Some data and very basic information about the world's oldest continuous civilization.

CHINA IS THE MOST populated and third largest country in the world. China is so vast and its geographical, topological, and climatological contrasts are so great that it is a continent rather than its traditional designation of "country." Two of the world's greatest rivers lie entirely within China, the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangtze (Chang Jiang). The climate ranges from tropical to subarctic. In the west there are steppes, vast deserts, and high mountain ranges including the Himalayas. In the center there are huge river basins and in the east plains, deltas, and hills.

ADMINISTRATION

China has an elaborate administrative structure with roots in approximately 2,000 counties (xian), many of whose boundaries were determined around 800 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty.

Above the counties are 23 Provinces (including Taiwan), 5 Autonomous Regions, and 4 provincial-level municipalities. The four municipalities are Beijing (Peking), Tianjin, Shanghai and, since March 1997, Chongqing (Chungking).

BUSINESS CLIMATE

China has been an economic powerhouse for much of world history.

Over the past century, as the Chinese struggled to redefine their great nation, the economy of China and business in China suffered greatly.

Since the establishment of the Peoples's Republic of China in 1949 economic growth has been tremendous. There were, however, extreme setbacks in the 1960s and 1970s as the path of development was debated and the country was split by ideological extremism.

Beginning in 1978 China cautiously embarked upon economic reforms that are ongoing to this day. The reforms are changing China's centrally-planned form of "state capitalism" to what is now referred to as a "socialist market economy" in the language of China's political ideology.

Ideological considerations aside, the changes have transformed the country and the lives of the Chinese people. In the brief time since 1978, China has once again emerged a significant economic power and throughout much of China today, business is booming.

China is surprising all analysts, including many on Wall Street, with the continued strong growth and stability of its economy.

There is a distinct possibility that China is experiencing an accelerated growth phase during which its economy, and the standard of living of the majority of its citizens, is increasing exponentially.

Such an explosion of growth by a large economy has, of course, happened before most recently in Japan between the mid 1950s and mid '70s. It happened in the USA too, although much longer ago, roughly between the years 1880 and 1929.

As China grows so do the chances for businesses all over the world to participate in the process. American businesses can look to the bilateral trade agreement for WTO membership signed between the two countries. The trade deal will allow for nearly all types of businesses to directly work within the Chinese economy. European Union member countries will have the same opportunities