China

The People's Republic of China is a state in East Asia. It is the most populous country in the world, with a population of over 1.4 billion. China follows a uniform standard time offset UTC + 08:00, although it spans five geographic time zones and borders 14 different countries, which is the second largest of any country in the world after Russia. Covering an area of ​​approximately 9.6 million square kilometers (3.7 million square miles), it is the third or fourth-largest country in the world. The country is formally divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities under direct control; Beijing (capital), Chongqing, Shanghai (largest city) and Tianjin, as well as two special administrative regions; Hong Kong and Macau.

China emerged as one of the world's first civilizations in the fertile Yellow River basin of the North China Plain. China was one of the world's leading economic powers for most of the two millennia, from the 1st to the 19th century. For millennia, China's political system has been based on absolute hereditary monarchies or dynasties, dating back to the semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BC. Since then, China has expanded, split, and merged many times. In the 3rd century BC, Qin reunited mainland China and founded the first Chinese empire. The subsequent Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) saw some of the most advanced technologies of the time, including papermaking and compass production and agricultural and medical improvements. The invention of gunpowder and movable type in the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) completed the Four Great Inventions. The Tang culture spread widely in Asia as the new Silk Road brought traders to Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa. The Qing Empire, the last dynasty of China that formed the territorial basis of modern China, suffered heavy losses from foreign imperialism. The Chinese monarchy collapsed in 1912 as a result of the 1911 revolution when the Republic of China (ROC) succeeded the Qing dynasty. China was invaded by the Japanese Empire during World War II. The Chinese Civil War led to the division of territory in 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), led by Mao Zedong, founded the People's Republic of China in mainland China, while the government of the Republic of China, led by the Kuomintang, retreated to the island of Taiwan. [K] Both the PRC and the ROC currently claim to be the sole legitimate government of China, leading to an ongoing dispute even after the UN recognized the PRC as the government representing China at all UN conferences in 1971. China is currently being ruled as a unitary state. The one-party socialist republic of the CPC.

China is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a founding member of several multilateral and regional cooperation organizations such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road Fund, the New Development Bank, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Organization. Partnership and is a member of BRICS, G8 + 5, G20, APEC and East Asia Summit. It ranks among the lowest on international indicators for civil liberties, government transparency, press freedom, freedom of religion and ethnic minorities. The Chinese authorities have been criticized by political dissidents and human rights activists for widespread human rights abuses, including political repression, massive censorship, massive surveillance of their citizens, and violent suppression of protests.

Following economic reforms in 1978 and its accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001, China's economy became the second-largest country by nominal GDP in 2010 and grew to the largest in the world by PPP in 2014. China is the fastest-growing country in the world. Largest economy, the second-largest country in the world, and the world's largest producer and exporter. The country has the world's largest standing army, the People's Liberation Army, the second-largest defense budget and a recognized nuclear-weapon state. With its powerful military power and large economy, China has been described as a potential superpower.