The People’s Republic of China

China has the world’s second-largest economy by GDP (the first at purchasing power parity), but GDP per person is lower than in high-income countries. Almost every branch of industry is developed, and China is first or among the leaders in producing coal, steel, aluminium, cement, clothing, footwear, electronics, cars and ships, so it is called “the world’s workshop”. The base of industry is the fuel-energy complex: coal is mined mainly in the north-east and east; most electricity still comes from coal thermal plants, but solar and wind stations, hydropower and nuclear plants are growing quickly and China is among world leaders here. The Three Gorges station on the Yangtze is one of the largest hydropower plants in the world. Heavy coal burning has made air pollution serious in big cities. Engineering, electronics and car making, as well as textiles and food industries, have grown quickly. Farming rests on crop growing: grain, especially rice, covers much of the sown area; China is among world leaders in wheat, rice, potatoes, vegetables, fruit, tea and pork. With a small part of the world’s sown land it feeds a huge population largely from its own produce. There are three economic regions: Eastern (coast, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou – the most developed), Central and Western; current policy aims to develop the interior. China is one of Uzbekistan’s biggest trading partners.