China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a sovereign state located in East Asia that represents one of the world’s oldest continuous civilizations and functions as a leading global power in economic, political, and cultural spheres. Background Situated primarily between latitudes 18° and 54° N, China covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometers, sharing terrestrial borders with fourteen nations and maintaining extensive coastlines along the Bohai, Yellow, East China, and South China Seas. The country operates under a socialist system with Chinese characteristics, governed by...