Peking : Waichiaopu, 1925.2, 18 p.“...China. Wai jiao bu...”
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82Published 1932Hankou : [s.n.], Minguo 21 [1932]1 v. (various pagings) : ill.“...Hubei Sheng (China)...”
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83Zai Hua wai qiao zhi di wei在華外僑之地位by Bau, Mingchien Joshua, 1894-
Published 1932[S.l.] : Zhongguo Taiping yang guo ji xue hui, Minguo 21 [1932]22 p.“...China Institute of Pacific Relations...”
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84Zhonghua Minguo tie lu lie che ji che liang diao du tong ze中華民國鐵路列車及車輛調度通則Published 1936[China] : Guo min zheng fu tie dao bu, 1936.1 v.“...China. Tie dao bu...”
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85Saigon : Impr. du gouvernement,v.“...Cochin China. Conseil colonial...”
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86Kao shi yuan zong bao gao shu考試院總報告書.Published 1935[China] : Kao shi yuan, Minguo 24 [1935]98 p. : ill.“...China. Kao shi yuan...”
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87Jiao tong bu gong zuo bao gao : er shi san nian du交通部工作報告 二十三年度Published 1934[China] : [Jiao tong bu], [1934]1 v. : ill.“...China. Jiao tong bu...”
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88Published 1942[New York, N.Y. : The Relief, 1942-1943.2 v. : ill. ; 30 cm.“...United China Relief (U.S.)...”
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89Shanghai, [s.n.]61.“...National Christian Council of China...”
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90
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91Published 1946New York : United China Relief, 1946.1 v. : ill.“...United China Relief (U.S.)...”
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92Kang zhan liu nian lai wo guo gong ye ji shu zhi jin bu抗戰六年來我國工業技術之進步Published 1943[China : Jing ji bu, 1943]238 p.“...China. Jing ji bu...”
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93Published 1947Shanghai, Zheng zhong shu ju, 1947.218 p.“...China. Jiao yu bu...”
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94Published 1960Peking, Nong ye chu ban she, 1960.348 p. illus.“...China. Nong ye bu...”
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95Zhongguo jing ji nian jian中國經濟年鑑.Published 1935[China : Shang wu yin shu guan, 1935]3 v.“...China. Shi ye bu...”
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96You zhi yuan xiao xue ke cheng biao zhun幼稚園小學課程標準Published 1933Shanghai : Zhonghua shu ju, Minguo 22 [1933]149 p.“...China. Jiao yu bu...”
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97Di 1 hui Zhongguo jing ji nian jian ji nian ce第一回中國經濟年鑑紀念册Published 1933[China : Shi ye bu, 1933]1 v.“...China. Shi ye bu...”
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98Jiao tong bu gong zuo bao gao : er shi yi nian du交通部工作報告 二十一年度Published 1932[China] : [Jiao tong bu], [1932]1 v. : ill.“...China. Jiao tong bu...”
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99Jun zheng fa gui hui bian軍政法規彙編.Published 1932Nanjing : Jun zheng bu, Minguo 21 [1932]3 v. : ill., ports.“...China. Jun zheng bu...”
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100Published 1931Peiping (Peking) : Library, National Geological Survey of China, [1931?]16 p. ; 22 cm.“...China. Geological Survey. Library...”