China's Agriculture

Agriculture is by far China's leading occupation, involving 50% of the population. Agriculture accounts for only 20% of the nation's gross national product. China ranks first in world production of red meat (including beef, veal, mutton, lamb, and pork). They also rank first in cotton an tobacco.China is also the largest producer of rice, wheat, and a major producer of sweet potatoes, peanuts, corn and soybeans.

United Nations Millenium Development Goals for China

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
We need to continue to strive towards economic reforms to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
If it were possible to use government funding, or funding from other countries, we may be able to move forward on this issue, but our goal will not be obtained by 2015.

Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
We do not believe that this will improve greatly by 2015. China enforces the One-Child Policy. China is also a patriarchal society with the pressure of having one child, many wish for a boy but that is not always the outcome. Because of this there are concerns with women using gender selective abortion. This will take a long time to change.

Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
We do not plan to solve this problem by 2015.

Goal 5: Improve maternal health
We do not feel that this will improve greatly by 2015 and need help in this area.

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Using health education to advise those on HIV/AIDS and safe sex practices will help the reduction of the spread of this disease.

Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
We are currently addressing this issue and feel that we will be willing to recieve help in trying to improve our environmental conditions. One way that we feel that we can do this is by replacing coal as our main form of fuel for energy and harnessing wind and solar power in it's place.

Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
We are very far along on the production of manufacturing goods for the world, and feel that it would be in other countries best interest to consider us for global partnership.

Problems in China

Problems

1. Poverty
2. Environment
3. One Child
4. Working conditions
5. Health

Future problems

1. Aging
2. Environment
3. Health care
4. Working conditions
5. Water pollution

Education and the Spread of HIV in China

Education in China (The Literacy rate in china is great )

http://www.prb.org/Datafinder/Geography/Data.aspx?category=16&region=164&region_type=2

HIV in China (the disease is increasing)

http://www.prb.org/Datafinder/Geography/Data.aspx?category=15&region=164&region_type=2

Demographics

Population: 1,331,398,000

Capital: Beijing

Largest city: Shanghai

Fertility rate: 1.6

Life expectancy: 73

Minorities: 55 different groups. (92 percent Han, which is the largest group in the world).

Age of population 65/up: Eight percent (in 2050 24 percent)

Age population 15 and under – 19 percent

Urban Population Living in Slums 38 percent

Urban population 46 percent

Health

The Hiv disease has reached China and is infecting a large number of people. Although their is not a big number of people affected compared to the total inhabitants of China, the infected population should not be ignored. Recently, this disease has become the number one diseaes for killing the citizens of China.

Those who use needles to shoot up, and unprotected sex is why the disease is spreading across China. 700,000 (0.1 %) are infected.

Demographics: Gov

Government: The country has a communist government. This is a classless government style that focuses on everyone having the same amount of all luxuries and resources ( food, clothes, cars, etc).

President: Hu Jintao

Vice president: Xi Jinping

Primier: Wen Jiabao

One Child Policy

The one child policy was created in 1979 to stop the increase of China’s population. The policy states that each couple wishing to start a family must only have one child. If a couple wants to have a second child, they are instructed to apply for a one. Obeying the policy would promote the government to give money and rewards to couples that obey this law. This would leave more room for the current residence to live and build new arrangements. However, with China having 1.3 billion people, they are in search space for everyone. However, with this policy, each family having a single child will limit the growth of China.

Several minorities in China are allowed to have more than one child. Families that live in rural areas, couples who have a girl as their first child, and couples who have children with a disability, and couples who have no siblings are also allowed more than one child. The goal for all families is to have a baby boy that will carry on the family name.

Religions in China

Major religions in China are: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Other religions exist such as the growth of Christianity and the religion of Falun Gong but have been given freedoms by the Chinese government because of past history of religion-based rebellions. Unlike some countries, the Chinese recognize several believe and religions and all believe in ancestral spirits, local deities, and supernatural fortunes. It is in their best wishes to stay in balance with all the different forces at work, and to show them respect.

China's Environmental Concerns

China has several large environmental concerns that stem from the growth of industrialization in China’s cities. Because of this growth, China has been able to become the leader in the production of consumer goods. In order for this growth to continue, factories need high amounts of energy in order to continue to keep their businesses going. The number one choice of fuel that they use is coal- the most easily accessible resource but also the dirtiest. Pollution has made cancer, respiratory, and heart diseases leading causes of death in China. Other forms of pollution have been things such as lead poisoning, or the contamination of rivers, and lakes causing a shortage of safe drinking water. Pollution from these coal powered plants affects not only those that live close by, but can be found to produce environmental problems for other countries. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were found to cause acid rain in Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles is said to originate in China.

China's Working Conditions

There is a large problem in china with the present working conditions. Many Chinese workers face fourteen hour days, six days a week in factories all around China. These factories are crowded, dirty, humid, noisy, and often contain dangerous machinery. Protections from the uncomfortable or even dangerous working conditions are not given by the bosses to the employees because it would cost time and money. As a result many workers are hurt on the job. Many of these workers are females or people in low income neighborhoods, and work to give money to their families. Many girls work in these harsh conditions in order to lessen the burden they placed upon their families for keeping them, because of the societal pressure to have a male. These girls often live in dormitories with several roommates located next to the factory in which they work. They are often unable to form a union and many girls who wish to complain are afraid because even though the conditions are poor, they can easily be replaced by another girl willing to work.

Cultural and Historical Chinese Landmark

Important Landmarks in Chinese Culture:
Great Wall of China- 4300miles long and 2,200 years old
The Great Wall of China was built to keep out the Mongols and other nomadic tribes from Central Asia. When the wall was heavily guarded it worked well, but in order to continue with its upkeep citizens of central China were highly taxed. Some saw the Great Wall of China as a symbol of China’s greatness and longevity, some saw it as a reminder of debt, or a way to control the different Chinese cultures and customs from influencing one another.

Languages in China

China’s main dialects are Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Fuzhou, Taiwanese, Xiang, Gan and Hakka. Mandarin is spoken in Beijing and is the Putonghua or the common language of the city.

China's GDP

Since economic reforms in 1979 China has become one of the world's fastest growing economies. Many economist speculate that china could become the world's largetst economic superpower.

China's Health Care

More than 101,000 households in nearly 5,000 communities and villages surveyed by the National Bureau of Statistics in November identified the cost of health care as their top concern, followed by social morals, and security. In 2007, the Chinese, government spent 8.7 Billion dollars on health, which is a 277 percent increase from 2006.

China's Poverty

As countries have experienced economic growth, poverty rates have declined, though discrepancies exist between countries and regions. Poverty rates in China have declined significantly, from 60 percent of the population in 1990 to 16 percent in 2007.
Rapid growth and urbanization have been central to China’s poverty reduction in the past 25 years, as have a number of reforms, including the opening of the economy to global trade and investment. Even as the overall level of poverty has dropped, inequality has increased, and remaining poverty has become concentrated in rural and minority areas.

Aging China

China has one of the fastest-aging populations in the world. According to Toshiko Kaneda, the proportion of China's population that is elderly will triple by 2050, from 8 percent to 24 percent of the population. The policy implications are immense for long-term care and demands on public expenditures and families.

Interesting Facts

China is the fourth largest country in the world.

China has the largest population of any country on Earth, with more than 1.3 billion people.

The government has long been concerned about population growth, and introduced the One Child Policy in 1979.

The People's Republic of China is a socialist republic ruled by a single party, the Communist Party of China.

China's area is 9.5 to 9.8 million square kilometers; the discrepency is due to border disputes with India.

China borders 14 countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Vietnam.

Over the past 25 years, China has had the fastest-growing major economy in the world, with annual growth of more than 10 per cent.