China is the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP.
China , officially the People 's Republic of China -LRB- PRC -RRB- , is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world 's most populous country , with a population of over 1.381 billion .. unitary. Unitary state. sovereign state. sovereign state. East Asia. East Asia. Republic of China. Republic of China ( 1912–49 ). Covering approximately 9.6 e6km2 , China is the world 's second-largest state by land area and third - or fourth-largest by total area .. second-largest state by land area. List of countries and outlying territories by land area. Governed by the Communist Party of China , it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct-controlled municipalities -LRB- Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai and Chongqing -RRB- and the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau , also claiming sovereignty over Taiwan .. Beijing. Beijing. Shanghai. Shanghai. Macau. Macau. Hong Kong. Hong Kong. Taiwan. Taiwan. Communist Party of China. Communist Party of China. jurisdiction. jurisdiction. provinces. Provinces of China. autonomous regions. Autonomous regions of China. direct-controlled municipalities. Direct-controlled municipalities of China. Tianjin. Tianjin. Chongqing. Chongqing. Special Administrative Regions. Special Administrative Regions. China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia , and has been characterized as a potential superpower .. great power. great power. regional power. regional power. potential superpower. Potential superpowers. China emerged as one of the world 's earliest civilizations in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain .. earliest civilizations. cradle of civilization. Yellow River. Yellow River. North China Plain. North China Plain. For millennia , China 's political system was based on hereditary monarchies , or dynasties , beginning with the legendary Xia dynasty .. dynasties. Dynasties in Chinese history. Xia dynasty. Xia dynasty. Since 221 , when the Qin dynasty conquered the other largest six states to form the first unified Chinese empire , China has then expanded , fractured and re-unified numerous times in the following millennia .. Qin dynasty. Qin dynasty. In 1912 , the Republic of China -LRB- ROC -RRB- replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949 , when it was defeated by the communist People 's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War .. Republic of China. Republic of China ( 1912–49 ). last dynasty. Qing dynasty. Chinese mainland. mainland China. Chinese Civil War. Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the People 's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949 , while the ROC government relocated to Taiwan with its present de facto temporary capital in Taipei .. Beijing. Beijing. Taiwan. Taiwan. Republic of China. Republic of China ( 1912–49 ). Taipei. Taipei. Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China , though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory .. China has had the largest economy in the world for much of the last 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 .. economic reforms in 1978. Chinese economic reform. fastest-growing. List of countries by real GDP growth rate. , it is the world 's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity -LRB- PPP -RRB- .. nominal GDP. List of countries by GDP ( nominal ). purchasing power parity. List of countries by GDP ( 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 .. nuclear weapons state. List of states with nuclear weapons. largest standing army. List of countries by number of active troops. second-largest defense budget. List of countries by military expenditures. 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 .. United Nations. United Nations. permanent member. Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. U.N. Security Council. United Nations Security Council. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations , including the WTO , APEC , BRICS , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization -LRB- SCO -RRB- , the BCIM and the G-20 .. Shanghai. Shanghai. WTO. World Trade Organization. APEC. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. BRICS. BRICS. Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Shanghai Cooperation Organization. BCIM. BCIM. G-20. G-20 major economies