China

China is a powerful state that has existed for much longer than most countries in the world. This is one of the first civilizations that has had great power and influence throughout its history. China is located in East Asia, occupying most of it, which makes it the third largest state in territory. It is a socialist state and an economic superpower.

The official name of the state is the People's Republic of China. The country occupies 9.6 million km². China's population is already close to 1.5 billion. The exact figure is 1,410,539,758 people, which makes the country the most populated in the whole world.

The official language is Chinese, but it is very variable depending on the region. Administratively, the territory of China consists of 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities and 2 administrative regions. The monetary unit is the yuan.

The capital is located in Beijing, however, it is not the largest city in the country. The most populated is Chongqing, as well as Shanghai and Tianjin.

The majority of the Chinese population is characterized by religious syncretism: a combination of elements of traditional beliefs, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. According to official figures, there are over 100 million believers in China, including 20 million Muslims, 16 million Protestants and 5 million Catholics. The influence of traditions in China is very high, which makes it a very conservative state.

It is believed that the first people in China lived already 7 million years ago. And the very first Chinese Xia dynasty began to rule as early as 2700 BC. All subsequent periods are associated with the rule in the country of different dynasties, successively replacing one another. The first emperor, Shi Huangdi, unified China under his rule, dividing the newly formed Qin empire into 36 provinces. He streamlined measures and weights, introduced a standard spelling of hieroglyphs, and organized a rigid control system. During the reign of Shi Huangdi, the construction of the Great Wall of China began. Further, the centuries-old history of the state is characterized by great achievements in science, culture, the development of writing and other areas. The People's Republic of China was proclaimed on October 1, 1949.

China's nature is rich and varied. From the east, the country is washed by the waters of the western seas of the Pacific Ocean. It borders North Korea and Russia in the northeast, Mongolia in the north, Kazakhstan in the northwest, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan in the west, Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan in the southwest, and Bhutan in the south — with Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam. The single Chinese time zone is UTC+8. Also, the flora of China will not leave indifferent any traveler. The tranquility and grandeur of Tibet, the majestic Himalayas, the unique landscapes of the Gansu province, the Gobi desert in the north and the warm seas in the eastern part of the country — all this is China.

Chinese culture is characterized by uniqueness and originality. It aims for a realistic existence on Earth. An important stage in the life of the Chinese is participation in traditional rituals and customs. Also, nature is inextricably linked with the Chinese religion, it is a muse for architects, poets, and artists.

The most important factor that affects the features of today's lifestyle of the inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom is the population. Due to the limited territory, the Chinese are forced to live collectively: to endure and enjoy each other, to be friendly and not to be shy. This factor affects the impressions of foreigners both for better and for worse. The whole world knows the main feature of the Chinese — they work hard. In work, the Chinese show perseverance, frugality and thrift. Thanks to this, China has become the world's factory. The main thing that affects the performance of the Chinese is a sense of responsibility. Also, the Chinese people are very tolerant. The Chinese are sympathetic to tourists, especially Russian-speaking ones. They will always ask about the preferences of the guest, ask how he is doing, and try to make the most favorable environment. At the same time, it is important for the Chinese to show mutual respect. The situation of "loss of face" is unacceptable.

Despite a rich historical past, a rather diverse ethno-cultural composition of the population and the presence of national-territorial autonomies, the People's Republic of China is de facto a unitary state with a rigid system of government and a clearly built vertical of power, the core of which has been the Communist Party since 1949.

Officially, the People's Republic of China is a unitary republic, a socialist state of the people's democratic dictatorship. The basic law of the state is the constitution adopted in 1982. The supreme organ of state power is the unicameral National People's Congress, which consists of 2,979 deputies. The head of state is the President of the People's Republic of China (Xi Jinping) and the head of government is the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China (Li Keqiang).

The main task of the Chinese government is social support for the needy. Domestic policy is characterized through 3 concepts: stability, reforms, openness. The priority direction is to ensure a stable standard of living for the people of China and improve well-being.

In foreign policy, the PRC adheres to the following principles: independence, independence, and peaceful coexistence. The country's government independently chooses the political course on international issues. Together with Russia, China participates in such alliances as the SCO and BRICS.

The economic system of the PRC is a market economy, the ideological system is communism. The national idea is to improve the well-being of the people of China. State projects are mainly infrastructural and environmental. The state and municipal authorities do not interfere in private business, small and medium-sized businesses exist comfortably in this country. Taxes are low relative to other countries, free movement of capital is possible, and private commerce is developed.

State control is felt in the areas of finance and infrastructure, where it is difficult for foreigners to break through. The planned cluster development of the economy prevails, single-industry towns and industrial centers are being built. Domestic consumption is actively stimulated. Despite the economic peculiarities, people in the Celestial Empire are getting richer, purchasing power is growing, salaries are high. The socialist sector employs 20% of the able-bodied population and provides slightly less than half of GDP. In the capitalist, respectively, 80%.

China leads the world in many positions in the extraction of minerals (oil, gas, ores of rare earth metals, uranium). China is the world's largest producer of the vast majority of industrial products. China is also the world's largest automaker. It produces more cars every year than the former leaders of the United States and Japan combined. Industry, aircraft building, automotive, mechanical engineering, and energy received a greater impetus for development.

In general, China is relatively uniformly developed in all areas — transport, agriculture, industry, medicine, education, and so on. With a growing demographic crisis, a rapidly aging society and a low birth rate, China's economy may face a problem widely discussed in Chinese state media. The population may age faster than it gets richer, which could lead to a slowdown in the growth of living standards in China.

Over the past 10 years, governments at all levels in China have been continuously improving the functions of government, improving its efficiency, improving the business environment and promoting social and economic development through the reform of administrative simplification, the combination of management and liberalization, and the improvement of administrative services.

So far, China has made a huge jump in the ease of starting a business ranking, moving from 150th to 27th. In this regard, the number of market participants is constantly growing. This is due to the published law “Rules for managing the registration of market entities”. They provided legal guarantees to protect the legitimate rights and interests of market participants, and also became an incentive for business and innovation. The reduction in re-checks and the elimination of procedures that do not require administrative approval allow for a continuous lowering of the threshold for entering the market.

The subjects of the Chinese market demonstrate a high quality of development: the number of high-tech enterprises, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises based on high technologies, has reached 200 thousand and 180 thousand, respectively. The share of enterprises spending on research and development amounted to 76.2% of the total production costs in the country.

Most of the foreign companies surveyed do not plan to leave China, on the contrary, many have expansion plans. Guangzhou, followed by Shanghai, Shenzhen and Beijing, are the most preferred investment destinations. Dongguan, Chengdu and Zhuhai are also popular with investors.

Investment in China is now very promising in the international market. The number of investment projects in China in various directions exceeds several thousand for each geographical region. The Chinese economy is growing due to attracting investments and investing heavily in other countries — thus ensuring the distribution of Chinese business around the world. The growth of China's foreign and domestic investment is a very significant indicator of the development of the economy as a whole.

As a support for foreign investors, the Law of the People's Republic of China "On Foreign Investments" was developed and put into effect. Fair competition between Chinese and foreign enterprises is encouraged. According to the data for the current year, since 2012 the number of enterprises with foreign capital in China has increased by 51.5% — from 441,000 to 668,000. There is a gradual reorientation of foreign investment from labor-intensive industries to high-tech industries, as well as deep integration into the Chinese economy, which is a sign of confidence in the future of the Chinese economy. Data from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China shows that in the first eight months of this year, China's actually used foreign capital increased by 20.2% and amounted to 138.4 billion US dollars.

China has established a system of SME support centers. Currently, there are about 1800 such centers, of which 800 are government organizations and 1000 are commercial. SME Support Centers provide the following services: auditing (free of charge); training; legal assistance; technological support. One of the factors of China's economic success in recent years has been the intensification of foreign trade. The state policy of creating free economic zones was also adopted and actively implemented. This topic received a new impetus after China's accession to the WTO, which expanded the opportunities for Chinese exporters, including representatives of small and medium-sized businesses.

Another important body that promotes the development of the country's economy is the state information service CSMEO, which was established in 2001. This service is engaged in the provision of information consulting services for the population and entrepreneurs on the activities of small and medium-sized businesses through its website. The CSMEO network covers all regions of China, which makes it possible to inform the population about the state of the labor market, changes in current legislation, the latest achievements in science and technological inventions, and the development and condition of small and medium-sized businesses. The priority of the Department's activities is to create conditions for SMEs to carry out long-term exports and bring them to the international arena.

Through reform, China seeks to create a market-oriented, international, legal business environment so that enterprises can compete fairly and develop normally in a fair, open and accessible environment. So far, China has moved from 96th to 31st place in the Global Ease of Doing Business Index, ranking among the top countries in the world in terms of improving the business environment.