%0 Dataset
%T China's natural resources
%J Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center
%I Arid Land Ecology and Resources Science Data Center(data.dcxjegi.cn)
%U https://data.dcxjegi.cn/portal/metadata/cae8eae9-deea-4c79-8fbd-141e9531feb6
%W NCDC
%R 10.12389/ariddc.01633
%A Documentation Information Center
%K China's economy;Natural geography of China
%X The People's Republic of China is one of the greatest countries in the world. It stretches from the lofty heights of the Pamir Plateau to the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, and from the harsh taiga forests along the Amur River to the coral islands of tropical seas. In terms of area (9.9 million square kilometers), China is second only to the Soviet Union, slightly smaller than Canada, but larger than every other country in the world.China’s natural environment is rich and generous. Its diverse natural resources provide excellent conditions for the development of agriculture and industry and for the prosperity of hundreds of millions of people.For many centuries, however, the natural resources of the country served the great and industrious Chinese people only to a very limited extent. These resources remained largely unexplored and were exploited in a predatory manner. Until the establishment of the People’s Republic, China remained a backward agricultural country, serving as a vast market for the industrial goods of imperialist powers, a source of raw materials, and a means of extracting profits from the exploitation of Chinese laborers. The domination of foreign capital established in the second half of the nineteenth century, together with the oppression of the feudal bureaucratic system, long impeded China’s development. In terms of industrial production, the country ranked among the last in the world. For example, in 1937, although China accounted for nearly one quarter of the world’s population, it produced only 0.6% of the world’s coal, 0.5% of its iron ore, 0.35% of its pig iron, and 0.22% of its copper output. In 1933, China’s steel production was twenty-seven times lower than that of colonial India. Chinese industry was incapable of meeting even the most basic domestic demand for essential products. In the past, only those industrial sectors directly connected with the extraction or primary processing of raw materials were developed, in accordance with