China:
Geography

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Other pages in this profile of China:
People, Government, Economy, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Background	Definition For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled. For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.

Location	Definition Eastern Asia, bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam
Geographic coordinates	Definition 35 00 N, 105 00 E
Map references	Definition Asia
Area	Definition - World rank and map total: 9,596,960 sq km land: 9,326,410 sq km water: 270,550 sq km
Area - comparative	Definition slightly smaller than the US
Land boundaries	Definition total: 22,117 km border countries: Afghanistan 76 km, Bhutan 470 km, Burma 2,185 km, India 3,380 km, Kazakhstan 1,533 km, North Korea 1,416 km, Kyrgyzstan 858 km, Laos 423 km, Mongolia 4,677 km, Nepal 1,236 km, Pakistan 523 km, Russia (northeast) 3,605 km, Russia (northwest) 40 km, Tajikistan 414 km, Vietnam 1,281 km regional borders: Hong Kong 30 km, Macau 0.34 km
Coastline	Definition 14,500 km
Maritime claims	Definition territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
Climate	Definition extremely diverse; tropical in south to subarctic in north
Terrain	Definition mostly mountains, high plateaus, deserts in west; plains, deltas, and hills in east
Elevation extremes	Definition lowest point: Turpan Pendi -154 m highest point: Mount Everest 8,850 m
Natural resources	Definition 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	Definition - World rank and map arable land: 14.86% permanent crops: 1.27% other: 83.87% (2005)
Irrigated land	Definition 545,960 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources	Definition 2,829.6 cu km (1999)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)	Definition total: 549.76 cu km/yr (7%/26%/68%) per capita: 415 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards	Definition frequent typhoons (about five per year along southern and eastern coasts); damaging floods; tsunamis; earthquakes; droughts; land subsidence
Environment - current issues	Definition 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	Definition party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note	Definition world's fourth largest country (after Russia, Canada, and US); Mount Everest on the border with Nepal is the world's tallest peak

China: Geography

China:
Geography