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Language distribution of China: There are seven major language groups in China. These language groups are known as: Guan, Wu, Yue, Min, Hakka, Xiang, and Gan. The main language family is Guan which is commonly known as Mandarin Chinese in the modern day as it is the official language and lingua franca of China. Many other variants exist in China such as Koreanic and Tibetan dialects which are unrelated and incomparable in relation to Guan chinese

The territory of China has been defined as a homeland for many different ethnic and racial groups in the country. However, the way that the territory has been defined varies between ethnic groups. In relation to the Han Chinese, the homeland has been defined by national borders which are more or less accepted internationally. This is because the Han Chinese are the largest population and have most influence politically than any other ethnic population in China. To the Han Chinese population, the territory of the country is defined by the regions of Tibet, inner Mongolia, Manchuria, and the Xinjiang Province which is the most western land of China. The Chinese territory is the second largest in land area and also has the longest combined land border in the world. However, there are many other ethnic groups in China that have their own definitions of what concerns the territory of China.

One group of people in China are the Tibetans. Tibetans and the land of Tibet are considered by the Han Chinese government to be part of China and that the territory of Tibet is also part of the country. However, many Tibetans disagree and are protesting as well as rallying for freedom in present day. To this ethnic population, the territory of Tibet is not considered part of China and so is not defined as a Chinese territory. However, the Chinese government still consider Tibet as a territory of China which reflects the dispute in definition of Chinese territory between two ethnic groups.

Another group of people which have a dispute in definition of territory are the Taiwanese. The Taiwanese people inhabit the island of Taiwan and are markedly politically different as the people of Taiwan have a free market capitalist based economy while the mainland Chinese government employ a communistic state run economy. There are disputes in the definition of territory between Taiwan and China as the Chinese government claims ownership over Taiwan while the Taiwanese people maintain that they are a sovereign state completely independent from the mainland Chinese government. These disputes have led to international controversy as many countries such as the United States of America have not officially recognized the sovereignty of Taiwan.

There are still lingering border disputes within China as well as with it's neighbors.

India: On May 15, 2015, Mr. Li from China and Mr. Modi from India held talks at the Great Hall of the people during Modi's China tour. The two leaders held talks on border disputes that began in 1914 when the British still controlled India and signed an agreement with Tibet to make the McMahon line the de-facto boundary between India and China, even though China had rejected this agreement. Both countries had various claims to disputed territories such as the South Tibetan region of Zangnan which is considered to be part of the Arunachal Pradesh state in India. So far there have been only talks and no solutions and tensions continue to rise as each country continues to increase regional influences. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32747667

South China Sea: On June 16, 2011, the Chinese government sent out one of its largest patrol ships known as the Haixun-31 which the Chinese government describe as routine. The ship will pass the Paracel and Spratly Islands and make its way up from the Malaysian to Filipino coast. Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia all have competing claims to the Spratlys Islands while Beijing and Hanoi are in dispute over the Paracel islands. Hanoi has proposed a multilateral solution between the Asian countries but China says that it prefers to negotiate with individual states separately. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13796958

Tajikistan: On January 13, 2011, the country of Tajikistan agrees to cede land to the Chinese government. The Tajik parliament voted to ratify a 1999 deal to cede 1000 square kilometers of land in the remote Pamir Mountain range which the Chinese claim thoroughly resolved the century long border dispute. China is the largest investor in the Tajik economy especially in the energy and infrastructure sectors.

The security and strength of the Chinese borders vary depending on the location of the section of the border in question. This is due to the nature of the borders as well as the physical geography of the country. China has a large territory, about the same size as the United States, but the actual distribution of population is highly disproportionate. Sixty percent of the population live on the east coast of China which is only 22 percent of its territory while the other 78 percent lying inland is sparsely populated with ethnic minorities such as Tibetans, Kazakhs, Uighurs, and other Chinese Muslim groups. Many of these groups have little to no loyalty to the central government of China further adding to the strained security of China's borders. The regions of Xinjiang and Tibet in particular harbor strong separatist movements

Tibet: Many Tibetans protest and actively support the Dalai Lama who lives in exile in what he calls "autonomous Tibet". The Chinese authorities charge him of promoting Tibetan independence and will not allow him to come back into the country or he will face arrest. In May 2018, a Tibetan activist known as Tashi Wangchuk was sentenced to prison for 5 years as he voiced his concerns over that Tibetan culture was being destroyed by the Chinese government. Amnesty International denounced this sentencing to be "beyond absurd" but his release is still dated to be in 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-44207981

Xinjiang: In the region of Xinjiang, Uighur separatists have engaged in acts of violence to promote independence. These Chinese Muslims have garnered support from neighboring areas in central Asia and Turkey both politically and economically. However, many of these efforts have been shut down by Chinese officials. The Xinjiang region is facing large scale immigration of Han Chinese people but the Uighurs still make up 8 out of the 19 million inhabitants. In August 2018, a UN human rights panel cited "creditable reports" that more than one million people in the region were being held in counter extremism centers in Xinjiang but Chinese officials claimed that only "religious extremist" Uighurs were undergoing re-education and resettlement. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16860974

China-Russia Relations: China and the Soviet Union signed an alliance in 1950 building on their communist relations that dated back to the 1920's. In the wake of the 1960's Sino-Soviet split, and for 25 years after the split, the border between China and Russia was one of the most unfriendly borders in the world. At one point over "one and a half million troops armed with nuclear weapons" were installed along the two sides of the border. Relations improved in the mid 1980's but this is due to Russia's decrease in power and threat to the Chinese government.

Due to China's ancient history and central location in the geography of Asia, it is surrounded by potential enemies and many complicated rivalries. The government plays the fine line between domination and cooperation in order to preserve their national identity and borders. However, due to the nature of their political geography, the borders are very much volatile and disputes continue to exist in different areas of the border.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1950_china_geosec.htm

The structure of government in China is in the framework of a socialist republic which is run by a single party: the Communist Party of China. The party wishes to control and manage the ideology of their subjects to maintain their political dominance in China. For example, Document number 9, or the Communiqué on the Current State of the Ideological Sphere, was a document circulated in China in 2013 to warn the citizens of China against some western values such as media freedom. The president of China is the highest position of the country and is the ceremonial figurehead of the National People's Congress. Currently Xi Jinping is the president of China and the chairman of the Central military commission.

“The State Council of the People's Republic of China.” Chinese Music Traveling Wide, english.gov.cn/.

The government is divided into three primary groups of state power: the National People's Congress (NPC), the President, and the State Council. Members of the State Council include the Premier, four vice premiers, five state councilors and 29 heads of State Council commissions. Under the Chinese constitution, the National Peoples congress holds the most power and meets annually for 2 weeks to discuss and review legislative policies.

Joseph, William. “China Politics Links.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/china-politics-links/

As China has only one dominant party, the spatial patterns of voting and election results are favoring the dominant communist party. However, the country still has some other variables and variations in the divisions of administration. Local government is divided into four levels of hierarchy. Local government includes township, county, prefecture or municipality, and the province as the scope of government increases. China also has a system of autonomous regions intended to give more control to ethnic minorities who preside in those regions. In practice however, the power still remains with the party secretary while the local chairman is the nominal head.

Joseph, William. “China Politics Links.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/china-politics-links/

Imperialism

Japan

Historically there have been instances of imperialism in China. Japan had invaded and conquered much of Manchuria and Coastal cities in China in the Sino-Japanese war. Cities such as Nanjing and Hong Kong were devastated by Japanese forces with actions such as massacre and rape of civilians was rampant. This imperialism and invasion of Japanese forces still leads to tensions in modern day. For example in April 2005, a Japanese junior high textbook minimized the atrocities of Nanjing stating that the massacre was an "incident". The textbooks transgression sent thousands of Chinese citizens out to protest and three weeks of state sanctioned protest led to rising tensions between Japan and China.

William, Joseph. “Pre-1949 Events - China Politics Links.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/wellesley.edu/china-politics-links/major-pre-1949-events.

Hong Kong and Britain

Due to the opium wars between the British from 1839 to 1842, the British were able to make demands to the Chinese government before removing blockades and stopping bombardment on key ports. The Chinese agreed to cede the island of Hong Kong which in the control of the British, witnessed phenomenal growth. The population grew from 1,500 to 19,000 by 1844. In 1860 in the wake of the Second Opium war, the Peking convention was signed which ceded to Britain the Kowloon peninsula (up to Boundary Street) and Ngon Sun Chau, which was a part of mainland China. With the end of world war 2 however, the British lost control of the colonies and in 1997, the colony of Hong Kong was returned to the control of communist mainland China.

“Hong Kong Colony.” The British Empire, www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/hongkong.htm.

National Agreements

China has bilateral investment agreements with over 100 countries and economies. China’s bilateral investment agreements cover expropriation, arbitration, most-favored-nation treatment, and repatriation of investment proceeds. These bilateral agreements are generally much weaker than investment treaties that the United States would want to negotiate. China also maintains 14 free trade agreements(FTA's) and is currently implementing an additional 8 FTA's. China's FTA partners are ASEAN, Singapore, Pakistan, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Iceland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Australia, and Korea. These trade agreements exist to maintain and organize business and trade with various countries in order to improve and expand the economy of China.

“China - Trade AgreementsChina - Trade Agreements.” China - Distribution and Sales Channels, 25 July 2017, www.export.gov/article?id=China-Trade-Agreements.