5 autonomous regions* (zizhiqu,
singular and plural), and 3 municipalities** (shi, singular and plural);
Anhui, Beijing Shi**, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guangxi*, Guizhou, Hainan,
Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning,
Nei Mongol*, Ningxia*, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanghai Shi**, Shanxi,
Sichuan, Tianjin Shi**, Xinjiang*, Xizang*, Yunnan, Zhejiang; note - China
considers Taiwan its 23rd province
Independence:
unification under the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty 221 BC, Qing (Ch'ing) Dynasty
replaced by the Republic on 12 February 1912, People's Republic established
1 October 1949
Constitution:
most recent promulgated 4 December 1982
Legal system:
a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law; rudimentary
civil code in effect since 1 January 1987; new legal codes in effect since 1
January 1980; continuing efforts are being made to improve civil,
administrative, criminal, and commercial law
National holiday:
National Day, 1 October (1949)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, premier, five vice premiers, State Council
Legislative branch:
unicameral National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
Judicial branch:
Supreme People's Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President YANG Shangkun (since 8 April 1988); Vice President WANG Zhen
(since 8 April 1988)
Chief of State and Head of Government (de facto):
DENG Xiaoping (since mid-1977)
Head of Government:
Premier LI Peng (Acting Premier since 24 November 1987, Premier since 9
April 1988); Vice Premier YAO Yilin (since 2 July 1979); Vice Premier TIAN
Jiyun (since 20 June 1983); Vice Premier WU Xueqian (since 12 April 1988);
Vice Premier ZOU Jiahua (since 8 April 1991); Vice Premier ZHU Rongji (since
8 April 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
- Chinese Communist Party (CCP), JIANG Zemin, general secretary of the
Central Committee (since 24 June 1989); also, eight registered small parties
controlled by CCP
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
National People's Congress:
last held March 1988 (next to be held March 1993); results - CCP is the only
party but there are also independents; seats - (2,976 total) CCP and
independents 2,976 (indirectly elected at county or xian level)
President:
last held 8 April 1988 (next to be held March 1993); results - YANG Shangkun
was nominally elected by the Seventh National People's Congress
:China Government
Communists:
49,000,000 party members (1990 est.)
Other political or pressure groups:
such meaningful opposition as exists consists of loose coalitions, usually
within the party and government organization, that vary by issue
Member of:
AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UN Security Council, UNTSO, UN Trusteeship
Council, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador ZHU Qizhen; Chancery at 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20008; telephone (202) 328-2500 through 2502; there are Chinese
Consulates General in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San
Francisco
US:
Ambassador J. Stapleton ROY; Embassy at Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, Beijing (mailing
address is 100600, PSC 461, Box 50, Beijing or FPO AP 96521-0002); telephone
[86] (1) 532-3831; FAX [86] (1) 532-3178; there are US Consulates General in
Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenyang
Flag:
red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four smaller yellow
five-pointed stars (arranged in a vertical arc toward the middle of the
flag) in the upper hoist-side corner
:China Economy
Overview:
Beginning in late 1978 the Chinese leadership has been trying to move the
economy from the sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more
productive and flexible economy with market elements, but still within the
framework of monolithic Communist control. To this end the authorities have
switched to a system of household responsibility in agriculture in place of
the old collectivization, increased the authority of local officials and
plant managers in industry, permitted a wide variety of small-scale
enterprise in services and light manufacturing, and opened the foreign
economic sector to increased trade and joint ventures. The most gratifying
result has been a strong spurt in production, particularly in agriculture in
the early 1980s. Industry also has posted major gains, especially in coastal
areas near Hong Kong and opposite Taiwan, where foreign investment and
modern production methods have helped spur production of both domestic and
export goods. Aggregate output has more than doubled since 1978. On the
darker side, the leadership has often experienced in its hybrid system the
worst results of socialism (bureaucracy, lassitude, corruption) and of
capitalism (windfall gains and stepped-up inflation). Beijing thus has
periodically backtracked, retightening central controls at intervals and
thereby lessening the credibility of the reform process. In 1991 output rose
substantially, particularly in the favored coastal areas. Popular
resistance, changes in central policy, and loss of authority by rural cadres
have weakened China's population control program, which is essential to the
nation's long-term economic viability.
GNP:
$NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate 6% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
2.1% (1991)
Unemployment rate: