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Administrative divisions 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous regions (zizhiqu, singular and plural), and 4 municipalities (shi, singular and plural) provinces: Anhui, Fujian, Gansu, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hainan, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Jilin, Liaoning, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang; (see note on Taiwan) autonomous regions: Guangxi, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Xinjiang Uygur, Xizang (Tibet) municipalities: Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai, Tianjin note: China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Administrative divisions > Note China considers Taiwan its 23rd province; see separate entries for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador	Antti Kuosmanen
Ambassadors from Israel > Current Israeli Ambassadors > Israeli Ambassador	Yehoyada Haim
ambassadors to the United States > Ambassador	Zhou Wenzhong
Capital city	Beijing
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	39 55 N, 116 23 E
Capital city > Name	Beijing
Capital city > Note despite its size, all of China falls within one time zone
Capital city > Time difference UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
Copyright > Reference	Art. 21,
Corruption	3.2		[79th of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection	50 pma
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
Diplomatic representation from the US > Consulate(s) general Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy 55 An Jia Lou Lu, 100600 Beijing
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX	[86] (10) 8531-3300
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone	[86] (10) 8531-3000
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission	Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s)	Los Angeles
Diplomatic representation in the US > Consulate(s) general Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX	[1] (202) 328-2582
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone	[1] (202) 328-2500
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address	515 St. Patrick St
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood	Lower Town
Executive branch > Cabinet State Council appointed by National People's Congress (NPC)
Executive branch > Chief of state President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President XI Jinping (since 15 March 2008)
Executive branch > Election results HU Jintao elected president by National People's Congress with a total of 2,963 votes; XI Jinping elected vice president with a total of 2,919 votes
Executive branch > Elections president and vice president elected by National People's Congress for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17 March 2008 (next to be held in mid-March 2013); premier nominated by president, confirmed by National People's Congress
Executive branch > Head of government Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003); Executive Vice Premier LI Keqiang (17 March 2008), Vice Premier HUI Liangyu (since 17 March 2003), Vice Premier ZHANG Deijiang (since 17 March 2008), and Vice Premier WANG Qishan (since 17 March 2008)
Fijian diplomatic missions > Foreign missions resident in Fiji > Head of Mission	Ambassador Zhang Junsai
Fijian diplomatic missions > Foreign missions resident in Fiji > Type of mission	Embassy
Flag description 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
Flag modification	1		[188th of 197]
foreign consulates in Edinburgh, Scotland > Consulate Address	55 Corstorphine Road
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment	May 13, 1992
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment	August 1, 1955
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth	9.01 %		[17th of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$	283,255,900,000 constant 2000 US$		[4th of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita)	217.138 constant 2000 US$ per c		[65th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU	1115462000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU	2601210000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$	317,441,400,000 $		[5th of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP)	0.142 $ per $1 of GDP		[77th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita)	243.343 $ per capita		[82nd of 184]
Government type	Communist state
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom	William Ehrman
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type	Embassy
Independence 221 BC (unification under the Qin or Ch'in Dynasty); 1 January 1912 (Manchu Dynasty replaced by a Republic); 1 October 1949 (People's Republic established)
International organization participation ADB, AfDB (nonregional members), APEC, APT, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Judicial branch Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the National People's Congress); Local People's Courts (comprise higher, intermediate, and basic courts); Special People's Courts (primarily military, maritime, railway transportation, and forestry courts)
Kuala Lumpur embassies > Neighborhood	Taman U-Thant
Legal origin German
Legal system based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui (2,987 seats; members elected by municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses, and People's Liberation Army to serve five-year terms)
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote - NA; seats - 2,987
Legislative branch > Elections last held December 2007-February 2008; date of next election - NA
Management time dealing with officials > % of management time	18.52 %		[2nd of 38]
National holiday Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October
Parliamentary seats > Female	22%		[16th of 143]
Partners in Population and Development > Representatives > Name	H.E. Zhang Weiqing
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint	32.87 %		[9th of 38]
Political parties and leaders Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight registered small parties controlled by CCP
Political pressure groups and leaders the China Democracy Party; the Falungong spiritual movement; note: no substantial political opposition groups exist, although the government has identified the organizations listed above as subversive groups
Prime minister	Wen Jiabao
Procedures to build a warehouse > number	29		[9th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita)	0.021 per 1 million people		[169th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number	31		[96th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita)	0.024 per 1 million people		[170th of 171]
Procedures to register property > number	3		[149th of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita)	2.3 per 1 billion people		[166th of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > %	20.3 %		[54th of 174]
Secession attempts Tibet
Start-up procedures to register a business > number	13		[29th of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita)	0.01 per 1 million people		[169th of 171]
Status	dictatorship
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days	367 days		[12th of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days	292 days		[141st of 171]
Time required to register property > days	32 days		[116th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days	35 days		[87th of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours	872 hours		[12th of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years	2.4 years		[97th of 151]
Total businesses registered > number	4,123,620		[4th of 71]
Total businesses registered > number (per capita)	3.201 per 1 million people		[57th of 83]
Trademarks, nonresidents	52,788		[1st of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita)	0.041 per 1 million people		[46th of 146]
Trademarks, residents	527,591		[1st of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita)	0.407 per 1 million people		[31st of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International continuing talks and confidence-building measures work toward reducing tensions over Kashmir that nonetheless remains militarized with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; China and India continue their security and foreign policy dialogue started in 2005 related to the dispute over most of their rugged, militarized boundary, regional nuclear proliferation, and other matters; China claims most of India's Arunachal Pradesh to the base of the Himalayas; lacking any treaty describing the boundary, Bhutan and China continue negotiations to establish a common boundary alignment to resolve territorial disputes due to cartographic discrepancies; Chinese maps show an international boundary symbol off the coasts of the littoral states of the South China Seas, where China has interrupted Vietnamese hydrocarbon exploration; China asserts sovereignty over the Spratly Islands together with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" eased tensions in the Spratly's but is not the legally binding "code of conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China continue to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly's and in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord on marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands; China occupies some of the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; China and Taiwan continue to reject both Japan's claims to the uninhabited islands of Senkaku-shoto (Diaoyu Tai) and Japan's unilaterally declared equidistance line in the East China Sea, the site of intensive hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation; certain islands in the Yalu and Tumen rivers are in dispute with North Korea; North Korea and China seek to stem illegal migration to China by North Koreans, fleeing privations and oppression, by building a fence along portions of the border and imprisoning North Koreans deported by China; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with their 2004 Agreement; China and Tajikistan have begun demarcating the revised boundary agreed to in the delimitation of 2002; the decade-long demarcation of the China-Vietnam land boundary is expected to be completed by the end of 2008, while the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements in the Gulf of Tonkin, ratified in June 2004, have been implemented; citing environmental, cultural, and social concerns, China has reconsidered construction of 13 dams on the Salween River, but energy-starved Burma, with backing from Thailand, remains intent on building five hydro-electric dams downstream despite regional and international protests; Chinese and Hong Kong authorities met in March 2008 to resolve ownership and use of lands recovered in Shenzhen River channelization, including 96-hectare Lok Ma Chau Loop; Hong Kong developing plans to reduce 2,000 out of 2,800 hectares of its restricted Closed Area by 2010
UN membership date	24 Oct. 1945
United Nations mission http://www.china-un.org/
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood	Kalorama Heights

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