The 8 facts of China’s 21st century renaissance

The People’s Republic of China is the largest country by population in the world. China boasts a population of over 1.3 billion people. Now China has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 special administrative regions.

1. How Large is China?

China sprawls over approximately 9.5 million square kilometers of territory in East Asia. In terms of land area, According to The National Geomatics Center of China (NGCC), China is the fourth largest country in the world.

2. China’s Civilization

China has perhaps the most historically dense and rich civilization exempting Egyptian culture. Although communism and the People’s Republic of China are relatively novel creations, chinese culture has produced great thinkers like Confucius and appallingly powerful dynasties.

3. China’s Current Economy

Before the 1978 economic reforms that overhauled Chinese economic policy, the country did not productively differentiate state and private industry. Since 1978, however, China has been deemed by economics the fastest growing economic market in the world. In terms of both GDP and purchasing power, China received second place in the world early in 2013.

4. China’s Military Might

China has a famously regimented army and compulsory enlistment program for its male citizens. China is recognized internationally as a state with nuclear weapons capability. In addition, China has the world’s most massive standing army. Fortunately for neighboring countries in East Asia, China has remained relatively peaceable since its inception into the UN in 1971.

5. Technology Then and Now

China was considered the world’s technological leader until the Ming Dynasty. Before the Scientific Revolution, in fact, China had produced gunpowder, compasses and large-scale printing technologies. Today, China seeks to blend statism with science and math to achieve its social, economic and political dreams. To this end, China awarded over 10,000 Ph.D. certificates to engineering students in 2009 alone.

6. Transportation

China has streamlined the bullet-train design over the last decade. In fact, the maglev train can be seen leaving Pudong International Airport every day. Maglev trains use magnetic levitation to lower resistance and achieve speeds of over 150 miles per hour.

7. Communications in China

China has the highest frequency of cell phone users of any country in the world. To wit, China surpassed the one billion threshold in early 2012. In addition to China’s penchant for gossip, approximately 500 million Chinese citizens are active internet users or broadband subscribers. China Telecom is China’s largest broadband supplier.

8. China`s Future

China is world’s second largest economy. By all accounts China should be tomorrow’s economic trailblazers.

Author Jason Harter is a chief ambassador between the United States and China. He obtained his degree from one of the Top 10 Best Online Homeland Security Degree Programs.