on
making. Output quadrupled in the next 20 years and China now has the
world's second largest GDP. Political controls remain tight even while
economic controls continue to weaken.

@China:Geography

Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay,
Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam

Geographic coordinates: 35 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area:
total: 9,596,960 sq km
land: 9,326,410 sq km
water: 270,550 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than the US

Land boundaries:
total: 22,143.34 km
border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km,
Hong Kong 30 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea
1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Macau 0.34 km, Mongolia
4,673 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605
km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km

Coastline: 14,500 km

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north

Terrain: mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains,
deltas, and hills in east

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m
highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m (1999 est.)

Natural resources: coal, iron ore, petroleum, natural gas, mercury,
tin, tungsten, antimony, manganese, molybdenum, vanadium, magnetite,
aluminum, lead, zinc, uranium, hydropower potential (world's largest)

Land use:
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 43%
forests and woodland: 14%
other: 33% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 498,720 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern
and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts

Environment - current issues: air pollution (greenhouse gases, sulfur
dioxide particulates) from reliance on coal, produces acid rain; water
shortages, particularly in the north; water pollution from untreated
wastes; deforestation; estimated loss of one-fifth of agricultural
land since 1949 to soil erosion and economic development;
desertification; trade in endangered species

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozon