from
CIA World Factbook 2006
China
Introduction
Background: For centuries China stood as a leading civilization,
outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and
sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the
country was beset by civil unrest, major famines,
military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World
War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an
autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring
China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over
everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of
people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and
other leaders focused on market-oriented economic
development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much
of the population, living standards have improved
dramatically and the room for personal choice has
expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Geography
Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay,
Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea
and Vietnam
Geographic 35 00 N, 105 00 E
coordinates:
Map Asia
references:
Area: total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than the US
comparative:
Land total: 22,117 km
boundaries: border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km,
Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km,
North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km,
Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km,
Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km,
Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km
regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Coastline: 14,500 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the
continental margin
Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in
north
Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west;
plains, deltas, and hills in east
Elevation lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
extremes: highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Natural coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury, tin,
resources: tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium,
magnetite, aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower
potential (world's largest)
Land use: arable land: 14.86%
permanent crops: 1.27%
other: 83.87% (2005)
Irrigated 545,960 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern
hazards: and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis;
earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Environment - air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur dioxide
current particulates) from reliance on coal produces acid rain;
issues: water shortages, particularly in the north; water
pollution from untreated wastes; deforestation;
estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural land since
1949 to soil erosion and economic development;
desertification; trade in endangered species
Environment - party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic
international Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
agreements: Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada,
note: and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the
world's tallest peak
People
Population: 1,313,973,713 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.8% (male 145,461,833/female 128,445,739)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 482,439,115/female
455,960,489)
65 years and over: 7.7% (male 48,562,635/female
53,103,902) (2006 est.)
Median age: total: 32.7 years
male: 32.3 years
female: 33.2 years (2006 est.)
Population 0.59% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 13.25 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 6.97 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -0.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.12 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female
total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 23.12 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 20.6 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 72.58 years
expectancy at male: 70.89 years
birth: female: 74.46 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.73 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 0.1% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 840,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 44,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Chinese (singular and plural)
adjective: Chinese
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 91.9%, Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan,
Miao, Manchu, Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other
nationalities 8.1%
Religions: Daoist (Taoist), Buddhist, Christian 3%-4%, Muslim
1%-2%
note: officially atheist (2002 est.)
Languages: Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the
Beijing dialect), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghaiese),
Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang,
Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic
groups entry)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.9%
male: 95.1%
female: 86.5% (2002)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: People's Republic of China
conventional short form: China
local long form: Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo
local short form: Zhongguo
abbreviation: PRC
Government Communist state
type:
Capital: name: Beijing
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 116 24 E
time difference: UTC+8 (13 hours ahead of Washington,
DC during Standard Time)
note: despite its size, all of China falls within one
time zone
Administrative 23 provinces (sheng, singular and plural), 5 autonomous
divisions: 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, 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
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)
National Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of
holiday: China, 1 October (1949)
Constitution: most recent promulgation 4 December 1982
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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: President HU Jintao (since 15 March
branch: 2003) and Vice President ZENG Qinghong (since 15 March
2003)
head of government: Premier WEN Jiabao (since 16 March
2003); Executive Vice Premier HUANG Ju (since 17 March
2003), Vice Premiers WU Yi (17 March 2003), ZENG Peiyan
(since 17 March 2003), and HUI Liangyu (since 17 March
2003)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the National
People's Congress (NPC)
elections: president and vice president elected by the
National People's Congress for a five-year term
(eligible for a second term); elections last held 15-17
March 2003 (next to be held mid-March 2008); premier
nominated by the president, confirmed by the National
People's Congress
election results: HU Jintao elected president by the
10th National People's Congress with a total of 2,937
votes (four delegates voted against him, four
abstained, and 38 did not vote); ZENG Qinghong elected
vice president by the 10th National People's Congress
with a total of 2,578 votes (177 delegates voted
against him, 190 abstained, and 38 did not vote); two
seats were vacant
Legislative unicameral National People's Congress or Quanguo Renmin
branch: Daibiao Dahui (2,985 seats; members elected by
municipal, regional, and provincial people's congresses
to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held December 2002-February 2003 (next
to be held late 2007-February 2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - NA
Judicial Supreme People's Court (judges appointed by the
branch: National People's Congress); Local Peoples Courts
(comprise higher, intermediate, and local courts);
Special Peoples Courts (primarily military, maritime,
and railway transport courts)
Political Chinese Communist Party or CCP [HU Jintao]; eight
parties and registered small parties controlled by CCP
leaders:
Political no substantial political opposition groups exist,
pressure although the government has identified the Falungong
groups and spiritual movement and the China Democracy Party as
leaders: subversive groups
International AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
organization BCIE, BIS, CDB, EAS, FAO, G-24 (observer), G-77, IAEA,
participation: IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU,
LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (observer),
NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC
(observer), SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL,
UNMIS, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador ZHOU Wenzhong
representation chancery: 2300 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 328-2500
FAX: [1] (202) 328-2582
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles,
New York, San Francisco
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Clark T. RANDT, Jr.
representation embassy: Xiu Shui Bei Jie 3, 100600 Beijing
from the US: mailing address: PSC 461, Box 50, FPO AP 96521-0002
telephone: [86] (10) 6532-3831
FAX: [86] (10) 6532-3178
consulate(s) general: Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and
Macau, Shanghai, Shenyang
Flag red with a large yellow five-pointed star and four
description: smaller yellow five-pointed stars (arranged in a
vertical arc toward the middle of the flag) in the
upper hoist-side corner
Economy
Economy - China's economy during the last quarter century has
overview: 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 collectivized 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. China has generally
implemented reforms in a gradualist or piecemeal
fashion. The process continues with key moves in 2005
including the sale of equity in China's largest state
banks to foreign investors and refinements in foreign
exchange and bond markets. 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,
China in 2005 stood as the second-largest economy in
the world after the US, although in per capita terms
the country is still lower middle-income and 150
million Chinese fall below international poverty lines.
Economic development has generally been more rapid in
coastal provinces than in the interior, and there are
large disparities in per capita income between regions.
The government has struggled to: (a) sustain adequate
job growth for tens of millions of workers laid off
from state-owned enterprises, migrants, and new
entrants to the work force; (b) reduce corruption and
other economic crimes; and (c) contain environmental
damage and social strife related to the economy's rapid
transformation. From 100 to 150 million surplus rural
workers are adrift between the villages and the cities,
many subsisting through part-time, low-paying jobs. One
demographic consequence of the "one child" policy is
that China is now one of the most rapidly aging
countries in the world. Another long-term threat to
growth is the deterioration in the environment -
notably air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady
fall of the water table, especially in the north. China
continues to lose arable land because of erosion and
economic development. China has benefited from a huge
expansion in computer Internet use, with more than 100
million users at the end of 2005. Foreign investment
remains a strong element in China's remarkable
expansion in world trade and has been an important
factor in the growth of urban jobs. In July 2005, China
revalued its currency by 2.1% against the US dollar and
moved to an exchange rate system that references a
basket of currencies. Reports of shortages of electric
power in the summer of 2005 in southern China receded
by September-October and did not have a substantial
impact on China's economy. More power generating
capacity is scheduled to come on line in 2006 as large
scale investments are completed. Thirteen years in
construction at a cost of $24 billion, the immense
Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze River will be
essentially completed in 2006 and will revolutionize
electrification and flood control in the area. The
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in
October 2005 approved the draft 11th Five-Year Plan and
the National People's Congress is expected to give
final approval in March 2006. The plan calls for a 20%
reduction in energy consumption per unit of GDP by 2010
and an estimated 45% increase in GDP by 2010. The plan
states that conserving resources and protecting the
environment are basic goals, but it lacks details on
the policies and reforms necessary to achieve these
goals.
GDP $8.883 trillion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $2.225 trillion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 10.2% (official data) (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $6,800 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 12.5%
composition by industry: 47.3%
sector: services: 40.3%
note: industry includes construction (2005 est.)
Labor force: 791.4 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 49%
by occupation: industry: 22%
services: 29% (2003 est.)
Unemployment 9% official registered unemployment in urban areas in
rate: 2004; substantial unemployment and underemployment in
rural areas; an official Chinese journal estimated
overall unemployment (including rural areas) for 2003
at 20% (2005 est.)
Population 10% (2001 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 2.4%
income or highest 10%: 30.4% (1998)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 44 (2002)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 1.8% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 44.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $392.1 billion
expenditures: $424.3 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 24.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - rice, wheat, potatoes, corn, peanuts, tea, millet,
products: barley, apples, cotton, oilseed; pork; fish
Industries: mining and ore processing, iron, steel, aluminum, 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
Industrial 29.5% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 2.19 trillion kWh (2004)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 80.2%
production by hydro: 18.5%
source: nuclear: 1.2%
other: 0.1% (2001)
Electricity - 2.17 trillion kWh (2004)
consumption:
Electricity - 10.6 billion kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 1.546 billion kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 3.504 million bbl/day (2004)
production:
Oil - 6.391 million bbl/day (2004)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 340,300 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: 3.226 million bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved 18.26 billion bbl (2004)
reserves:
Natural gas - 35.02 billion cu m (2003)
production:
Natural gas - 33.44 billion cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 2.79 billion cu m (2004)
exports:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2004)
imports:
Natural gas - 2.53 trillion cu m (2004)
proved
reserves:
Current $160.8 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $752.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - machinery and equipment, plastics, optical and medical
commodities: equipment, iron and steel
Exports - US 21.4%, Hong Kong 16.3%, Japan 11%, South Korea 4.6%,
partners: Germany 4.3% (2005)
Imports: $631.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery and equipment, oil and mineral fuels,
commodities: plastics, optical and medical equipment, organic
chemicals, iron and steel
Imports - Japan 15.2%, South Korea 11.6%, Taiwan 11.2%, US 7.4%,
partners: Germany 4.6% (2005)
Reserves of $825.6 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $252.8 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $NA
recipient:
Currency yuan (CNY); note - also referred to as the Renminbi
(code): (RMB)
Currency code: CNY
Exchange yuan per US dollar - 8.1943 (2005), 8.2768 (2004),
rates: 8.277 (2003), 8.277 (2002), 8.2771 (2001)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 350.433 million (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 393.428 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: domestic and international services
system: are increasingly available for private use; unevenly
distributed domestic system serves principal cities,
industrial centers, and many towns
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and
cellular telephone systems have been installed; a
domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in
place
international: country code - 86; satellite earth
stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific and Indian Ocean regions); several
international fiber-optic links to Japan, South Korea,
Hong Kong, Russia, and Germany (2000)
Radio AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 417 million (1997)
Television 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central
broadcast Television, 31 are provincial TV stations, and nearly
stations: 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Televisions: 400 million (1997)
Internet .cn
country code:
Internet 232,780 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 3 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 123 million (2006)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 486 (2006)
Airports - total: 403
with paved over 3,047 m: 56
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 127
1,524 to 2,437 m: 138
914 to 1,523 m: 22
under 914 m: 60 (2006)
Airports - total: 83
with unpaved over 3,047 m: 4
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 25
under 914 m: 39 (2006)
Heliports: 32 (2006)
Pipelines: gas 22,664 km; oil 15,256 km; refined products 6,106 km
(2006)
Railways: total: 74,408 km
standard gauge: 74,408 km 1.435-m gauge (19,303 km
electrified) (2004)
Roadways: total: 1,809,829 km
paved: 1,447,682 km (with at least 29,745 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 362,147 km (2003)
Waterways: 123,964 km (2003)
Merchant total: 1,723 ships (1000 GRT or over) 21,405,633 GRT/
marine: 32,411,260 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 387, cargo 695,
chemical tanker 45, combination ore/oil 1, container
152, liquefied gas 31, passenger 8, passenger/cargo 83,
petroleum tanker 261, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/
roll off 8, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 14
foreign-owned: 13 (Hong Kong 7, Japan 3, South Korea 2,
Norway 1)
registered in other countries: 1,191 (Bahamas 3,
Bangladesh 1, Belize 103, Bolivia 1, Cambodia 128,
Cyprus 11, Georgia 2, Honduras 3, Hong Kong 274, India
2, North Korea 1, Liberia 35, Malaysia 1, Malta 14,
Mongolia 4, Norway 3, Panama 420, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 103, Sierra Leone 2, Singapore 23, Thailand
1, Tuvalu 23, unknown 33) (2006)
Ports and Dalian, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao,
terminals: Qinhuangdao, Shanghai
Military
Military People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy
branches: (includes marines and naval aviation), Air Force
(includes airborne forces), and II Artillery Corps
(strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP);
Reserve and Militia Forces (2006)
Military 18-22 years of age for compulsory military service,
service age with 24-month service obligation; no minimum age for
and voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18-22
obligation: years of age for women who meet requirements for
specific military jobs (2006)
Manpower males age 18-49: 342,956,265
available for females age 18-49: 324,701,244 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 281,240,272
for military females age 18-49: 269,025,517 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 13,186,433
reaching females age 18-49: 12,298,149 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $81.48 billion (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 4.3% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - in 2005, China and India began drafting principles to
international: resolve all aspects of their extensive boundary and
territorial disputes together with a security and
foreign policy dialogue to consolidate discussions
related to the boundary, regional nuclear
proliferation, and other matters; recent talks and
confidence-building measures have begun to defuse
tensions over Kashmir, site of the world's largest and
most militarized territorial dispute 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; about 90,000 ethnic Tibetan exiles reside
primarily in India as well as Nepal and Bhutan; 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" has eased tensions
in the Spratlys but is not the legally binding "code of
conduct" sought by some parties; Vietnam and China
continue to expand construction of facilities in the
Spratlys 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
have become more vocal in rejecting 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 prospecting; certain islands in the Yalu
and Tumen rivers are in an uncontested dispute with
North Korea and a section of boundary around Mount
Paektu is considered indefinite; China seeks to stem
illegal migration of tens of thousands of North
Koreans; China and Russia prepare to demarcate the
boundary agreed to in October 2004 between the
long-disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri;
demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds
slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation
and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004,
implementation has been delayed; environmentalists in
Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's
construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the
Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province
Refugees and refugees (country of origin): 299,287 (Vietnam)
internally estimated 30,000-50,000 (North Korea) (2005)
displaced
persons:
Trafficking in current situation: China is a source, transit, and
persons: destination country for women, men, and children
trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and
forced labor; the majority of trafficking in China is
internal, but there is also international trafficking
of Chinese citizens; women are lured through false
promises of legitimate employment into commercial
sexual exploitation in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and
Japan; Chinese men and women are smuggled to countries
throughout the world at enormous personal expense and
then forced into commercial sexual exploitation or
exploitative labor to repay debts to traffickers; women
and children are trafficked into China from Mongolia,
Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for forced
labor, marriage, and sexual slavery; most North Koreans
enter northeastern China voluntarily, but others
reportedly are trafficked into China from North Korea;
domestic trafficking remains the most significant
problem in China, with an estimated minimum of
10,000-20,000 victims trafficked each year; the actual
number of victims could be much greater; some experts
believe that the serious and prolonged imbalance in the
male-female birth ratio may now be contributing to
Chinese and foreign girls and women being trafficked as
potential brides
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - China failed to show
evidence of increasing efforts to address transnational
trafficking; while the government provides reasonable
protection to internal victims of trafficking,
protection for Chinese and foreign victims of
transnational trafficking remain inadequate
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the
Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem;
source country for chemical precursors and
methamphetamine