People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan). For other meanings, see China (disambiguation).}}

China (|tp=Jhongguó}}; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Jonggwo) is a large cultural region and civilization in East Asia. With over one-fifth of the world's population, the majority of China is governed by a state known as the People's Republic of China, with the exception of the other state known as the Republic of China which currently governs the island of Taiwan. The region has been home to a long-standing civilization comprising successive states and cultures dating back more than 6,000 years.

China has one of the world's longest periods of mostly uninterrupted civilization and one of the world's longest continuously used written language systems. The history of China has been largely characterized by repeated divisions and reunifications amid alternating periods of peace and war, and violent imperial dynastic change. The country's territorial extent expanded outwards from a core area in the North China Plain, and varied according to its changing fortunes to include multiple regions of East, Northeast, and Central Asia. (The term "China proper" is used by some historians to describe the territory historically dominated by the majority Han Chinese, as opposed to lands associated later with China).

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China

Chinese vice premier inspects northern port city, urging efforts to boost economy
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday urged local officials and enterprises to seize opportunities and persevere in reform and opening-up to achieve stable and fast economic growth. Efforts should be made to foster new areas of economic growth so as to reach the goal of long-term steady and fast economic development, Li said during an inspection tour from Aug. 18-19 in Tianjin, a north China port city. &$ & ...
Jordan, China ink nuclear co-op deal
Jordan and China Tuesday signed a nuclear agreement, paving ways for future cooperation on peaceful uses of nuclear energy, especially on electricity generation and water desalination. Under the agreement, the two sides will conduct cooperation and exchange on basic and applied researches, nuclear plant designing, constructing and operating, mineral exploration and processing among other areas. The pact was signed by China's ambassador to Jordan Gong Xiaosheng and Chairman of the ...
Isolated county marks 100th day since devastating quake
Beichuan County, battered in the magnitude 8.0 earthquake on May 12 in Sichuan Province, was opened on Monday for survivors to hold memorial ceremonies for the dead. More than 20,000 people, mostly of the Qiang ethnic group, came back to the county which had been isolated since late May to prevent epidemic "Beichuan is an autonomous county of the Qiang minority group, who observe the custom of holding ceremony for the deceased on the100th day of their departure," said Qu Yong'an, ...
Fewer kids available for adoption by foreigners
Fewer Chinese children are available for adoption by foreigners because more affluent families at home have started adopting them, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said yesterday. "The number of Chinese couples applying to adopt children has risen substantially in recent years," said Wang Suying, a division chief of MCA's social welfare and social affairs department, which oversees adoption. About 52,500 children were registered for adoption in 2004, with foreigners adopting 12,500 of t ...
5.0-magnitude quake hits Yunnan, China
An earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale jolted Yingjiang county, Dehong Dai-Jinpo Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, at 5:35 a.m. Wednesday. The epicenter of the quake, about 10 km underground, was at 25.1 degrees north latitude and 97.9 degrees east longitude, according to the National Earthquake Network Center. No casualties have been reported so far. &$&$Source: Xinhua&$&$ ...
Price hike to take heat off power firms
China raises on-grid electricity tariffs today, in a move to reduce domestic power producers' losses and help boost supplies. The on-grid price of power supplied by the country's coal-fired plants will rise by 0.02 yuan (0.28 US cent) per kWh - an average of 5 percent - beginning today, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on its website yesterday. The retail power price will remain unchanged. The government will continue its price controls on coal used for power gene ...

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