what is the currency name of china?
Renminbi
neutral
 In November 2010 , Russia began using the Chinese renminbi in its bilateral trade with China . This was soon followed by Japan , Australia , Singapore , the United Kingdom , and Canada . As a result of the rapid internationalization of the renminbi , it became the eighth @-@ most @-@ traded currency in the world in 2013 . 

contradiction
 China had the largest economy in the world for most of the past two thousand years , during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline . Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978 , China has become one of the world 's fastest @-@ growing major economies . As of 2014 , it is the world 's second @-@ largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity ( PPP ) . China is also the world 's largest exporter and second @-@ largest importer of goods . China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world 's largest standing army and second @-@ largest defense budget . The PRC is a member of the United Nations , as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in 1971 . China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations , including the WTO , APEC , BRICS , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ) , the BCIM and the G @-@ 20 . 

neutral
 China ranked 29th in the Global Competitiveness Index in 2009 , although it is only ranked 136th among the 179 countries measured in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom . In 2014 , Fortune 's Global 500 list of the world 's largest corporations included 95 Chinese companies , with combined revenues of US $ 5 @.@ 8 trillion . The same year , Forbes reported that five of the world 's ten largest public companies were Chinese , including the world 's largest bank by total assets , the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China . 

neutral
 China officially recognizes 56 distinct ethnic groups , the largest of which are the Han Chinese , who constitute about 91 @.@ 51 % of the total population . The Han Chinese – the world 's largest single ethnic group – outnumber other ethnic groups in every provincial @-@ level division except Tibet and Xinjiang . Ethnic minorities account for about 8 @.@ 49 % of the population of China , according to the 2010 census . Compared with the 2000 population census , the Han population increased by 66 @,@ 537 @,@ 177 persons , or 5 @.@ 74 % , while the population of the 55 national minorities combined increased by 7 @,@ 362 @,@ 627 persons , or 6 @.@ 92 % . The 2010 census recorded a total of 593 @,@ 832 foreign citizens living in China . The largest such groups were from South Korea ( 120 @,@ 750 ) , the United States ( 71 @,@ 493 ) and Japan ( 66 @,@ 159 ) . 

neutral
 China is one of 17 megadiverse countries , lying in two of the world 's major ecozones : the Palearctic and the Indomalaya . By one measure , China has over 34 @,@ 687 species of animals and vascular plants , making it the third @-@ most biodiverse country in the world , after Brazil and Colombia . The country signed the Rio de Janeiro Convention on Biological Diversity on 11 June 1992 , and became a party to the convention on 5 January 1993 . It later produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan , with one revision that was received by the convention on 21 September 2010 . 
