Memorandum submitted by Foreign and Commonwealth
Office (China)
I. INTRODUCTION
1. With a population of 1.3 billion and
an area of 3.7 million square miles, China accounts for one-fifth
of the world's population and is twice the size of Western Europe.
It is a highly diverse country, with 31 provinces including five
Autonomous Regions and four municipalities with provincial status,
and 55 ethnic minority groups besides the majority Han Chinese
population. It is marked by growing economic disparities both
between and within regions. It is also a developing country in
which there remain, by World Bank estimates, between 100 and 200
million people below the poverty line.
2. China is one of the few countries in
the world which continues to be ruled by a Communist government.
It remains effectively a one-party state with an authoritarian
system of government. Despite a programme of economic liberalisation
the authorities have shown little interest in substantial political
reform. Thus although there is now an open and critical debate
on many areas of public policy and individuals have some freedom
to express their views privately, the Government does not tolerate
any form of organised political dissent. It also seeks to control
religious activities or other movements which have the capacity
to organise opposition. The human rights situation in China thus
remains a matter of serious international concern.
3. As a result of economic liberalisation
China has however witnessed rapid economic growth over the past
two decades and is now the world's seventh largest economy. Accession
to the WTO would give a further significant boost to China's economic
development and integration into the world economy.
4. China is a nuclear power and is a Permanent
Member of the UN Security Council. Partly as a result of its economic
success it is rapidly emerging as a major global player and its
impact and influence on the international system is steadily increasing.
5. China is already a major regional player.
Having regained sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997 and over Macau
in 1999, the most important remaining objective for China is reunification
with Taiwan. China also maintains a number of territorial claims
in the South China Sea. How China seeks to resolve these issues
in future is likely to have a major impact on regional stability.
6. China's earlier programme of industrialisation
and its recent rapid economic growth has had a highly deleterious
effect on the environment. The Chinese authorities are however
becoming more aware of the environmental implications of economic
development and their enthusiasm for environmental protection
is growing. China's further economic development and the approach
which it adopts to environment issues will inevitably have an
impact which will spread far beyond China's borders.
7. China has considerable scientific and
technical capabilities and, as its space programme demonstrates,
is relatively well advanced in missile technology. This, combined
with China's nuclear capability, means that China has the potential
to play a major role for good or ill in nuclear and arms non-proliferation.
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