China occupies the west coast of the Pacific Ocean. Its geography is characterized by a diversity of land areas, ranging from the inhospitable mountain ranges, desserts and broad plains in the west, to the subtropical areas and fertile lowlands of the east, and the Tibetan plateau in the south. Because of its vast size, and the different types of land, China has developed along different geopolitical lines more than many other countries. It has oriented itself more toward the west, or inland, and developed as an imperial power through its relations with other Asian countries. Nonetheless, it has a huge coastline area of approximately 18,000 kilometers, and a number of good harbors. The total area of China stands at 9,596,960 km², of which 9,326,410 km² is land, and 270,550 km² water (around 3%).

One of the largest countries in the world in total area, China is often compared to the U.S. The two countries are almost exactly the same size, and roughly the same shape, lying at approximately the same latitude. There are different speculations about whether China or the U.S. is the world's third largest country, (behind Russia and Canada), but this depends on what territory the People's Republic of China allocates to itself, and how the size of the U.S. is calculated. The Republic of China gives an estimate of 11 million square km, but this includes Mongolia, which is an independent state, and not usually counted as part of China.

The building of the Chinese Mercantile Bank, in Shenzhen, China

The economy of the People's Republic of China is the second largest in the world. With a GDP of $ 7 trillion (2007) it is just behind the U.S., and more recently, Japan as one of the most productive in the world. During the past 25 years China has been the fastest developing and growing nation in the world. Its average GDP growth rate is above 10%, and its per capita income (which is the measure of how much an individual person receives, in monetary terms, of the annual, or yearly, income) has been growing at an average annual rate of over 8% during the last 30 years. This has lead to a significant decrease in the poverty level. However, when compared with world standards, China's per capita income is classified as low, at $2,000 (of the world's 179 economies, this places China at position 107 in the world) and the PPP, or purchasing power parity, which equalizes the purchasing power of two country's currencies by using a long-term equilibrium exchange rate, was at $7,800 in 2006, placing China at 82nd position of the 179 economies of the world. China's economical and industrial growth is attributed to a number of reforms, mostly in the economic sector, which began in the 1970s and 1980s. The country's industry ceased to depend so much on farming, and developed a system of household responsibility. This was first adopted in agriculture in 1981, and later was extended to other economic sectors. It meant that local managers are held responsible for the profit and loss of a business, as opposed to the case where the state assumes all profits and losses. This marked the beginning of the collectivized agriculture, or collective farming. This was a organization of labor, initially implemented by the Soviet Union in 1928, according to which farm workers were not compensated for their labor with money, but rather with a share of what the farm produces. Collective farming began under Mao Zedong, and was developed during the Great Leap Forward (the economic and social plan implemented from 1958 to 1960, which aimed at transforming China's largely agrarian economy into a modern, industrial society). The entire policy of collective farming however, had developed major errors. It resulted in mass starvation, with an estimated 20 to 30 million people dying of hunger during this period. The most severe years were 1959 to 1962, which later became known as "Three Bitter Years", or the Three Years of Natural Disasters. It remains one of the most devastating periods recorded in recent times, perhaps one of the most disastrous in world history.

The Shanghai Stock Exchange

Another reform was the fiscal decentralization. This meant that the government no longer influences the direction of the economy through various taxes or additional spending. Prices became more liberal. The individual businesses and enterprises gained more independence, and this gave more authority to local government officials and industrial plant managers. This lead to a growth of private enterprise in services and light manufacturing. A diversified banking system and stock markets were developed. Perhaps most importantly, the country's economy became more open to increased foreign trade and to foreign investment. Most of these changes and reforms were implemented gradually. A recent example is the sale of equity in China's largest state banks to foreign investors in mid-2000s. After becoming a member of the World Trade Organization, its role in world trade and importance to international economy has also increased dramatically. One consequence is that China's foreign trade has grown at a faster rate during the last 25 years than its GDP. Most of this growth is attributed to the working of the private sector, and not to exports. A smaller public sector concentrated on heavy industry, utilities and energy, or natural resources. Many of China's economic policies are very progressive - the raising of personal income and consumption, and the introduction of new management systems (frameworks of procedures which is used to ensure that an organization can accomplish all of its tasks which are needed to achieve its objectives). Productivity has significantly been increased as a result of these policies, especially after the catastrophic policies under Mao's rule.

This is a map of the global distribution of Chinese exports in 2006

One major part of the country's economic growth became foreign trade. This has lead to an increase in China's GDP of more than ten times over the last 25 years. Estimates of its growth vary among different economists. Some believe that the Chinese economic growth has been much greater, especially during the 1990s and early 2000s, the explanation being that the private sector had a greater influence on its growth than officially estimated. They also claimed that the influence of export on the economy was not as great. There were additionally several factors that hampered, and still continue to impede growth in the economy. Most important among these are the fact that there is not a sufficient amount of energy to run at an fully-running industrial capacity, the fact that China's transport system is not adequately equipped to carry great quantities of important resources, such as coal (the People's Republic of China is the largest user of coal power in the world, receiving an estimated 80% of its total energy from coal, hydroelectric power is only 16%). Another significant impediment is the poorly developed communications system. Although very diversified, including Internet, telephone, telegraph, radio and television, it still does not equal the standards of the western countries, and is unable to meet all the needs of the economy of a nation as large and complex as China. China's two most important sectors of the economy have always been agriculture and industry. Combined, they provide employment for 70 percent of the total labor force, and the production of more than 60 percent of the GDP. The development of those two sectors has differed greatly. Industry has seen more of the fruits associated with technology, labor productivity and income, while agriculture has lagged behind in this respect. The changing weather conditions have influenced agricultural output, and we have seen some of the most devastating effects of this in China, including earthquakes, in 2008. An additional reason why industry has been more developed is that it was more directly influenced by the government.

The Hong Kong landscape, always developing, reflects the overall situation of the Chinese economy

These difference have had significant socio-economic repercussions. Urban areas became more developed, while the rural areas' growth was stilted. This is a fundamental division in China's present-day society, the source of dissatisfaction of many of its citizens, and is an object of the government's strategy to unify and integrate the country. China's agricultural productions include rice, of which the country is the largest producer in the world, and also produces in significant quantities wheat, corn (maize), soybeans, tobacco, peanuts (groundnuts) and cotton. The country is also one of the largest producers in the world of several industrial and mineral products, such as cotton cloth, antimony, tungsten, and is a major producer of cotton yarn, crude oil and coal, as well as many other products. It is considered that the country's mineral resources are among the richest in the world, although they are not fully developed. In recent times, China has tried to keep apace with the western standards and industrial and economic demands by acquiring many highly sophisticated production facilities, mostly through trade, and has built several engineering plants. These are capable of manufacturing a greater range of sophisticated equipment, such as satellites and nuclear weapons. China attracts more and more young people from all around the world to work and live there. If you are Chinese-language speaker, you will find a job very easy, if not - it will be a bigger chance to find a job in Hong Kong than in mainland. If you have some special skills or knowledge such as acting, sculpting, editing, IT, you will find a carrier-opportunity in China as well. Many Westerns teach English or some other languages in China as this job is also very perspective too. Before you start to work in China, you will need a work permit from Chinese authorities. Good web-sites with job-proposals are www.chinaonline.cn.com (China Online), www.chinajob.com (Chinajob.com) or if you want to work for international development charities, you can look for your position on www.vso.org.uk (VSO).