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

Senior Chinese official calls for greater efforts against commercial bribery
A senior official on Monday called for greater efforts against commercial bribery. He Yong, deputy secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks at a meeting on battling commercial bribery. He said, though the campaign launched in 2005 to crack down on commercial bribery had been fruitful, the task ahead was still arduous. He called on governments at all levels to work harder to investigate bribery ca ...
Chinese children adopted by overseas families begin root-tracing trip
Chinese children adopted by 37 overseas families from six countries are in China for a root-tracing trip to learn more about their birth country. A welcoming ceremony was held on Monday by the Ministry of Civil Affairs for the children aged four to 14 and their families. At the ceremony, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Xueju presented gifts to the children. To welcome the children, a traditional Chinese drum dance and poetry recitation were also staged at the ceremony. ...
Death toll in school bus accident rises to six
Two adults and four children were killed after a school bus collided with a truck Monday in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, a local official said. The accident happened in Tengxian County in the city of Wuzhou at 8:10 a.m. when a truck made a head-on collision with the school bus, said Liao Yibin, publicity officer with the government of Wuzhou. Three onboard the bus were killed on the spot and three others died later on the way to a local hospital. Among ...
China's Hong Kong expects to increase legal co-op with Vietnam
China's Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Wong Yan Lung said Monday that Hong Kong is discussing with Vietnam on three legal agreements to expand judicial cooperation. The agreements cover the mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, surrender of fugitives and transfer of sentenced persons, said Wong. Wong said that the increase in trade and investment between China's Hong Kong and Vietnam creates the demand for enhancing cooperation in legal area. In the first nine mon ...
Grass-roots cadres should do practical things for the people
Since the reform and opening up, many college students, graduate students, doctoral students have entered the cadre groups, thus the education level of the cadres have improved, there is a large number of young cadres emerging, they have new concepts, open mind, and they are also well versed in foreign languages and computer. These young cadres can both "say" and "write," but can they do practical things for people？ Can they lead the masses to create a happy life? Grass-roots level work is ...
Chinese vice premier meets Generali Group CEO
&$ &$Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan (R) meets with Sergio Balbinot, CEO of Italian insurance giant Generali Group, in Beijing, capital of China, Nov. 23, 2009. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)&$&$ Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan met on Monday with Sergio Balbinot, CEO of Italian insurance giant Generali Group. They exchanged views on issues of common concern, including the current economic and financial situation. ...

China Digital Times (CDT)

Video: Protest in Panyu, Guangdong earlier today, by CoChina
Video: Protest in Panyu, Guangdong earlier today, by CoChina
What I Saw Inside China’s—and the World’s—Most Important Dam
Daniel Gross writes for Slate about his journey inside the Three Gorges Dam: The controversial Three Gorges Dam project, which flooded hundreds of square miles of land and required the relocation of more than 1 million people, was promoted as an effort to improve human welfare. No longer would the Yangtze's ...
Video: Protest in Panyu, Guangdong earlier today, by BLTFQX
Protest in Panyu, Guangdong earlier today, by BLTFQX
Obama’s Warming to China Is Seen as Slight in India
With President Obama having completed his first visit to China, and getting ready to host the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Washington, the India-China-U.S. triangle is getting more complicated. From the New York Times: The statement, on its surface, seemed like any other bland missive released at the end ...
Chinese Drywall Linked to Corrosion in Homes
Reports in the spring claimed that drywall made in China was causing health problems and corrosion on new buildings in Florida. A federal investigation has looked into the issue and recently issued a report. From the New York Times: Federal investigators reported Monday that a “strong association” existed between chemicals contained ...
Official: China Mine that Exploded was Too Crowded
AP reports that more than 500 miners were underground when the mine in Heilongjiang exploded, killing 104, and a government official told Xinhua that the mine's structure was "far too complicated for its current ventilation system to work effectively": The coal mine that exploded in northern China, killing 104, had too ...

The Economist: China's economy

Counterfeit handsets proliferate in China : Talk is cheap
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:39:49 -0000
Chinese firms are making and exporting ever more suspect phonesCHINESE consumers appear fixated with Apple’s iconic iPhone. It draws throngs of eager buyers in Shanghai’s Xujiahui computer market. Similarly, at the Canton Trade Fair in October, vendors hawking familiar-looking silver and black slabs were convulsed in crowds, in sharp contrast to the deserted booths of rival brands, where lonely salesmen slurped disconsolately at noodles. So how can it be that China Unicom has seen dismal initial sales under its exclusive arrangement to sell the iPhone in China?The explanation lies in China’s huge “grey” market for handsets, which includes some genuine phones imported without the manufacturer’s blessing but is mainly comprised of knock-offs. The iPhones at Xujiahui fall into the former category; those at the trade fair into the latter. Illicit phones comprise a staggering 40% of Chinese firms’ production, and 13% of the world’s, according to iSuppli, a research firm. It reckons China will produce 145m of them this year, up by almost half since 2008. This has hit sales of legal phones. ...
China's exchange-rate policy: A yuan-sided argument
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:39:48 -0000
Why China resists foreign demands to revalue its currencyPRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, on his first visit to China this week, urged the government to allow its currency to rise. President Hu Jintao politely chose to ignore him. In recent weeks Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, have also called for a stronger yuan. But China will adjust its currency only when it sees fit, not in response to foreign pressure.China allowed the yuan to rise by 21% against the dollar in the three years to July 2008, but since then it has more or less kept the rate fixed. As a result, the yuan’s trade-weighted value has been dragged down this year by the sickly dollar, while many other currencies have soared. Since March the Brazilian real and the South Korean won have gained 42% and 36% respectively against the yuan, seriously eroding those countries’ competitiveness. ...
Banyan: Land of Eastern promise
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:39:48 -0000
India's membership of Asia remains primarily cartographicAN EASY but instructive way to bait an Indian economist is to credit the Chinese economy with coming to Asia’s rescue and arguably the world’s. It is, claims the economist, an example of anti-India bias. Why does India not get equal credit for robust growth? In all the frothy coverage about Asia’s amazing rebound, including in The Economist, where is India? “You’d think”, the economist complains, “that India isn’t even part of Asia.”To what degree India’s economy is part of a vibrant Asian whole has long been a preoccupation among Indian policymakers. Now the global slowdown has given the debate a keener edge, for it has disproportionately hit the commercial markets in America and Europe to which India traditionally looks. “Look East”, long an avowed tenet of government policy, is in vogue. ...
Europe.view: Looking eastwards, even further
Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:07:21 -0000
Could China fill a power vacuum in eastern Europe?AS THE countries of eastern Europe bump nervously between a near-neutralist Germany, a revisionist Russia and an absent-minded America, the search is on for a powerful outsider, with strong interests in the region, willing to put all kinds of clout behind the smaller countries’ sovereignty and independence. Once, Britain filled that role. The Royal Navy helped the Baltic states win their independence after the first world war. Britain also ruled the southern part of Georgia as a protectorate from 1918 to 1920 and sent a daring expedition to Baku to push back the Bolshevik presence there. But Britain’s imperial star, with the shame and glory that it brought, has waned. Who can fill the gap? ...
China's currency: A yuan-sided argument
Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:21:22 -0000
Why China resists foreign demands to revalue its currencyPRESIDENT Barack Obama, on his first visit to China this week, urged the government to allow its currency to rise. President Hu Jintao politely chose to ignore him. In recent weeks Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, have also called for a stronger yuan. But China will adjust its currency only when it sees fit, not in response to foreign pressure.China allowed the yuan to rise by 21% against the dollar in the three years to July 2008, but since then it has more or less kept the rate fixed. As a result, the yuan’s trade-weighted value has been dragged down this year by the sickly dollar, while many other currencies have soared. Since March the Brazilian real and the South Korean won have gained 42% and 36% respectively against the yuan, seriously eroding those countries’ competitiveness. ...
Banyan: Barack Obama's Asian adventure
Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:03:40 -0000
The president seems better at reassuring America's enemies than its friendsASIANS complain that when George Bush chose Iraq and terrorism as his main arenas in foreign affairs, it was at their expense. Barack Obama intends his first Asian trip as president, which begins in Tokyo on November 13th, as proof of change. As well as Japan, the tour takes in Singapore, China and South Korea. Engagement in the region, he says, is critical to America’s future. Advisers even suggest that what he achieves there will help define Mr Obama’s presidency. Of course, they say that about a lot of things on his plate. But to judge by ordinary folk, the region wishes him well. Many Indonesians think of Mr Obama as one of their own. In Japan students of English have emptied the bookshops of his collected speeches.Some activity suggests there is indeed a new engagement. In July, the American secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, signed ASEAN’s Treaty of Amity and Co-operation. The ten-member Association of South-East Asian Nations had been largely ignored by Mr Bush. This weekend Mr Obama will meet ASEAN’s leaders as a group, which is a first. His administration reached out to the thuggish junta in Myanmar, reversing a policy of isolation, and on November 10th said Mr Obama’s special envoy to North Korea would go to Pyongyang for talks with the obstreperous nuclear state (after close consultation with South Korea and Japan first). The president has taken pains to define China as a “strategic partner”, one without whom America has little hope of tackling everything from the global economic crisis to climate change and nuclear proliferation. And Mr Obama’s energetic support this year for the G20, with its Asia-heavy membership, can be read as a tacit acknowledgment that in economic and political terms the world’s centre of gravity has shifted away from the G8 group of wealthy nations. ...

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