Introduction China, officially called the People's Republic of China (PRC) is a country in East Asia which was founded in 1949. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.428 billion in 2017. Covering approximately 9,600,000 square kilometers, it is the world's third-largest country by area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Chongqing), and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. It shares its international borders with 14 countries: North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Mongolia, Laos, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, India, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China's economy has been one of the world's fastest-growing with annual growth rates consistently above 6 percent. According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $12.24 trillion by 2017. According to official data, China's GDP in 2018 was 90 trillion Yuan ($13.5 trillion). Since 2010, China has been the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP, and since 2014, the largest economy in the world by PPP.

China is the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. Since 2019, China has the highest number of rich people in the world. China has been characterized as a potential superpower, mainly because of its massive population, large and rapidly-growing economy, and powerful military. Brief Chinese History China emerged as one of the world's first civilizations, in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, China's political system was based on hereditary monarchies, or dynasties.

Begin with the semi-mythical Xia dynasty in 21st century BC. Since then, China has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times.

In the 3rd century BC, the Qin reunited core China and established the first Chinese empire.

The succeeding Han dynasty, which ruled from 206 BCE until 220 CE, saw some of the most advanced technology at that time, including papermaking and the compass, along with agricultural and medical improvements.

The invention of gunpowder and movable type in the Tang dynasty (618–907) and Northern Song (960–1127) completed the Four Great Inventions. Tang culture spread widely in Asia, as the new Silk Route brought traders to as far as Mesopotamia and the Horn of Africa.

Dynastic rule ended in 1912 with the Xinhai Revolution, when the Republic of China (ROC) replaced the Qing dynasty. China, as a whole, was ravaged by feudal warlordism and Japan during World War II. The subsequent Chinese Civil War resulted in a division of territory in 1949 when the Communist Party of China led by Mao Zedong established the People's Republic of China on mainland China while the Kuomintang-led nationalist government retreated to the island of Taiwan where it governed until 1996 when Taiwan transitioned to democracy. The political status of Taiwan remains disputed to this day.

Geography

Different regions in China China has great physical diversity.

The eastern plains and southern coasts of the country consist of fertile lowlands and foothills. They are the location of most of China's agricultural output and human population.

The southern areas of the country (South of the Yangtze River) consist of hilly and mountainous terrain.

The west and north of the country are dominated by sunken basins (such as the Gobi and the Taklamakan), rolling plateaus, and towering massifs. It contains part of the highest tableland on earth, the Tibetan Plateau, and has much lower agricultural potential and population.

Climate Owing to tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude, the climate of China is extremely diverse, ranging from tropical in the far south to subarctic in the far north and alpine in the higher elevations of the Tibetan Plateau.

Environment issues In recent decades, China has suffered from severe environmental deterioration and pollution. Urban air pollution is a severe health issue in the country, yet matters have been improving in recent years; the World Bank estimated in 2016 that only 1 of the world's 20 most-polluted cities is located in China, making significant improvements since previous rankings. China is the world's largest carbon dioxide emitter. The country also has significant water pollution problems: 8.2% of China's rivers had been polluted by industrial and agricultural waste in 2019, and were unfit for use. In 2014, the internal freshwater resources per capita of China reduced to 2,062m3, and it was below 500m3 in the North China Plain, while 5,920m3 in the world.

Natural resources Mineral resources include large reserves of coal and iron ore, plus adequate to abundant supplies of nearly all other industrial minerals.

Besides being a major coal producer, China is one of the world's largest producers of gold and the world's largest producer of antimony, natural graphite, aluminum, steel, rare earths, barite, zinc and tungsten; and the third largest producer in the world of iron ore.

Other major minerals are bauxite, coal, crude petroleum, diamonds, gold, iron ore, lead, magnetite, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, natural gas, phosphate rock, tin, uranium, and vanadium. China also exports large amounts of tin, coals and a number of industrial minerals and is the world's largest consumer of steel.

(Source: Library of Congress) Government The PRC is one of the world's only socialist states explicitly aiming to build communism.

The President is the titular head of state, elected by the National People's Congress.

The Premier is the head of government, presiding over the State Council composed of four vice premiers and the heads of ministries and commissions.

The incumbent president is Xi Jinping, who is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and the Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him China's paramount leader.

The incumbent premier is Li Keqiang, who is also a senior member of the CPC Politburo Standing Committee, China's de facto top decision-making body.

Situation of Economy

GDP Since 2010, China had the world's second-largest economy in terms of nominal GDP, totaling approximately US$13.5 trillion (90 trillion Yuan) as of 2018. In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP GDP), China's economy has been the largest in the world since 2014, according to the World Bank. According to the World Bank, China's GDP grew from $150 billion in 1978 to $13.6 trillion by 2018. China's economic growth has been consistently above 6 percent since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978. China is also the world's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. Between 2010 and 2019, China's contribution to global GDP growth has been 25% to 39%.

Agriculture - China is the world's largest producer and consumer of agricultural products – and some 300 million Chinese farm workers are in the industry, mostly laboring on pieces of land about the size of U.S farms. Virtually all arable land is used for food crops. - China is the world's largest producer of rice and is among the principal sources of wheat, corn (maize), tobacco, soybeans, potatoes, sorghum, peanuts, tea, millet, barley, oilseed, pork, and fish. Major non-food crops, including cotton, other fibers, and oilseeds, furnish China with a small proportion of its foreign trade revenue. - Agricultural exports, such as vegetables and fruits, fish and shellfish, grain and meat products, are exported to Hong Kong. Yields are high because of intensive cultivation, for example, China's cropland area is only 75% of the U.S. total, but China still produces about 30% more crops and livestock than the United States. China hopes to further increase agricultural production through improved plant stocks, fertilizers, and technology.

Industry and manufacturing - Industry and construction account for 46.8% of China's GDP. - Research by IHS Global Insight states that in 2010 China contributed to 19.8% of world's manufacturing output and became the largest manufacturer in the world that year, after the US had held that position for about 110 years. - Major industries include mining and ore processing; iron and steel; aluminum; coal; machinery; armaments; textiles and apparel; petroleum; cement; chemical; fertilizers; food processing; automobiles and other transportation equipment including rail cars and locomotives, ships, and aircraft; consumer products including footwear, toys, and electronics; telecommunications and information technology. - China has become a preferred destination for the relocation of global manufacturing facilities. Its strength as an export platform has contributed to incomes and employment in China.

Services - The output of China's services in 2015 ranks second worldwide after the United States. High power and telecom density has ensured that the country has remained on a high-growth trajectory over the long term. - In 2015 the services sector produced 52.9% of China's annual GDP, second only to manufacturing. - However, its proportion of GDP is still low compared to the ratio in more developed countries, and the agricultural sector still employs a larger workforce.

Export-import China is the largest export economy in the world. In 2017, China exported $2.41 trillion and imported $1.54 trillion, resulting in a positive trade balance of $873 billion. In 2017 the GDP of China was $12.2 trillion and its GDP per capita was $16.8k.

The top exports of China are Broadcasting Equipment ($231B), Computers ($146B), Office Machine Parts ($90.8B), Integrated Circuits ($80.1B) and Telephones ($62B), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Integrated Circuits ($207B), Crude Petroleum ($144B), Iron Ore ($59B), Cars ($46.8B) and Gold ($40.3B).

The top export destinations of China are the United States ($476B), Hong Kong ($255B), Japan ($157B), Germany ($109B) and South Korea ($98.1B).

In 2017 China imported $1.54T, making it the 2nd largest importer in the world. During the last five years the imports of China have increased at an annualized rate of 1.3%, from $1.42T in 2012 to $1.54T in 2017. The most recent imports are led by Integrated Circuits which represent 13.5% of the total imports of China, followed by Crude Petroleum, which account for 9.4%.

The top import origins are Other Asia ($151B), South Korea ($149B), Japan ($136B), the United States ($133B) and Germany ($95B).

People and Society

Languages - There are as many as 292 living languages in China. - The languages most commonly spoken belong to the Sinitic branch of the Sino- Tibetan language family, which contains Mandarin (spoken by 70% of the population), and other varieties of Chinese language: Yue (including Cantonese and Taishanese), Wu (including Shanghainese and Suzhounese), Min (including Fuzhounese, Hokkien and Teochew), Xiang, Gan and Hakka. - Languages of the Tibeto-Burman branch, including Tibetan, Qiang, Naxi and Yi, are spoken across the Tibetan and Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. - Other ethnic minority languages in southwest China include Zhuang, Thai, Dong and Sui of the Tai-Kadai family, Miao and Yao of the Hmong–Mien family, and Wa of the Austroasiatic family. - Across northeastern and northwestern China, local ethnic groups speak Altaic languages including Manchu, Mongolian and several Turkic languages: Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Salar and Western Yugur. - Korean is spoken natively along the border with North Korea. - Sarikoli, the language of Tajiks in western Xinjiang, is an Indo-European language. - Taiwanese aborigines, including a small population on the mainland, speak Austronesian languages.

Standard Mandarin, a variety of Mandarin based on the Beijing dialect, is the official national language of China and is used as a lingua franca in the country between people of different linguistic backgrounds. Mongolian, Uyghur, Tibetan, Zhuang and various other languages are also regionally recognized throughout the country.

Chinese characters have been used as the written script for the Sinitic languages for thousands of years. They allow speakers of mutually unintelligible Chinese varieties to communicate with each other through writing. In 1956, the government introduced simplified characters, which have supplanted the older traditional characters in mainland China.

Business etiquettes

1. Understand the importance of face. The topic of face is of utmost importance when doing business in China. The best way to explain this concept is through the phrase ―keeping face.‖ Basically, in all your interactions with the Chinese, you can gain or lose face (much like a reputation). Note face-building may take some time and occur over several meetings.

2. Be well-prepared for your meeting. The Chinese are often very detail-oriented, so they will have done their research on your company, and will expect you to have done the same on theirs. This includes making sure you don’t schedule a meeting during a Chinese holiday not recognized in Western culture, and knowing exactly who will be making the final decisions about the business transaction. You’ll also want to send any meeting room requirements (tech, equipment, etc.) to your Chinese colleagues well in advance of the actual gathering.

3. Make quality printed materials. If you’re planning on bringing any materials to your meeting, print everything out in plain black and white on premium paper; colors can have different meanings in China than in the West, so it’s best to avoid them. Handouts and business cards should also boast Chinese versions.

4. Decide if a gift is appropriate. Gift-giving is a tricky topic according to Chinese business etiquette. A gift can be welcomed as a sign of good will towards building a business relationship. Do some digging and find out if gifts would be appropriate or offensive to your particular Chinese counterparts before you make any purchases.

5. Dress to show respect. Know the appropriate dress code for your business meeting. In China, most government officials and top-level management dress formally for meetings, while mid- to lower-level employees can wear more casual attire. Darker, muted colors are acceptable, while bright colors should be avoided, and women should never wear low-cut tops, a distasteful choice according to both men and women in Chinese business.

6. Show up on time. Punctuality in any business situation is important, but even more so in Chinese business culture. Being late is considered offensive and rude. Give yourself ample time to arrive at the meeting; if you run into problems, you’ll be thankful for the time cushion.

7. Enter the room in proper order. The Chinese have a high respect for authority, dating back centuries, and so they usually enter the room in hierarchical order. Follow their practice with your own teammates as you enter the room. The person with the highest level of seniority should go in first, followed by the next highest-ranking individual in consecutive order.

8. Conduct formal introductions. It’s typical Chinese business culture to nod or bow in greeting (starting with senior-level business people); however, handshakes are becoming more common. Let your Chinese counterpart initiate a handshake. Also, use proper titles (Chairman, Vice President, etc.) followed by surnames (i.e. Li or Zhang) when addressing your overseas business partners.

9. Understand Chinese communication. Negative words like “no” shouldn’t be used in discussion; instead, use a phrase like ―I’ll need some more time to think about that.‖ When the Chinese say something like ―it’s okay‖ or ―not a problem,‖ they likely mean the opposite. Also, controversial topics like politics should be avoided; especially when a Western idea of society clashes with that of the Chinese (their local ―sphere of influence‖ is considered none of your business).

10. Avoid hand movements, body contact, and unnecessary noises. The Chinese don’t use their hands to speak, so instead of pointing with an index finger, use an open palm. Never put your hand in your mouth — it’s a rude gesture. The Chinese also dislike body contact such as back slaps or arm touching, and often consider noises like clicking your fingers, whistling, and even blowing your nose with a handkerchief you then put back in your pocket to be impolite.

11. Stay composed and poised. Chinese business etiquette includes keeping your composure at all times, even if you get upset or excited about a situation. It’s also important to maintain proper body posture throughout the business dealings.

12. Exchange business cards. Doing business in China, just like in the West, includes giving business cards. The Chinese, however, use both hands to present their cards, and always to the highest-ranking individual first; make sure to copy this tradition. Look at received cards politely before saving them in a professional location (like a briefcase, but never a purse or wallet). And, as mentioned earlier, make your business card bilingual out of respect to your Chinese counterparts, with your professional title clearly stated.

13. Small talk Chinese people, much like English-speaking peoples around the world, often open conversations with small talk, which can break the ice. Questions like : Have you eaten? or Where have you been?) are common ice breaking pleasantries in Chinese culture. Thus, don`t feel the need to go into detail in your answer. These questions are just like ―how are you?‖ in English-based culture.

14. Table manners Never stick your chopsticks straight into your bowl. This action is reserved for funerals, so it is very really offensive to a table of live persons.

Furthermore, never tap your bowl with your chopsticks as this is associated with begging.