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FAST FACTS
Area: 9,596,960 sq km
1997 population: 1,223,890,000
Capital (population): Beijing (10,850,000)
Government: Single party communist dictatorship
Ethnic groups: Han Chinese 92%, 55 minority nationalities
8%
Languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), plus numerous
other
Chinese dialects and minority languages
Religions: Predominantly atheist, though many still
follow
Buddhism, Daoism, Confucism and Islam
Currency: Renminbi (yuan) = 10 jiao of 100 fen
1997 GDP per capita: US$ 706
Being the world's oldest and largest civilisation,
one can say a lot about China, but we don't have room
here. The most important thing to say is that it is
big! With a population of 1.2 billion people, even if
the middle class is proportionately tiny, you can still
rely on a consumer base of some 200 million people.
When you consider that the average household size is
below 3, then you can also imagine how many TV sets,
fridges, microwaves, etc. that can be sold in a year
in China.
The decline of Communism as the central doctrine in
China has unleashed a wave of capitalism in China, and
the effects, both economic, social, political, industrial,
and so on, have been dramatic. Even if the economy remains
open to fluctuation in fortunes, with so many eager
consumers in one country, China can no longer ever be
ignored as a potential market - for anything.
CHINA LINKS
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn
http://www.cnd.org
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