China

{{bronze}}{{Afdem}}[[File:China - Location Map (2013) - CHN - UNOCHA.svg|thumb|right|195px|Map of the People's Republic and [[Taiwan]]]]
{{countrybox|The People's Republic of China
|flag = Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_China.svg
|pop =1,404,948,680	
|GDP =15,222,155
|GDPPC = 10,839
|life =76.7	
|dev =0.758	
|dem =2.26	
|cor =41
|edu =0.631	
|rel =unknown
}} 
{{cquote|The Empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been.|||Romance of the Three Kingdoms}}

'''China''' (Chinese, simplified: '''{{lang|zh|中国}}''' or traditional: '''{{lang|zh-tw|中國}}''', both romanized in pinyin as '''Zhōngguó''') is a name claimed by two [[country|countries]]: the [[socialist]] (Marxist-Leninist) '''People's Republic of China''' ('''PRC'''),<ref group=note>[[Bullshit|Don't be fooled]], it is not an actual democracy</ref> comprising a large part of [[Asia|eastern Asia]], and the dissident '''Republic of China''' ('''ROC'''), more commonly known as '''[[Taiwan]]'''.<ref group=note>ROC is a more accurate name, since Taiwan is actually a republic!</ref> The term "China" is more commonly used to exclusively denote the People's Republic of China, with Taiwan being used to identify the portion controlled by the Republic of China. Oddly enough, this isn't the first time Taiwan has been ruled by {{Wpl|Kingdom of Tungning|an ousted Chinese government}}.

China has existed for over 3,000 years as a culture and civilization.<ref>[https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/china-history.htm The History of China — Over 3,000 Years of Civilization] ''China Highlights''</ref> It's so ancient that its oldest rulers are quite literally shrouded in myth; the traditional timeline starts with the probably-not-real demigods known as the "Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors", progressing to the maybe-real Xia Dynasty, then to the definitely-real Shang Dynasty, from whence China's actual confirmed history progresses. It was one of the earliest civilizations to appear, and was responsible for numerous scientific advancements and technological breakthroughs such as gunpowder, compasses and papermaking.<ref>[https://china.usc.edu/sites/default/files/forums/Chinese%20Inventions.pdf Top 20 Ancient Chinese Inventions] US-China Institute</ref> During the [[Imperial China]] period, the nation was ruled by hereditary emperors who justified their power with a concept called the "{{wpl|Mandate of Heaven||".}}<ref>[https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldcivilization/chapter/the-mandate-of-heaven/ The Mandate of Heaven] ''Lumen Learning''</ref> 

According to this idea, emperors were legitimate because they ruled with the gods' consent, much like the Western monarchs and their claimed Divine Right to Rule. However, unlike the western concept, the Chinese Monarch could lose the Mandate by being cruel or stupid, justifying rebellions against them. As a result, China's history is a long cycle of the country fragmenting under civil war, reunifying, and fragmenting again so many times that they actually assumed it was the natural order of things for centuries. The last imperial dynasty was the [[Qing]], which suffered from internal disasters (the [[Taiping Rebellion]]), external attacks ([[Europe]]), and their own thorough corruption and incompetence (honestly, it would be easier to list the things that they as a government were doing ''right''), and as a result collapsed in 1911.<ref>[https://www.thoughtco.com/fall-of-the-qing-dynasty-195608 The Fall of China's Qing Dynasty in 1911–1912] ''ThoughtCo'' By Kallie Szczepanski Updated on January 23, 2020</ref> From there was an aborted attempt at a [[republic]], a many-faction [[civil war]] among warlords, an [[WWII|invasion from Japan]], a takeover by [[Mao Zedong]]'s communists on the mainland in the [[Chinese Civil War]], and the exile of [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s nationalists to Taiwan.

Under the command of the [[Communism|Chinese Communist Party]], Mainland China has proven to be a surprisingly resilient [[authoritarian]] regime ever since the [[Soviet Union]] fell, and it's one of the last nations that at least pretends to be nominally [[communist]].<ref>[https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2018/02/surprise-authoritarian-resilience-china/ The “Surprise” of Authoritarian Resilience in China] Tang, Wenfang. ''American Affairs''. Febuary 2018</ref> Unfortunately, the government continues to have a dismal human rights record involving media [[censorship]], political imprisonment, and harsh repression against rebellious minorities.<ref name="chinahrw">[https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/china-and-tibet Human Rights Watch World Report 2018: China] ''Human Rights Watch''</ref> Despite the hammers and sickles plastered all over everything, China is actually a primarily [[Capitalism|market-based economy]] with large amounts of government intervention.<ref>[File:ForbiddenCity MaoZedongPortrait (pixinn.net).jpg How China went from communist to capitalist] Holmes, Frank. ''Business Insider''. 10 October 2015</ref> This has made China an economic powerhouse, but the country nonetheless faces a severe pollution crisis.<ref>[https://ig.ft.com/china-pollution/ China’s polluted skies] Bernard, Steven and Lucy Hornby. ''Financial Times''. 29 June 2018</ref>

Despite China's military being still outclassed by the [[United States]], it is recognized as a rising power and will likely be able to claim the superpower title before too long.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19995218 What kind of superpower could China be?] ''BBC News''. 19 October 2012</ref> In 2014, China became the largest economy globally by purchasing power parity (PPP), passing the U.S., which had previously held the title since the time of President [[Ulysses S. Grant]].<ref>[https://archive.is/aRvtc/ The China Story You Should Pay Attention to, and the One You Should Ignore], ''The Atlantic'' By James Fallows on May 1, 2014 (Archived on 2 October 2025)</ref> China still needs at least a decade to get ahead when it comes to nominal GDP, even if the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] has acted as a shortcut to this goal.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-55454146 Chinese economy to overtake US 'by 2028' due to COVID.] ''BBC'' on 26 December 2020</ref> Ironically, this spot was initially held by China, until which the U.S. became the first Western country to surpass the Chinese GDP since the [[Roman Empire]] during the 1920s.<ref>[https://www.rug.nl/ggdc/historicaldevelopment/maddison/?lang=en Maddison Historical Statistics]</ref> As the Chinese middle class develops and such growth slows down, the idea of China exceeding {{wpl|Standard of living in the United States|American living standards}} may pose a challenge for the Chinese government, as its citizens may start wishing for further political participation and reform.<ref>[https://archive.is/bGogY Will Chinese Living Standards Ever Surpass Those in the USA?] ''Stanford University'' on  February 7, 2017 (Archived on 2 October 2025)</ref>

==Timeline of Modern China==

{{hatnote|This Section is about history of China 1912 Onwards , For China's History Before 1912 see our Article on [[Imperial China]] }}

=== 1911 Revolution ===
The 1911 Revolution is the beginning of modern Chinese History has it ended the Qing Dynasty. 

After being defeated by the west time and time again China however the conservatives saw the reforms as too radical and the reformers saw them as too slow.<ref>[https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/tsinghua10&div=8&id=&page= Why Late Qing Constitutional Reform Failed: An Examination from the Comparative Institutional Perspective] 10 Tsinghua China L. Rev. 107 (2017-2018) </ref> As part of China's Self-Strengthening Movement Children were encouraged to study overseas especially Japan which would develop intellectual class that would play a role in the revolution,<ref>[https://krex.k-state.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/163bc699-33e6-40d0-b87f-b49817aa7fd9/content Study of the Overseas Educational Missions in the Self-Strengthening Movement] Prof. Mulready-Stone on December 15, 2011</ref> Before it the there were series of rebellions but they didn't achieve anything of note however the Wuchang Uprising which started a chain reactions causing rebellions in other parts of china.<ref>[https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/military-subversion-in-the-chinese-revolution-of-1911/789C8ECF3AD0C34D060FCA77042B800F Military Subversion in the Chinese Revolution of 1911] on 28 November 2008
by Edmund S. K. Fung</ref>

Qing Government passed the Nineteen Articles which aimed to reform the country to a constitutional monarchy however that failed and the government collapsed ending the [[Imperial China|Imperial Era]] and starting the Republican era.<ref>[https://books.google.com.sa/books?id=QG4ZEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA97&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false  Global Constitutional Narratives of Autonomous Regions: The Constitutional History of Macau] Jason Buhi 29 March 2021</ref> 

=== Republic of China (1912–1949) ===

====Founding====
The Republic of China arose from the {{wpl|Wuchang Uprising}} which happened on 10th October 1911 that caused the end of the Qing dynasty , Sun Yat-sen returned from the [[United States]] on 29 December, He was elected as the provisional president by the revolutionists' assembly in Nanjing.<ref>[https://books.google.com.sa/books?hl=ar&lr=&id=8akpDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=The+Chinese+Republic+grew+out+of+the+Wuchang+Uprising+against+the+Qing+government&ots=661T4Axw9J&sig=jRKd4nxmHX5V7-mx-jO9Lib6ejg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=The%20Chinese%20Republic%20grew%20out%20of%20the%20Wuchang%20Uprising%20against%20the%20Qing%20government&f=false The Birth of a Republic] by Hanchao Lu</ref> His government lacked military strength so as a compromise, he negotiated with Yuan Shikai the commander of the Beiyang Army, promising Yuan the presidency of the republic if he were to remove the Qing emperor by force. Yuan agreed to the deal.<ref>[https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24516-1_2 The Early Republic] by Richard T. Phillips 1996</ref> On 12 February 1912, regent Empress Dowager Longyu signed the abdication decree on behalf of Puyi, ending several millennia of monarchical rule. Song Jiaoren led the Kuomintang Party to electoral victories by fashioning his party's program to appeal to the gentry, landowners, and merchants however Song was assassinated on 20 March 1913, at the behest of Yuan Shikai.<ref>Jonathan Fenby, "The silencing of Song." History Today (March 2013) 63#3 pp 5–7.</ref> Yuan became the first chinese president in 1913 however he would rule by military power and would disolve the [[Kuomintang]] and would declare himself emperor.<ref>[https://www.proquest.com/openview/fc5a07caa9bdd21ac9f5915bf85bce30/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=1819397 The Consortiun System in Republican China 1912-1913] Journal of European Economic History 1977</ref><ref>[https://www.proquest.com/openview/02e957b3b88601a6/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=14004 HOW PRESIDENT YUAN BECAME EMPEROR.] by Aldridge, Frances on June 1934; London</ref>

====Warlord Era====

==Government==
[[File:18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.jpg|thumb|right|300px|National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, 2012]]

===Constitution===
China's constitution states that the People's Republic "is a socialist state under the [[bullshit|people's democratic dictatorship]] led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants."<ref>[https://www.usconstitution.net/china.html#Preamble Constitution of the People's Republic of China].</ref> Indeed, China is one of the last countries to still apply the title "communist" to itself. 

The current document was applied in 1982, replacing the old constitution applied during the rule of Mao Zedong.<ref>https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/201911/20/content_WS5ed8856ec6d0b3f0e9499913.html Constitution of People's Republic Of China</ref> It was written during [[Deng Xiaoping]]'s leadership to remove all of the old Cultural Revolution rhetoric that had been gradually added to the old document. It also attempts to claim that Chinese citizens enjoy a variety of civil rights that they do not have in reality.

Sadly, China's constitution is largely ignored by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including by various provincial officials who place their own "interpretations", which is kind of amusing when you realize that most of the leaders of the Communist Party were around and had input into creating the document. Theoretically, Chinese citizens have the right to [[freedom of speech]], press and assembly, but the Great Firewall of China is still being implemented.<ref>[https://archive.is/LDgUS/ China's Still Having a Hard Time Obeying Its Own Constitution]. ''The Atlantic.'' By Adam Clark Estes on February 3, 2013 (archived on 2 October 2025)</ref> There's a popular saying that the "rule of man" overrides the "rule of law", and one must wonder if many of China's rights problems could be resolved if politicians simply followed their own damn constitution. When the Party does acknowledge the constitution's existence, it's only to amend it to be more authoritarian. In 2018, [[Xi Jinping]] championed a constitutional amendment to remove term limits for the position of Chairman, which would allow him to remain in power for as long as he wants.<ref>[https://archive.is/pjKNn Xi Jinping Amends China's Constitution]. ''Lawfare.'' By Jerome A. Cohen Wednesday, March 7, 2018, 12:21 PM (Archived on 2 October 2025)</ref>

===The Chinese Communist Party===
[[File:CCP Standing Committee.png|thumb|right|300px|The seven members of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee, including General Secretary Xi Jinping]]

China is currently a one-party dictatorship under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Although it theoretically has a presidential office, true power lies with the leader of the Communist Party, called the General Secretary. Xi Jinping currently holds both titles, which should not come as a surprise. The General Secretary has absolute power over all government bodies, and also holds the title of Chairman of the Central Military Commission, making him the supreme military commander in China.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20230926214151/https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2020-10/12/content_5550656.htm The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued the "Regulations on Work of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China] (Archived on  12 October 2020.)</ref> During his time in office, Xi has created more administrative bodies with himself as the official chairman, using these to further centralize his own power. That should also not be a surprise.

The Party uses three means to keep itself in power: control of personnel, propaganda, and the People's Liberation Army. Despite China being a country of over a billion-and-a-half people, the Chinese Communist Party has only 90 million members,<ref name="ccpi">[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/chinese-communist-party The Chinese Communist Party]. ''Council on Foreign Relations.'' By
Lindsay Maizland and Eleanor Albert
Last updated October 6, 2022 2:30 pm (EST)</ref> over 70% of which are men.<ref name="ccpi"/> The National People's Congress, theoretically the highest organ of power in the Party, only convenes every five years. Much of its purpose is to select members for the Central Committee, a much smaller body of people that selects members for the Politburo, which itself selects members for the seven-member Standing Committee.<ref name="ccpi"/> China also has a Cabinet called the State Council. It's headed by Li Qiang
the Chinese Premier.<ref>[https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/who-chinese-premier-li-qiang Who is Chinese Premier, Li Qiang?] ''Lowy Institude'' by Richard McGregor on 13 Jun 2024</ref> 

Selection for these leadership positions, even the selection for the highest positions in the nation, all happen through a complex network of negotiations, bargaining and backstabbing. VIPs in the Party seem divided into two groups: the "princelings" like Xi, the children of high officials, and the "''tuanpai''", people who rose from relative obscurity like [[Hu Jintao]].<ref name="ccpi"/> In recent years, Xi has made moves to purge the ''tuanpai'' from the higher levels of the Party.<ref>[https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/chinas-princelings-versus-tuanpai China's princelings versus tuanpai]. ''Straits Times.'' By Ching Cheong on  Jan 03, 2015, 10:16 AM</ref> If this seems like a more complex version of an absolute [[monarchy]], that's probably the point. The People's Republic was never designed to be for the people. Today, the CCP's state capitalism and ethnic ultranationalism function more substantially like far-right hierarchical-based fascism, not far-left equality-based communism.<ref>[https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_POUV_169_0117--xi-jinping-s-china-marching-toward-a.htm Xi Jinping’s China: Marching toward a Chinese fascism?]</ref>

===Government structure===
[[File:Оркестр Народно-освободительной армии Китая.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A Chinese military band performs in front of the Great Hall of the People, the meeting place of the National People's Congress]]

China theoretically separates the powers of the head of state and head of government between two offices. The President is the ceremonial head of state with limited power. That office is currently held by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the ''de facto'' leader of the one-party ruling China. The Premier of the State Council is the head of government, and is currently held by Li Keqiang. However, China also has a position that is informally referred to by observers as the "paramount leader", which refers to the ''actual'' ruler of China.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62970531 China's Communist Party Congress: A really simple guide] ''BBC News'' by David Brown on 17 October 2022</ref> The term was created to describe the rulership of Deng Xiaoping, who at times managed to wield power without holding any official offices. Of course, the current paramount leader is Xi Jinping, who currently holds four offices: General Secretary of the Communist Party, General Secretary of the Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, and President.

China's legislature is called the National People's Congress. It has 2,980 members, but mainly exists to "rubber stamp" legislation that had already been decided upon by Communist Party leaders.<ref>[https://www.france24.com/en/20190305-chinas-rubber-stamp-parliament-glance China's rubber-stamp parliament at a glance]. ''France 24.'' on 5 March 2019 </ref> Thus, despite being the national legislature, it is quite powerless. China only tolerates the existence of the body because it can point to the People's Congress as a false example of how it supposedly obeys the people's will.

The State Council, headed by the Premier, fulfills the role of China's Chief Executive authority. It is a vast web of ministries and bureaucracies, and its role is to ensure that the Communist Party's legal agenda is implemented.<ref>[https://archive.is/D55pu State council]. ''BBC News.'' (Archived on 8 Jun 2021)</ref> The State Council also drafts and executes the economic plans for China, meaning that it has broad control over the average citizen's life. 

Recently reorganized by Xi Jinping, the Central Military Commission manages all branches of the Chinese military.<ref>[https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/cmc.htm Central Military Commission]. ''Global Security.''</ref> One of the branches of that military is the People's Armed Police, which exists to keep the Chinese people in line.<ref>[https://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/world/china/pap.htm People's Armed Police]. ''Global Security.''</ref> The Central Military Commission's existence is a major part of how the Communist Party keeps control over the country.

== Human rights in China (spoiler alert: it ain't good)==
[[File:Police notice, Tibet, 1993.jpg|thumb|right|300px|"Police Attention: No distributing any unhealthy thoughts or objects!" Trilingual sign in Tibet, 1993]]

While the CCP managed to resolve some social issues such as food security and abject poverty, under the rule of [[Xi Jinping]], the Chinese government has deepened its contempt for human rights.

===Xinjiang internment camps===
{{main|Uyghur genocide}}

In 2017 and 2018, evidence emerged that China was systematically jailing Turkic Muslims in its western, Central Asian Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in "political reeducation" camps.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/China_hidden_camps China's hidden camps] Sudworth, John. ''BBC.'' By John Sudworth on 24 October 2018</ref><ref>[https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang] ''Council On Foreign Relations'' By
Lindsay Maizland on September 22, 2022</ref> Although the Chinese government initially denied the accusation, it eventually admitted to providing free "vocational education" as part of its "anti-extremism" campaign.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/16/internment-camps-make-uighurs-life-more-colourful-says-xinjiang-governor Internment camps make Uighurs' life more colourful, says Xinjiang governor] Kuo, Lily. ''The Guardian.'' 16 October 2018.</ref> Those who have left the camps have claimed that they were anti-Muslim brainwashing camps, and those who resisted indoctrination were often subjected to sleep deprivation and stress positions.<ref>[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-uighur-woman-abuse-chinese-internment-camp-muslim-minorities-xinjiang/ Uighur woman details horrific abuse in China internment camp] ''CBS News''. November 27, 2018</ref> Prisoners at the camps were used as forced labor while also being compelled to give up their religion, language and culture.<ref>[https://archive.is/oFF13/ U.S. sportswear traced to factory in China’s Muslim internment camps] Dake Kang, Martha Mendoza and Yanan Wang / Associated Press. ''Star Advertiser'' By Dake Kang, Martha Mendoza and Yanan Wang on December 17, 2018 (Archived on 2 October 2025)</ref> American estimates put the number of prisoners at between 800,000 and two million.<ref>[https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/419855-state-dept-official-china-holding-800k-uighurs-others-in-internment State Dept. official: China holding 800k Muslim minorities in internment camps] Keller, Meghan. ''The Hill''. 5 December 2018 </ref> Chinese propagandists have begun bragging about how the camps provide "job training" for the Uyghurs. However, they don't mention that this is achieved by using prisoners as [[slavery|forced labor]] in China's factories.<ref>[https://archive.is/7CPQp China’s Detention Camps for Muslims Turn to Forced Labor] ''New York Times''. Chris Buckley and Austin Ramzy. December 16, 2018 (archived on 2 October 2025)</ref>

===Tibet===
Chinese authorities in [[Tibet]] are notorious for restricting religious freedom, freedom of assembly, and freedom of movement.<ref name="chinahrw"></ref> In retaliation, Tibetans protest the occupation through self-immolation, with at least 150 known cases since 2009.<ref>[https://www.savetibet.org/resources/fact-sheets/self-immolations-by-tibetans/ Self-immolations by Tibetans] International Campaign for Tibet, December 10, 2018</ref> The Chinese government has prioritized stability over all other concerns, and paints any cultural and religious differences in Tibet as "[[cult]]ic".<ref name="tibetbad">[https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/06/13/self-immolation-and-chinas-state-cult-of-stability-tibet-monks-dalai-lama/ China’s Cult of Stability Is Killing Tibetans] Carrico, Kevin. ''Foreign Policy.'' Jun. 13, 2017.</ref> Shows of nonviolent resistance have resulted in a brutal crackdown, and paramilitary enforcers roam the streets of Tibet both on foot and in armored vehicles, backed up by a vast network of video surveillance.<ref name="tibetbad"></ref> Any dissidents can thus be dealt with quickly and efficiently. In 2012, China changed its policies and announced that all Tibetan Buddhist monasteries would host a permanent installation of CCP officials and troops.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/03/16/china-tibetan-monasteries-placed-under-direct-rule China: Tibetan Monasteries Placed Under Direct Rule] Human Rights Watch, March 16, 2012.</ref> In 2013, the number of Communist Party officials deployed to Tibet reached 20,000 to assist in surveillance and reeducation programs.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/news/2013/06/18/china-benefit-masses-campaign-surveilling-tibetans China: ‘Benefit the Masses’ Campaign Surveilling Tibetans] Human Rights Watch. June 18, 2013</ref> In 2018, China outlawed benign Tibetan social organizations that attempted to preserve the Tibetan language and promote environmental protection.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/report/2018/07/30/illegal-organizations/chinas-crackdown-tibetan-social-groups# China’s Crackdown on Tibetan Social Groups] Human Rights Watch. July 30, 2018</ref> China's rule in Tibet has become overtly [[totalitarian]], and dissenters arrested for political crimes get an average of 5.7 years in prison.<ref>[https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/05/22/relentless/detention-and-prosecution-tibetans-under-chinas-stability-maintenance# Detention and Prosecution of Tibetans under China’s “Stability Maintenance” Campaign] Human Rights Watch. May 22, 2016.</ref> 

Meanwhile, China has poured billions of dollars into Tibet for infrastructure and superficially renovating Buddhist holy sites. This is most likely an attempt to increase the central government's influence over the Tibetan Buddhist religion, to hijack the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama to name their own loyal head of the religion.<ref>[https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-spends-big-tibet-avert-crisis-when-dalai-lama-dies-n904676 China spends big in Tibet to avert a crisis when the Dalai Lama dies] Eric Baculinao and Jason Cumming. ''NBC News''. Aug. 30, 2018</ref>

===Surveillance===
[[File:China surveillance.jpeg|thumb|right|275px|Facial recognition tech in China]]

{{cquote|Reform and opening has already failed, but no one dares to say it. The current system has created severe social and economic segregation. So now the rulers use the taxpayers’ money to monitor the taxpayers.|||Chinese historian Zhang Lifan}}

In Tibet and Xinjiang, China has revolutionized a new form of surveillance known as the "grid system of social management". Its primary aim is to make it easier for the government to monitor all potential dissidents by having a network of community workers assigned to a specific area, or "grid", to provide personalized intelligence data on all individuals living within.<ref> [https://www.economist.com/china/2013/06/22/grid-locked Grid locked] ''The Economist'' Jun 22nd 2013</ref> The grids are purposefully small to the point that every neighborhood has several, and the data is thus detailed and real-time.

Even in China proper, the surveillance system is grimly totalitarian. The Chinese government employs facial recognition software to aid its ubiquitous cameras, collects other biometric data, and continually employs new technologies to create an ever more oppressive surveillance state.<ref name="chinasurv">[https://archive.is/TyN3G Inside China’s Dystopian Dreams: A.I., Shame and Lots of Cameras] ''New York Times'' By Paul Mozur July 8, 2018 (archived on 19 Nov 2024)</ref> Much like the [[military-industrial complex]] in the United States, China has politicians dependent on a cadre of surveillance and security companies, which themselves form a major part of China's economy.<ref>[https://www.cfr.org/blog/rise-chinas-security-industrial-complex The Rise of China's Security-Industrial Complex] ''Council on Foreign Relations'' by Guest Blogger for Net Politics July 17, 2018 10:30 am (EST)</ref> This security-industrial complex, encouraged by Xi Jinping's government, ensures that there is a steady economic incentive to continue making China more dystopian.

===Racism===
While ethnicities such as Manchus, Mongols and Hui are well-integrated into Chinese society, the Chinese government practices widespread, institutionalized racial discrimination in Xinjiang and Tibet, refusing to allow ethnic minorities into the higher echelons of the Party and placing these regions under the control of ethnic Han Chinese administrators who often care little for the people they are tasked with administrating.<ref>[https://www.savetibet.org/state-department-notes-severe-repression-in-tibet-in-2017-human-rights-report/ State Department notes ‘severe’ repression in Tibet in 2017 Human Rights Report] International Campaign for Tibet, Apr 20, 2018</ref> Racial discrimination also extends to police and security forces stationed in Tibet. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how that impacts the quality of life there for Tibetans. 

Interestingly, Tibetans also encounter similar stereotypes in Chinese media as those of the West, that they are peaceful Buddhist people who live song and dance. Uighurs, in contrast, face the same [[Islamophobia|Islamophobic]] attitudes in Chinese society as in the West, where they are unfairly blamed as a group for the actions of extremists. There is a habit of conflating all Turkic peoples in China as "Uighur", similar to how there used to be a trend in the West of conflating all Asian peoples as "Chinese". In contrast, the Hui, another Muslim ethnic group, do not receive the same restrictions as the Tibetans and Uighurs, and can freely practice their religion and culture, demonstrating that logic and consistency are not necessary components of bigotry. Due to such unequal treatment and historical grievances, there are inter-ethnic clashes between the Uighurs and Tibetans against the Hui, with the latter being more supportive of the government.

While Chinese-African relations have been rising, especially since Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative took off in 2013, racism against Africans has also been documented. For example, Africans were victims of racially motivated acts in southern Guangdong province during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, including immediate eviction, prohibition from entering certain eateries (namely McDonald's), and severe racial profiling.<ref> [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/25/coronavirus-exposed-china-history-racism-africans-guangzhou/ The coronavirus crisis has exposed China's long history of racism] by Hsiao-Hung Pai (April 25th, 2020) ''The Guardian''.</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/05/06/851310009/textbook-discrimination-human-rights-report-accuses-china-of-mistreating-african/ 'Textbook' Discrimination: Human Rights Report Accuses China Of Mistreating Africans] by Austin Horn (May 6th, 2020) ''NPR''.</ref>

===Censorship===
[[File:Tiantankman.jpg|thumb|They're desperate to censor [[Tiananmen Square Massacre|this]].]]

[[Censorship]] in Mainland China consists of a mishmash of tools to prevent "collective action"; simply because of the sheer scale of web users, Beijing knows it won't be able to filter out everything, and this is not helped by the fact that China lacks a centralized rating and content categorization system.<ref>[https://archive.is/t3GsA/ Harvard team finds that China's Internet policy allows more than most realize], Ars Technica Cyrus Farivar on Jun 19, 2012 (archived on 15 october 2025)</ref> Nonetheless, the effort to block "subversive" [[Internet]] content frequently enters comical territory; for example, a ''World of Warcraft'' expansion was delayed specifically for depicting walking skeletons.<ref>[https://archive.is/s2cFx Banning Skeletons in Chinese Games], ''Popular Science'' By Gregory Mone Posted 13 July 2007 (archived on 12 Nov 2014) </ref> [[Human rights]] activists and netizens find increasingly complex ways to bypass the system, mostly relying on [[meme]]s and clever wordplay.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140112120923/http://www.thewire.com/global/2013/06/how-memes-became-best-weapon-against-chinese-internet-censorship/65877 How Memes Became the Best Weapon Against Chinese Internet Censorship], ''The Atlantic'' Jun 4, 2013 by Alexander Abad-Santos (archived on 12 January 2014)</ref> Chinese internet censorship is also rather harsh when it comes to [[porn]]. However, due to China's gender imbalance and a vast population of bored young males, this is rarely enforced, and pornography can be easily accessed both on and off the internet. It remains to be seen how long the authorities can clamp down on those evil [[West]]ern influences.

China has cracked down in recent years on efforts to circumvent its censorship. In January 2017, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued regulations that effectively banned Virtual Private Networks (VPN), which can be used to view content not permitted by China's censors.<ref name="chinahrw"/> Apple removed VPN services from its App Store in China, and China arm-twisted its own tech giant Alibaba into removing vendors who sell VPNs.<ref name="chinahrw"/>

Censorship has backfired, however. After doctor Li Wenliang sent a message in a private WeChat group (a monopolistic Chinese messaging app that the government uses to [[Nothing to hide|spy on citizens]])<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-48552907 WeChat and the Surveillance State], Stephen McDonell, BBC News, 7 June 2019</ref> to several medical students warning them of cases of what would become the highly contagious [[2019-20 COVID-19 outbreak|COVID-19]] virus, the [[Secret police|provincial police]] briefly detained Li, warning him not to "spread rumors" and forcing him to sign a paper apologizing for his "illegal behavior".<ref>[https://archive.is/17u98 As New Coronavirus Spread, China’s Old Habits Delayed Fight], New York Times, 1 February 2020 By Chris Buckley and Steven Lee Myers (archived on 8 May 2023)</ref> Not only was the doctor vindicated when the virus spread in a global outbreak, causing a spiral of deaths, but when Li contracted and then died of COVID-19, he became an unintentional [[martyr]], a symbol of the government's failure to deal with the outbreak and oppressive restrictions of personal freedoms, inciting rage and anti-government dissent across China.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/feb/07/coronavirus-chinese-rage-death-whistleblower-doctor-li-wenliang 'Hero who told the truth': Chinese rage over coronavirus death of whistleblower doctor], the Guardian, 7 February 2020</ref> If the Chinese government had not gone after the doctor, this never would have happened, marking this an incredible instance of the [[Streisand effect]]. After an immense public outcry, Dr. Li was eventually pardoned by the central government.

As of May 2021, RationalWiki is blocked in China.<ref>[https://en.greatfire.org/rationalwiki.org Greatfire.org's report on RationalWiki]</ref>

===LGBT rights===
China has a contradictory, wishy-washy record concerning LGBT rights. Homosexual activity has been documented since ancient times, and several Emperors were reported to have taken male lovers.<ref>Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China by Bret Hinsch; Review by: Frank Dikötter. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 55, No. 1(1992), Cambridge University Press, p. 170</ref> In fact, homosexuality was only banned in the late 19th century, when [[homophobia]] was unfortunately introduced to China to modernize the country and learn from Western ideas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gbtimes.com/sexuality-ancient-china-part-2|title=Sexuality in ancient China, part 2|last=Manoli|first=Maria|date=May 30, 2017|website=GBTimes|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423120348/https://gbtimes.com/sexuality-ancient-china-part-2|archive-date=April 23, 2019|access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref> Homosexual activity was officially decriminalized in 1997 (it was previously criminalized as "hooliganism"), and was delisted as a mental disorder by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry in 2001.<ref>[https://theconversation.com/how-china-is-legally-recognising-same-sex-couples-but-not-empowering-them-122270 How China is legally recognizing same-sex couples, but not empowering them] Xu Chen and Wilfred Yang Wang. The Conversation, October 2, 2019</ref> The current Chinese government policy toward LGBT rights is the Three No's: no approval, no disapproval, and no promotion ([[Don't ask, don't tell|sound familiar?]]). Such ambiguities both allow the state to easily regulate China's LGBT community (usually by silencing online discussions) and LGBT communities themselves to easily form.

In addition, individuals are allowed to legally change their gender, albeit with restrictive requirements, such as requiring the individual to be unmarried, have no criminal record, and obtain the permission of family members.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191211161238/https://www.undp.org/content/dam/china/docs/Publications/UNDP-CH-Legal%20gender%20recognition%20-%20China%20180805.pdf Legal Gender Recognition  in China  A Legal and Policy Review] ''UNDP and China Women’s University''. 2018 (archived on 11 December 2019)</ref> China also has the largest LGBT market in the world.<ref>[https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/02/21/lgbt-economy-world-china-same-sex-marriage-rights-conversion-therapy-alibaba-pink-yuan/ China now has the biggest LGBT economy in the world, but still no same-sex marriage]. ''PinkNews.co.uk.'' 21 Feb 2020.</ref>

Nevertheless, the LGBT community in China continues to face hostility from government officials and sections of China's culturally conservative population, who views homosexuality as an "affront to [[Traditional values|traditional Confucian morals]]". Some Chinese see the rainbow flag as a dangerous symbol; people wearing it have been brutally beaten and subsequently criticized in the media as having a "distorted sexual orientation" and being "terrifying",<ref>[https://archive.is/Xz0dK It Can Be Dangerous To Wave a Rainbow LGBT Flag In China]. ''The Daily Beast.'' Brendon Hong
Published November 6 2018 (archived on 15 October 2025)</ref> and LGBT Chinese have long lobbied to ban [[Reparative therapy|gay conversion therapy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/rights-group-urges-china-ban-abusive-gay-conversion-therapy-n821031|title=Rights group urges China to ban abusive gay 'conversion therapy'|website=NBC News|language=en|access-date=12 Febuary 2019}}</ref> Despite this, there are regular pride events in metropolitan cities, where attitudes towards LGBT rights are more accepting.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20250330065130/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJIkd50yye4 2016上海骄傲节“生为平常”主题片 Pride8 "I Am Me" Theme Video] by shanghai Pride on Jun 10, 2016 (archived on 30 March 2025).</ref>

In 2018, China's largest social media platform, WeChat, citing internet content regulations, attempted to introduce a ban on "displays of homosexuality", lumping gays in the same category as "incest" and "sexual perversions" and "situations of unhealthy love and marriages".<ref>[https://archive.is/CiY28 China Keeps Trying to Scrub LGBT Content From the Web]. ''The Daily Beast.'' Brendon Hong
Published April 18 2018 (archived on 15 October 2025)</ref> However, this was reversed following an outcry from LGBT users.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://archive.is/WegAQ|title=China's microblogging platform Weibo reverses its decision to ban all gay content after online protests|work=The Verge by Shannon Liao
Apr 16, 2018|access-date=15 October 2025}}</ref> Throughout 2019, despite [[Hypocrisy|backing UN recommendations on LGBT rights]], the Chinese government cracked down on the LGBT community by shutting down forums, curbing news coverage of gay issues, censoring online search results, and preventing LGBT charities from registering.<ref>[https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3010475/fewer-rainbows-less-social-media-chinas-lgbt-community Fewer rainbows, less social media for China’s LGBT community]. ''South China Morning Post.'' 16 May, 2019.</ref> The National People's Congress also made it clear that [[same-sex marriage]] is not on the national agenda, per China's "[[traditional values]]"... again, despite the act being tolerated until well into the era of modern history (after the Industrial Revolution, using Europe and the United States as a reference point).<ref>[https://www.guancha.cn/politics/2019_08_21_514563.shtml 人大常委会法工委：绝大多数国家都不承认同性婚姻]</ref>

Recently China has been cracking down on young female authors for writing danmei which is gay erotica inspired by Japanese yaoi.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c056nle2drno.amp 'Every word has come back to haunt me': China cracks down on women who write gay erotica] ''BBC News'' by Yi Ma and Eunice Yang on  29 June 2025 </ref>

=== Feminism ===
China has a long relationship with feminism that goes back to the early twentieth century for example The Women's Suffrage Alliance was founded in 1912.<ref>[https://thechinaproject.com/2021/03/17/a-fight-for-womens-suffrage-in-the-early-days-of-the-chinese-republic/ A fight for women’s suffrage in the early days of the Chinese republic] ''The China Project'' by James Carter on March 17 2021</ref>
In 1931 under the [[Kuomintang]] regime the women were given equal inheritance rights,forced marriage was banned and women were given the right to control their own money and initiate divorce.<ref> Hershatter, G. (2018). Women and China's Revolutions. USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.</ref> In the Land Reform Movement the CCP encouraged rural women a revolutionary transformation as both a peasant and a feminist awakening as a woman the movement also promoted women's issues such as the elimination of bride prices and reversing the stigma against widows remarrying.<ref>DeMare, Brian James (2019). Land wars : the story of China's agrarian revolution. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-5036-0849-8. OCLC 1048940018.</ref>

China is lacking progress in Women's Rights despite the improvement of women's rights during [[Mao]]'s era. Domestic Abuse was still legal in China until 2015 even then the law did not address sexual violence and excluded same-sex couples.<ref>[https://edition.cnn.com/2015/12/27/asia/china-first-domestic-violence-law/ China finally has a law prohibiting domestic violence] ''CNN'' By Katie Hunt on  December 27, 2015</ref> Under [[Xi Jinping]] China has been heading on a traditionalist path,Xi urged the All China Women’s Federation — a government-led organization — to “actively cultivate a new marriage and childbirth culture, strengthen guidance of young people’s views on marriage, parenthood and family, as well as promote policies to support childbirth”.<ref>[https://time.com/6330091/china-population-xi-childbirth-culture/ Facing Population Decline, China’s Xi Promotes ’Childbirth Culture’ for Women] ''The Times'' By Bloomberg News October 31, 2023</ref>

In March 6 ,2015 Five Chinese Feminist Activists they were planning to distribute stickers with slogans highlighting sexual harrassment  however were Detained by Chinese police for thirty-seven days thankfully the charges were dropped due to backlash though the activists are still under state surveillance.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/12/five-chinese-feminists-held-international-womens-day Five Chinese feminists held over International Women's Day plans] ''The Guardian'' by Tania Branigan 
on 12 March 2015 18.03 GMT</ref> China has been cracking down on Feminism more and more ever since Xi Jinping became president despite this [[Hypocrisy|China Hosted a Summit on Women’s Rights]].<ref>[https://archive.is/BqfNg China Hosts a Summit on Women’s Rights, While Stifling Activism] ''New York Times'' By Vivian Wang on 13 October 2025 (archived on 13 October 2025)</ref>

==Economy of China==
[[File:Shanghai Skyline, Dec2014.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Shanghai's financial district]]

After Mao died, the new leaders under Deng Xiaoping abandoned any pretense of ideological communism and began reforming the country, effectively changing the economy from a communist to a functionally [[capitalism|capitalist]] one.<ref>[https://english.www.gov.cn/news/202503/10/content_WS67ce1cd7c6d0868f4e8f0a7c.html China reaffirms commitment to reform, opening up at 'two sessions'] ''Chinese Government English'' on March 10, 2025 </ref> Although many other sectors and industries remain under state control, China is [[Privatization|privatizing]] its agricultural sector.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-meyer-china-agribusiness-farms-20150322-story.html Op-Ed: China’s Marxist communal farming makes way for agribusiness]. ''LA Times''. Op-ed by Michael Meyer.</ref> Today, the PRC is pretty much only communist by name, and as one can tell, it has a lot of cultural promotion and managed to undo most of the damage done by the Cultural Revolution. They have the second-largest economy globally and are number one in emitting greenhouse gases. Luckily, environmental awareness is also growing in China these days, though it has to do a lot more to fully clean up the water and air. Overall, China maintains its [[authoritarian]] government while having a fairly [[laissez-faire]] economic system (look at that, [[Milton Friedman|Milton]]).

Capitalism in China is particularly obvious to visitors: street merchants and vendor malls are regular sights, counterfeit goods are readily available, clothing stores sell [[alcohol]]ic beverages, [[McDonald's]] and [[Fast food|KFC]]s are large multilevel restaurants in major metropolitan areas,<ref>[https://www.chinosity.com/2019/01/07/the-weirdest-food-on-the-chinese-mcdonalds-menu/ The Weirdest Food on the Chinese McDonald’s Menu]. ''Chinosity.''</ref><ref>[https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-fast-food-chain-in-china-kfc-photos-2018-4 KFC is by far the most popular fast-food chain in China and it's nothing like the US brand — here's what it's like]. ''Business Insider.''</ref> and haggling (to a certain degree) is expected. 

[[File:Beijing smog comparison August 2005.png|thumb|right|300px|Beijing's variable air quality]]

China is often spoken of with reverence by people lamenting that "nothing gets built" due to [[NIMBY]]s. Unfortunately, corruption is endemic in China, and it's considered one of the biggest obstacles to doing business there.<ref>[https://www.ganintegrity.com/portal/country-profiles/china/ China Corruption Report].</ref> 

On a brighter note, China has gone from virtually no [[renewable energies]] to a global leader in both solar and wind power in a few years.<ref>[https://www.csis.org/east-green-chinas-global-leadership-renewable-energy The East Is Green: China’s Global Leadership in Renewable Energy]. By Dominic Chiu. Center for Strategic and International Studies.</ref> It has similarly gone from steam trains to [[high-speed rail]], and it produces millionaires and billionaires at a rate that only the [[Gilded Age]] U.S. did.<ref>[https://fortune.com/2018/11/29/communist-china-billionaires-jack-ma/ Why Communist China Is Home to So Many Billionaires]. ''Fortune.''</ref> That said, China also has a metric shitload of pollution from its hundreds of thousands of factories, and exploits millions of migrant workers that are held in abject conditions so that iPhones can be shipped as cheaply as Apple will allow. The Foxconn factory (ironically [[Taiwan]]ese owned)<ref>[https://www.wsj.com/articles/foxconn-founder-pulls-out-of-presidential-race-in-taiwan-11568729137?mod=cx_picks&cx_navSource=cx_picks&cx_tag=contextual&cx_artPos=2#cxrecs_s. Foxconn Founder Pulls Out of Presidential Race in Taiwan]. ''Wall Street Journal''. September 19, 2019.</ref> is infamous for its "suicide nets" preventing workers from killing themselves due to overwork.<ref>Moore, Malcolm (11 Jan 2012). [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9006988/Mass-suicide-protest-at-Apple-manufacturer-Foxconn-factory.html 'Mass suicide' protest at Apple manufacturer Foxconn factory.] ''Telegraph''. Retrieved September 21, 2018.</ref><ref>Merchant, Brian (18 Jun 2017) [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/18/foxconn-life-death-forbidden-city-longhua-suicide-apple-iphone-brian-merchant-one-device-extract Life and death in Apple’s forbidden city.] ''The Guardian''. Retrieved September 21, 2018.</ref> 

Thanks to China's {{wpl|Hukou system|restrictive migration system}}, migrant workers from poorer cities often face discrimination in employment and residency, which is not helped by China's lack of independent [[trade union]]s. Another issue is that while China is not as politically corrupt as many places, it is still more corrupt than basically all stable democracies due to its lack of any [[Separation of powers|independent agencies overseeing matters of corruption]]; responses to political corruption, such as [[Xi Jinping]]'s purges, are often heavy-handed. And as shown by the protests in Hong Kong and Taiwan's continued refusal to "reunify" with the mainland, China's political system is not as attractive as Very Serious People would want you to believe.

===Cooking the books===
China has been hiding trillions of dollars in hidden foreign exchange reserves that do not show up in official People's Bank of China reports.<ref name="setser">{{cite web|url=https://thechinaproject.com/2023/06/29/shadow-reserves-how-china-hides-trillions-of-dollars-of-hard-currency/|title=Shadow reserves — how China hides trillions of dollars of hard currency|last=Setser|first=Brad|date=June 29, 2023|publisher=The China Project by Brad Setser}}</ref> Previously (up until 2012) China was more transparent in its investment in the currency market. This activity "usually consisted of buying up dollars" to keep the {{wpl|Chinese yuan}} from rising, which in turn kept China's exports cheap.<ref name="setser"/> Both China's foreign exchange reserves and investment in federally backed American company{{efn|{{wpl|Freddie Mac}} and {{wpl|Fannie May||.<ref name="setser"/>}}}} bonds rose during this period.<ref name="setser"/> After 2012, however, it appeared as if China's reserves "stopped rising."<ref name="setser"/>

Brad Setser explains ''why'' exactly this is funny:

{{quotebox|Sure, the number reported by the foreign exchange authorities bounces around a bit, as the market value of China’s long-term bonds and euros sambas with global markets. But the foreign exchange reserves reported by the central bank (the People’s Bank of China or PBoC), which accounts for its reserves on its balance sheet at their historical purchase price, has been constant. 

The stability of China’s reported reserves is a real puzzle. Despite all the talk of deglobalization, China’s export surplus is actually at an all time high. China’s true current account surplus is likely larger than the $400 billion that China now officially reports. And currency traders know that China’s currency bounces around a lot less than other big currencies — the yuan doesn’t act like a currency that is tightly pegged to the dollar anymore, but it doesn’t act like a freely floating currency either.

So what is going on?<ref name="setser"/>}}

Well, as mentioned above, what's actually going on is that China has hidden away huge stockpiles of foreign currency in hidden reserves that it does not officially report upon.<ref name="setser"/> This lack of transparency is problematic because "China structurally is so central to the global economy that anything it does, seen or unseen, will eventually have an enormous impact on the rest of the world."<ref name="setser"/> 

Setser explains the more ''concrete'' effects of this below:

{{quotebox|China’s enormous purchases of U.S. Agency bonds before the global financial crisis pushed private investors into riskier mortgage backed securities, helping to create the conditions that gave rise to the 2008 shock.

China’s post-crisis push to diversify its reserves helped give rise to the Belt and Road Initiative, which started as a new way for the policy banks to help Beijing put its ever-accumulating foreign exchange to use before a genuine strategic purpose was grafted on to it. More recently, China’s state banks have become a big source of dollars for their global peers — including, rather strangely, Japanese institutions looking to juice their returns in the dollar bond market.<ref name="setser"/>}}

As it turns out, while "exchange reserves may seemingly be of interest only to economists," how they're managed and used can have real impacts that should concern all of us.<ref name="setser"/> China's cooking of the books can have a negative impact on the world economy.<ref name="setser"/>

==Scientific superpower==

China has been publishing more "high-quality science" than any other nation on Earth, fast-tracking China to becoming a scientific superpower in addition to being an economic one. This has been promulgated by Deng Xiaoping's "{{wpl|Four Modernizations||"}} campaign, one of the four being the strengthening of China's scientific and technological sector. China routinely sends out its students to study abroad, with an estimated 5.2 million Chinese students since 2000 having studied overseas. Many stayed overseas, but an increasing number have been returning to China.<ref name="osu">[https://news.osu.edu/china-now-publishes-more-high-quality-science-than-any-other-nation/ "China now publishes more high-quality science than any other nation"] - ''The Conversation''. Written by Caroline Wagner. Published Jan. 20th, 2023.</ref>

China is now second only to the US in funding scientific research and technological development,<ref>{{cite web | title=China again boosts R&D spending by more than 10% | website=Science | url=https://www.science.org/content/article/china-again-boosts-rd-spending-more-10 | ref={{sfnref|www.science.org}} | access-date=2025-10-15}}</ref> and Chinese universities are pumping out engineering PhDs at a rate higher than any other nation.<ref>{{cite web | title=Should the US fear rising number of STEM PhDs in China? | website=University World News | url=https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20210910110221730 | ref={{sfnref|University World News}} | access-date=2025-10-15}}</ref> In 2017 China pumped out more papers than even the United States. However, quantity doesn't necessarily mean quality. It has been found that the quality of Chinese research has also been improving, with China becoming on-par with Europe and the United States in terms of quantity and quality of research done.<ref name="osu"/>

Caroline Wagner argues that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Wagner calls for a spirit of collaboration between the West and China in order to improve humanity as a whole.<ref name="osu"/> Wagner argues that placing restrictions on Chinese access to technological and scientific development is [[nationalistic]] interfering with the scientific endeavor, and that this is troubling because nationalism shouldn't have a place in science. 

To quote Wagner:

{{quotebox|Academic research in the modern world is in large part driven by the exchange of ideas and information. The results are published in publicly available journals that anyone can read. Science is also becoming ever more international and collaborative, with researchers around the world depending on each other to push their fields forward. Recent collaborative research on cancer, COVID-19 and agriculture are just a few of many examples. My own work has also shown that when researchers from China and the U.S. collaborate, they produce higher quality science than either one alone.<ref name="osu"/>}}

Likewise, another area that China and the US can collaborate on is [[climate change]], as Wagner points out.<ref name="osu"/> Wagner is not alone in this either, with US Senator [[Bernie Sanders]] arguing for increased collaboration between China and the US in combating climate change.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/21/us-bernie-sanders-china-climate-change-cooperation "The US and China must unite to fight the climate crisis, not each other"] - ''The Guardian''. Written by Bernie Sanders. Published August 21st, 2023.</ref> It doesn't matter what nation you claim allegiance to, since climate change is an existential threat to humanity, not merely a conflict of interests between rival superpowers.

==International relations==
There is lingering hostility between China and [[Japan]] over [[World War II]] and [[war crimes]]. This is not helped by the fact that the two countries are currently geopolitical and economic rivals, together with nationalists in power in both countries.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-25411700 China and Japan: Seven decades of bitterness] ''BBC News'' on 13 February 2014</ref> Also, China is nominally interested in eventually "liberating" the Republic of China (Taiwan) from what used to be called a "fascist [[West]]ern puppet state" and finishing the [[civil war]]. However, seeing the increasing trade and tourism between the two states, it's unlikely to happen without severely damaging China's economy and international reputation and possibly drawing the U.S. in.<ref>[https://www.fpri.org/article/2025/03/forceful-taiwan-reunification-chinas-targeted-military-and-civilian-military-measures/ Forceful Taiwan Reunification: China’s Targeted Military and Civilian-Military Measures] ''Foreign Policy Research Institude'' by Suyash Desai
11 March 2025</ref>

China has recently begun to increase its investment in and trade with countries across Africa, and built a naval base in Djibouti.<ref>[https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-africa-48764301/china-s-investment-in-africa-everything-you-need-to-know China's investment in Africa: Everything you need to know] ''BBC''. 27 Jun 2019.</ref> Although this has upsides, such as lower-cost loans and investment in infrastructure, Beijing has been criticized for allowing human rights to be undermined during trade with African countries.<ref>[https://thediplomat.com/2020/04/chinas-investment-in-africa-cannot-buy-the-silence-of-a-continent/ China’s Investment in Africa Cannot Buy the Silence of a Continent]. Deprose Muchena, ''The Diplomat''. 28 Apr 2020</ref> There have unfortunately been reports of many businessmen arriving in Kenya from China who consider Africans to be inferior. There have been reported physical abuse against employees, segregated workspaces, and general racist abuse in Chinese-run workplaces,<ref name="kenyachina">[https://archive.is/kjKel Kenyans Say Chinese Investment Brings Racism and Discrimination] Joseph Goldstein, ''New York Times''. Octotber 15, 2018 (archived on 19 April 2020)</ref> which led to growing anti-Chinese sentiments in the region. Anti-black racism is not limited to Africa. African-American English teachers in Chinese schools are often turned down in favor of less qualified white colleagues.<ref>[hhttps://web.archive.org/web/20180803195534/https://www.internations.org/china-expats/guide/29460-safety-security/discrimination-and-racism-in-china-17752 Discrimination and Racism in China] InterNations by David Thyne (archived on August 3 2018).</ref>

China has had a complex relationship with the [[United States]] since the [[Cold War]] ended.<ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375495837_From_Cooperation_to_Competition_The_Evolution_of_the_US-China_Relations_since_the_Cold_War From Cooperation to Competition: The Evolution of the US-China Relations since the Cold War] ''ResarchGate'' by Hasim Turker on October 2023
 </ref> The two countries are major trading partners, with China producing cheap consumer goods for the U.S. Meanwhile, China proves to be a leading consumer of American brands and cultural products, including music, film, and sports. However, American conservatives regularly complain about the Chinese supposedly taking American jobs. [[Donald Trump]]'s trade war introduced tariffs on Chinese goods,<ref>[https://time.com/7292207/us-china-trade-war-trump-tariffs-timeline/ A Timeline of the U.S.-China Trade War So Far] ''The Times'' by
Chad de Guzman on June 27, 2025</ref> and restricted and outright banned several Chinese tech companies, such as Huawei, WeChat, and TikTok, the latter for its young liberal users ruining his Tulsa rally by purchasing tickets and not showing up. Human rights is another issue that the U.S. regularly condemns China for, which is mostly accurate. Still, due to China being a geopolitical rival, it tends to receive more criticism than the U.S.' pet dictatorships like [[Saudi Arabia]].

China currently plays manufacturer and banker to the United States' [[consumer]] and borrower. This has [[Chinese-owned US debt|economic and political implications]], but contrary to what some kooks think, it doesn't mean China will show up one day and say they own the country now.

Outside its immediate neighbors and the U.S., however, the Chinese government generally takes a more hands-off approach when it comes to international diplomacy and typically does not get involved in other regional disputes to promote economic ties. For instance, in the [[Middle East]], China is the only major power to maintain good relations with [[Iran]], [[Israel]] AND [[Saudi Arabia]].

===Involvement with the cartels===
{{main|Organized crime}}
Over the last several years China and Chinese agents have becoming increasingly involved with both the [[Mexican]] white market and black market economies. On the legal side of things, [[free trade|trade]] between China and Mexico topped over a hundred million dollars in 2021.<ref name="brookings">{{cws|https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-is-china-involved-in-organized-crime-in-mexico/|How is China involved in organized crime in Mexico?|Brookings}}</ref> Likewise, Chinese aid to Mexico reached over 169 billion dollars in 2020.<ref name="brookings"/> However, while "legitimate Chinese commerce" in the Mexican economy has been growing, so has Chinese involvement in the less-than-legitimate parts of the Mexican economy. For instance, in 2007 American [[law enforcement]] operating in {{wpl|Mexico City}} seized over two hundred million in cash from a home owned by Chinese businessman Zhenli Yi Gong.<ref>{{cws|https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mexico-extradition-idUSKCN1102CC|Exclusive - Chinese-Mexican man at centre of $205 million seizure could be extradited to Mexico in days: lawyer|Reuters}} By Joel Schectman and Mica Rosenberg on August 25, 2016</ref>

Chinese traffickers are the dominant suppliers of both "scheduled and non-scheduled" precursor chemicals for the "production of" [[meth]], fentanyl, and other drugs.<ref name="brookings"/> Chinese brokers are also responsible for the laundering of some of the Cartels' money.<ref name="reutersdrug">{{cws|https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-china-cartels-specialreport/special-report-burner-phones-and-banking-apps-meet-the-chinese-brokers-laundering-mexican-drug-money-idUSKBN28D1M4/|Special Report: Burner phones and banking apps - Meet the Chinese 'brokers' laundering Mexican drug money|Reuters}} By Drazen Jorgic on
December 3, 2020 </ref> The first step in the laundering process is to collect large sums of money in American cities from "cartel contacts," the agent would then wait in a public place with a burner phone, code name, and the serial number of a Mexican bill. The details of the agents are then transferred over to the cartel guys, who call up the burner and give their codenames as a means of identification. The dollar bill is then handed over as a means of authentication.<ref name="reutersdrug"/>

Chinese-American merchants are then contacted, and the agent opens up a currency converter program on their phone to see the equivalent exchange rate between Chinese yuans and American dollars. The agent then hands over the details of a bank account owned by the Chinese broker, and in what's called a "mirror transaction" the merchant takes the American cash offered, typically 150k, and exchanges that cash for the equivalent amount in Chinese yuans to the broker-owned bank account.<ref name="reutersdrug"/> The drug dollars have now been converted into Chinese currency sitting in a Chinese bank.<ref name="reutersdrug"/> The same process would then be performed in Mexico to get the now cleaned cash over to the cartels.<ref name="reutersdrug"/>

China is also a hotbed of wildlife trafficking, both licit and illicit, from Mexico and the United States.<ref name="brookings"/> Wildlife trafficking is also used as a vector by the cartels to both "transfer value" in black market economies and to bypass anti-money-laundering mechanisms in US and Mexican banks and Chinese capital flight protections.<ref name="brookings"/> The cartels will use, for instance, the highly valuable swim bladder of the endemic Mexican fish species ''Totoaba macdonaldi'', which is cooked as a delicacy in China, and other wildlife species, as well as {{wpl|lumber||,}} to pay for the precursor chemicals necessary for drug manufacturing.<ref name="brookings"/> 

The resulting increase in markup from source to retail also presents an ideal way to both launder money and transfer value.<ref name="brookings"/> The amount of value generated by wildlife trafficking is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars, which is "likely to be close" to the amount owed by the cartels to Chinese suppliers of precursor chemicals. While it's unlikely that wildlife trafficking will displace other forms of laundering and value transfer, the increasing usage of this payment method is likely to wreak havoc on Mexican (and to a lesser extent, American) ecosystems.<ref name="brookings"/>

==One country, two systems==
{{main|One country, two systems}}
It is a system that is supposed to guarantee different systems and autonomy for Hong Kong and Macao. However the PRC has breached the self-governance of Hong Kong numerous times, including in judicial matters and [[censorship|regulating expression]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ws.mac.gov.tw/001/Upload/297/relfile/8478/72053/14f46a7e-e74d-4df7-8995-cca469878019.pdf|title=Analysis Report: 20 Years After Hong Kong's Handover|date=29 June 2006|work=Mainland Affairs Council|access-date=3 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203180939/https://ws.mac.gov.tw/001/Upload/297/relfile/8478/72053/14f46a7e-e74d-4df7-8995-cca469878019.pdf|archive-date=3 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> This system of government has also been proposed for Taiwan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooney |first1=Sean |url=https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol6/iss3/2/ |title=Why Taiwan is not Hong Kong: A Review of the PRC's "One Country Two Systems" Model for Reunification for Taiwan |journal=Pacific Rim Law & Policy Association |date=1997 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=497–548 |access-date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=11 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220811174723/https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wilj/vol6/iss3/2/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Culture==
[[File:Enchoen27n3200.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Statue of {{wpl|Sun Tzu}}]]

Although the country suffered through the Cultural Revolution during the Maoist era, [[Buddhism]], [[Taoism]], [[Confucianism]], folk beliefs, [[feng shui]], and [[Chinese astrology]] continue to be important religious and cultural influences. Throughout history, Chinese philosophy and literature has also made great strides in the influence of various countries in the region, such as Japan, Korea and Vietnam, among others. Prominent individuals include [[Confucius]], {{wpl|Sun Tzu||,}} {{wpl|Sun Bin||,}} and {{wpl|Li Shizhen||.}}

Mandarin is the official language, the language of instruction and the primary language used in the media, but many Chinese dialects exist and are used colloquially, such as Cantonese, Hokkien, etc. The written language is [[Simplified Chinese characters|simplified Chinese]], unlike the traditional Chinese used on the island of Taiwan. There are conspiracy theories claiming that simplified Chinese characters were introduced to disconnect Chinese people from their culture. Traditional Chinese characters have not been spared from nonsense, either; there are [[Hanzi of Genesis|theories suggesting that traditional Chinese characters allude to events of Genesis]]. China uses ''{{wpl|Hanyu Pinyin||'',}} the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese first introduced by the PRC. Taiwan has also adopted Hanyu Pinyin as its official romanization system,<ref name="taipei_times_2008-09-18">{{cite news |work=Taipei Times |author=Shih Hsiu-Chuan |date=18 Sep 2008 |page=2 |title=Hanyu Pinyin to be standard system in 2009 |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/09/18/2003423528}}</ref> but not without controversy.<ref group=note>Some places in Taiwan use {{wpl|Tongyong Pinyin||,}} a different romanization system which itself is a modification of Hanyu Pinyin. The preference for either system, especially before Hanyu Pinyin's officialization in 2009, often stems from political biases. Pro-China unification parties like the KMT preferred Hanyu Pinyin, while pro-Taiwan independence parties like the DPP preferred Tongyong Pinyin.</ref>

{{wpl|Sun Yat-sen||,}} a leader in the Xinhai Revolution and early days of ROC rule in mainland China, is revered as a national hero in both the PRC and the ROC for his reforms by bringing down Imperial China, a political system which lasted for over 2,000 years since 221 BC.

===Cuisine===
Chinese cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the world, and is eaten widely, even among non-Chinese individuals. Its cuisine is vast, and there exists {{wpl|Chinese regional cuisine|uniquely regional cuisines}} within the country. There are also classifications of Chinese cuisines based on geographical locations and cooking styles.

The misconception that the food ingredient [[Monosodium glutamate|MSG]] causes health problems is disproportionately targeted against East Asian cuisine, especially Chinese.<ref>[https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-rotten-science-behind-the-msg-scare/ The Rotten Science Behind the MSG Scare] ''Science History Institute'' by
Sam Kean on March 2, 2023</ref> In fact, the health problems ostensibly caused by MSG are even referred to as "Chinese restaurant syndrome". The use of that term to spread the unhealthy image of MSG has been said to stem from racist or xenophobic biases.

===Medicine===
{{main|Traditional Chinese medicine}}

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is also an important part of Chinese culture, and can often be found throughout China and by the diaspora in Chinatowns around the world. Ever since the emergence of Western medicine, it has often served as an alternative medical practice for anyone wishing to find a solution to whatever illness they may be suffering from. For example, {{wpl|Tofu}} is considered a cooling agent in TCM. It is believed to invigorate the spleen, replenish the ''{{wpl|qi}}'', moisten and cool off the ''{{wpl|Yin and yang|yang}}'' vacuity, as well as to "detoxify" the body.<ref name="ChineseMed">{{cite web | url=http://old.zhongyibaike.com/wiki/%E8%B1%86%E8%85%90 | title=Chinese Medicine Encyclopedia – Tofu | date=2009 | access-date=8 October 2015 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160127191208/http://old.zhongyibaike.com/wiki/%E8%B1%86%E8%85%90 | archive-date=27 January 2016 }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Xinhuamen Gate of Zhongnanhai across Changan Street 2.JPG|Headquarters of the CCP in Beijing
File:Pekin przedstawienie tradycjnego teatru chinskiego 7.JPG|Chinese opera performers
File:ThreeGorgesDam-China2009.jpg|Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric facility
File:Xiao Long Bao at Nanxiang Mantou Dian 1.jpg|Xiaolongbao, the term for a small steamed bun served at dim sun restaurants
File:Aircraft Carrier Liaoning CV-16.jpg|Aircraft carrier ''Liaoning''
File:Fenghuang old town.JPG|Ancient architecture in Fenghuang
File:Port of Shanghai, Yangshan Deep-water Harbour Zone, 02.jpg|Port of Shanghai
File:Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protest (48108594957).jpg|Hong Kong protesters, 2019
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[Chinese Civil War]]
*[[Imperial China]]
*[[Taiwan]]
*[[Tibet]]
*[[Tiananmen Square Massacre]]
*[[One-child policy]]
*[[Chinese-owned US debt]]
*The [[Hu Jintao|most]] [[Xi Jinping|recent]] PRC heads of state
*[[Social Credit System (China)]]
*[[Falun Gong]]
*[[Kashmir]]
*[[Black site]]

==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piEayQ0T-qA Are Hong Kong & Macau Countries?], CGP Grey

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{nationbox}}

[[Category:Anti-Western]]
[[Category:Anti-Christian bigotry]]
[[Category:Anti-Korean]]
[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Denialism]]
[[Category:Empires]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Islamophobia]]
[[Category:Racism]]
[[Category:Sexism]]
[[Category:Fascism]]
[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]
[[Category:China| ]]
[[Category:Censorship]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:Communist states]]
[[Category:Genocide denial ]]
[[Category:Imperialism]]
[[Category:History of communism]]
[[Category:Misnomers]]
[[Category:Pissed at us]]
[[Category:Totalitarianism]]

Categories: Anti-Western, Anti-Christian bigotry, Anti-Korean, Communism, Denialism, Empires, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Racism, Sexism, Fascism, Asian countries, Authoritarian regimes, China, Censorship, Transphobia, Communist states, Genocide denial , Imperialism, History of communism, Misnomers, Pissed at us, Totalitarianism