History of the People's Republic of China (2002–present)
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The People's Republic of China (PRC) became more influential economically in the 1990s and 2000s and was beginning to be widely recognized as an emerging superpower. In 2010, China became the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP and became the largest economy since 2014 measured by GDP PPP surpassing the United States which previously held that position. At the same time, numerous social problems emerged and intensified. As CCP General Secretary Jiang Zemin, Congress Chairman Li Peng and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, gradually retired from their position of power, "fourth-generation" leaders, led by CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, faced with increasing social unrest, attempted to steer the country towards a new direction. From the path of focusing solely on economic development, Hu and Wen placed focus on creating an overall balance under the idea of the Scientific Outlook on Development to create a socialist harmonious society.
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People's Republic of China
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2002–present | |||||||
Anthem:
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Capital | Beijing 39°55′N 116°23′E | ||||||
Largest city | Shanghai (metropolitan area and urban area) | ||||||
Official languages | Standard Chinese | ||||||
Recognised regional languages | |||||||
Official script | Simplified Chinese[lower-alpha 1] | ||||||
Ethnic groups | See Ethnic groups in China | ||||||
Religion | See Religion in China | ||||||
Demonym(s) | Chinese | ||||||
Government | Unitary Marxist-Leninist one-party socialist republic | ||||||
Hu Jintao (until 2012) Xi Jinping (from 2012) | |||||||
Hu Jintao (until 2013) Xi Jinping (from 2013) | |||||||
• Premier | Wen Jiabao (until 2013) Li Keqiang (until 2023) Li Qiang (from 2023) | ||||||
Legislature | National People's Congress | ||||||
Historical era | Post-Cold War era | ||||||
15 November 2002 | |||||||
18 November 2012 | |||||||
1 December 2019 | |||||||
Area | |||||||
• Total | 9,596,961 km2 (3,705,407 sq mi) (3rd) | ||||||
• Water (%) | 2.8% | ||||||
Population | |||||||
• Estimate | 1.41 Billion | ||||||
• 2002 | 1.28 billion | ||||||
Currency | Renminbi (yuan; ¥) (CNY) | ||||||
Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard Time) | ||||||
Date format | |||||||
Driving side | right[lower-alpha 2] | ||||||
Calling code | +86 | ||||||
ISO 3166 code | CN | ||||||
Internet TLD | |||||||
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In this process, there was an unprecedented shift in stance towards favouring rural development and farmers, as well as other generally populist policies. The Hu-Wen government, on the same token, attempted to restrict some personal freedoms, especially those associated with political content on the Internet.
China's increased prominence on the global stage has also brought with it general skepticism and intense scrutiny, especially in the lead up to the 2008 Summer Olympics and after the March 2008 protests in Tibet. The government continues to be criticized on human rights abuses and the various product quality scandals that have increasingly damaged the country's integrity and continues to raise suspicions about the country's safety standards. This has led to an intense wave of nationalism (or Socialist patriotism) surfacing in Chinese populations around the world.
As of mid-2012, government statistics show that for the first time ever over 50% of the Chinese population now live in urban areas, marking a milestone in the urbanization of China. The majority of modern city dwellers are migrants and their children who moved to cities during the economic boom of the last 30 years started by Deng Xiaoping's policy of economic liberalization.