China
Land area: Total: 9,596,960 sq km
Population: 1,339million (July 2009 est.)
Labour force: 807.7 million (2008 est.)
Occupations: Agriculture:43% industry:25% services:32% (2006 est.)
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry)
Capital: Beijing
Head of State: President HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003); Vice President XI Jinping (since 15 March 2008)
Head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March 2003);
National holiday: Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China, 1 October (1949)
Economy: China's economy during the past 30 years has changed from a centrally planned system that was largely closed to international trade to a more market-oriented economy that has a rapidly growing private sector and is a major player in the global economy. Reforms started in the late 1970s with the phasing out of collectivised agriculture, and expanded to include the gradual liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, increased autonomy for state enterprises, the foundation of a diversified banking system, the development of stock markets, the rapid growth of the non-state sector, and the opening to foreign trade and investment.
The restructuring of the economy and resulting efficiency gains have contributed to a more than tenfold increase in GDP since 1978. Measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis that adjusts for price differences, China in 2008 stood as the second-largest economy in the world after the US, although in per capita terms the country is still lower middle-income.
Imports: £4,870 million from the UK (2008)
Industries: mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminium, and other metals, coal; machine building; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemicals; fertilizers; consumer products, including footwear, toys, and electronics; food processing; transportation equipment, including automobiles, rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; telecommunications equipment, commercial space launch vehicles, satellites.
Inflation: 6% (2008 est.)
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