Imports - commodities:
electrical and other machinery, oil and mineral fuels, optical and medical equipment, metal ores, plastics, organic chemicals
Imports - partners:
Japan 12.27%, Hong Kong 10.06%, South Korea 9.04%, US 7.66%, Taiwan 6.84%, Germany 5.54% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$2.622 trillion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 1 $2.426 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)
Debt - external:
$406.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 22 $349.3 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$574.3 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 9 $473.1 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$278.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.) country comparison to the world: 15 $229.6 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Exchange rates:
Renminbi yuan (RMB) per US dollar - 6.7852 (2010), 6.8314 (2009), 6.9385 (2008), 7.61 (2007), 7.97 (2006)
Communications ::China
Telephones - main lines in use:
313.68 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 1
Telephones - mobile cellular:
747 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 1
Telephone system:
general assessment: domestic and international services are increasingly available for private use; unevenly distributed domestic system serves principal cities, industrial centers, and many towns; China continues to develop its telecommunications infrastructure, and is partnering with foreign providers to expand its global reach; China in the summer of 2008 began a major restructuring of its telecommunications industry, resulting in the consolidation of its six telecom service operators to three, China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom, each providing both fixed-line and mobile services
domestic: interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile-cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; the number of Internet users exceeded 250 million by summer 2008; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place
international: country code - 86; a number of submarine cables provide connectivity to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the US; satellite earth stations - 7 (5 Intelsat - 4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean; 1 Intersputnik - Indian Ocean region; and 1 Inmarsat - Pacific and Indian Ocean regions) (2008)
Broadcast media:
all broadcast media are owned by, or affiliated with, the Communist Party of China or a government agency; no privately-owned television or radio stations with state-run Chinese Central TV, provincial, and municipal stations offering more than 2,000 channels; the Central Propaganda Department lists subjects that are off limits to domestic broadcast media with the government maintaining authority to approve all programming; foreign-made TV programs must be approved prior to broadcast (2008)
Internet country code:
.cn
Internet hosts:
15.251 million (2010) country comparison to the world: 6
Internet users:
389 million (2009) country comparison to the world: 1
Transportation ::China
Airports:
502 (2010) country comparison to the world: 15
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 442
over 3,047 m: 63
2,438 to 3,047 m: 137
1,524 to 2,437 m: 132
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 83 (2010)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 13
under 914 m: 27 (2010)
Heliports:
48 (2010)
Pipelines:
gas 32,545 km; oil 20,097 km; refined products 10,915 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 77,834 km country comparison to the world: 3 standard gauge: 77,084 km 1.435-m gauge (24,433 km electrified)
narrow gauge: 750 km 0.750-m gauge (2008)
Roadways:
total: 3,583,715 km (includes 53,913 km of expressways) (2007) country comparison to the world: 2
Waterways:
110,000 km navigable (2010) country comparison to the world: 1
Merchant marine:
total: 2,010 country comparison to the world: 3 by type: barge carrier 6, bulk carrier 571, cargo 639, carrier 5, chemical tanker 98, container 204, liquefied gas 55, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 83, petroleum tanker 271, refrigerated cargo 35, roll on/roll off 9, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 24
foreign-owned: 18 (Germany 1, Hong Kong 15, Japan 2)
registered in other countries: 1,623 (Bahamas 4, Bangladesh 1, Belize 64, Bermuda 13, Cambodia 203, Comoros 1, Cyprus 6, France 5, Georgia 11, Germany 2, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 432, India 1, Indonesia 1, Kiribati 28, Liberia 10, Malta 11, Marshall Islands 16, North Korea 1, Norway 25, Panama 574, Philippines 4, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 82, Sierra Leone 12, Singapore 26, South Korea 9, Thailand 1, Togo 2, Tuvalu 9, UK 7, unknown 59) (2010)
Ports and terminals:
Dalian, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Shanghai, Shenzhen,
Tianjin
Military ::China
Military branches:
People's Liberation Army (PLA): Ground Forces, Navy (includes
marines and naval aviation), Air Force (Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun
Kongjun, PLAAF; includes Airborne Forces), and Second Artillery
Corps (strategic missile force); People's Armed Police (PAP); PLA
Reserve Force (2010)
Military service age and obligation:
18–22 years of age for selective compulsory military service, with 24-month service obligation; no minimum age for voluntary service (all officers are volunteers); 18–19 years of age for women high school graduates who meet requirements for specific military jobs; in 2010, a decision was made to allow women in combat roles (2010)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16–49: 381,747,145
females age 16–49: 360,385,629 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16–49: 314,668,817
females age 16–49: 298,745,786 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 10,699,186
female: