The 2001 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
- partners: Japan 18%, Taiwan 11%, US 10%, South Korea 10%,
Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia (2000)
Debt - external: $162 billion (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA
Currency: yuan (CNY)
Currency code: CNY
Exchange rates: yuan per US dollar - 8.2776 (January 2001), 8.2785 (2000), 8.2783 (1999), 8.2790 (1998), 8.2898 (1997), 8.3142 (1996)
note: beginning 1 January 1994, the People's Bank of China quotes the midpoint rate against the US dollar based on the previous day's prevailing rate in the interbank foreign exchange market
Fiscal year: calendar year
China Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 135 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 65 million (January 2001)
Telephone system: general assessment: domestic and international services 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: 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 broadcast stations: AM 369, FM 259, shortwave 45 (1998)
Radios: 417 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 3,240 (of which 209 are operated by China Central Television, 31 are provincial TV stations and nearly 3,000 are local city stations) (1997)
Televisions: 400 million (1997)
Internet country code: .cn
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2000)
Internet users: 22 million (January 2001)
China Transportation
Railways: total: 67,524 km (including 5,400 km of provincial "local" rails)
standard gauge: 63,924 km 1.435-m gauge (13,362 km electrified; 20,250 km double track)
narrow gauge: 3,600 km 0.750-m and 1.000-m gauge local industrial lines (1998 est.)
note: a new total of 68,000 km was estimated for early 1999 to take new construction programs into account (1999)
Highways: total: 1.4 million km
paved: 271,300 km (with at least 16,000 km of expressways)
unpaved: 1,128,700 km (1999)
Waterways: 110,000 km (1999)
Pipelines: crude oil 9,070 km; petroleum products 560 km; natural gas 9,383 km (1998)
Ports and harbors: Dalian, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Haikou, Huangpu,
Lianyungang, Nanjing, Nantong, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao,
Shanghai, Shantou, Tianjin, Xiamen, Xingang, Yantai, Zhanjiang
Merchant marine: total: 1,745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 16,533,521 GRT/24,746,859 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 324, cargo 825, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 132, liquefied gas 24, multi-functional large-load carrier 5, passenger 7, passenger/cargo 45, petroleum tanker 258, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 23, short-sea passenger 41, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 489 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 324
over 3,047 m: 27
2,438 to 3,047 m: 88
1,524 to 2,437 m: 147
914 to 1,523 m: 30
under 914 m: 32 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 165
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 29
914 to 1,523 m: 56
under 914 m: 78 (2000 est.)
China Military
Military branches: People's Liberation Army (PLA) - which includes Ground Forces, Navy (includes Marines and Naval Aviation), Air Force, Second Artillery Corps (the strategic missile force), People's Armed Police (internal security troops, nominally subordinate to Ministry of Public Security, but included by the Chinese as part of the "armed forces" and considered to be an adjunct to the PLA in wartime)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 366,306,353 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15–49: 200,886,946 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 10,089,458 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $12.608 billion (FY99); note - China's real defense spending may be several times higher than the official figure because a number of significant items are funded elsewhere
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.2% (FY99)
China Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: most of boundary with India in dispute; dispute over at least two small sections of the boundary with Russia remains to be settled, despite 1997 boundary agreement; portions of the boundary with Tajikistan are indefinite; 33-km section of boundary with North Korea in the Paektu-san (mountain) area is indefinite; involved in a complex dispute over the Spratly Islands with Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Vietnam, and possibly Brunei; maritime boundary agreement with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin awaits ratification; Paracel Islands occupied by China, but claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; claims Japanese-administered Senkaku-shoto (Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Tai), as does Taiwan
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for heroin produced in the Golden Triangle; growing domestic drug abuse problem; source country for chemical precursors and methamphetamine
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@Christmas Island
Christmas Island Introduction
Background: Named in 1643 for the day of its discovery, the island was annexed and settlement was begun by the UK in 1888. Phosphate mining began in the 1890s. The UK transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958. The phosphate mine, closed in 1987, was reopened four years later, but the need for an alternative industry has spurred investment in tourism. Old mining areas are being restored, and almost two-thirds of the island has been declared a national park.
Christmas Island Geography
Location: Southeastern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of
Indonesia
Geographic coordinates: 10 30 S, 105 40 E
Map references: Southeast Asia
Area: total: 135 sq km
land: 135 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 138.9 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 12 NM
exclusive