The People's Republic of China (simplified Chinese: 中华人民共和国; traditional Chinese: 中華人民共和國; pinyin: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó listen ), commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the third or fourth largest country in the world.[4] With a population of over 1.3 billion, it is the most populous country in the world.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has led the PRC under a single-party system since the state's establishment in 1949. The PRC is involved in a long-running dispute over the political status of Taiwan. The CPC's rival during the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang (KMT), fled to Taiwan and surrounding islands after its civil war defeat in 1949, claiming legitimacy over China, Mongolia, and Tuva while it was the ruling power of the Republic of China (ROC). The term "Mainland China" is often used to denote the areas under PRC rule, but sometimes excludes its two Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong and Macau.
Because of its vast population, rapidly growing economy, and large research and development investments, China is considered an "emerging superpower".[5][6] It has the world's fourth largest economy (second largest in terms of purchasing power parity.) China is also a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.[7][8][9][10] Since 1978, China's market-based economic reforms have brought the poverty rate down from 53% in 1981 to 8% by 2001.[11] However, China is now faced with a number of other economic problems, including an aging population, an increasing rural-urban income gap, and rapid environmental degradation.[12][13]
China plays a major role in international trade. The country is the world's largest consumer of steel and concrete, using, respectively, a third and over a half of the world's supply of each.[14] Counting all products, China is the third largest importer and the second largest exporter in the world.After Mao's death in 1976 and the arrest of the Gang of Four, blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, Deng Xiaoping quickly wrestled power from Mao's anointed successor Hua Guofeng. Although Deng never became the head of the Party or State himself, his influence within the Party led the country to economic reforms of significant magnitude. The Communist Party subsequently loosened governmental control over citizens' personal lives and the communes were disbanded with many peasants receiving multiple land leases, which greatly increased incentives and agricultural production. This turn of events marked China's transition from a planned economy to a mixed economy with an increasingly open market environment, a system termed by many "market socialism". The PRC adopted its current constitution on December 4, 1982.
In 1989, the death of pro-reform official, Hu Yaobang, helped to spark the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, during which students and others campaigned for several months for more democratic rights and freedom of speech. However, they were eventually put down on June 4 when PLA troops and vehicles entered and forcibly cleared the square by opening fire on protesters, resulting in numerous casualties. This event was widely reported and famously videotaped, which brought worldwide condemnation and sanctions against the government.
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both former mayors of Shanghai, led post-Tiananmen China in the 1990s. Under Jiang Zemin's ten years of administration, China's economic performance pulled an estimated 150 million peasants out of poverty and sustained an average annual GDP growth rate of 11.2%.[19][20] The country formally joined the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Although China needs economic growth to spur its development, the government has begun to worry that rapid economic growth has negatively impacted the country's resources and environment. Another concern is that certain sectors of society are not sufficiently benefiting from China's economic development. As a result, under current President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, the PRC have initiated policies to address these issues of equitable distribution of resources, but the outcome remains to be seen.[21] For much of China's population, living standards have seen extremely large improvements, and freedom continues to expand, but political controls remain tight.
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