The People's Republic of China is officially divided into 23 provinces,[213] five autonomous regions (each with a designated minority group), and four municipalities—collectively referred to as "mainland China"—as well as the special administrative regions (SARs) of Hong Kong and Macau. Geographically, all 31 provincial divisions of mainland China can be grouped into six regions: North China, Northeast China, East China, South Central China, Southwest China, and Northwest China.[214]
China considers Taiwan to be its 23rd province,[213] although Taiwan is governed by the Republic of China (ROC), which rejects the PRC's claim. Conversely, the ROC constitution claims sovereignty over all divisions governed by the PRC.[215]
Provinces (省)Claimed Province
Anhui (安徽省)
Fujian (福建省)
Gansu (甘肃省)
Guangdong (广东省)
Guizhou (贵州省)
Hainan (海南省)
Hebei (河北省)
Heilongjiang (黑龙江省)
Henan (河南省)
Hubei (湖北省)
Hunan (湖南省)
Jiangsu (江苏省)
Jiangxi (江西省)
Jilin (吉林省)
Liaoning (辽宁省)
Qinghai (青海省)
Shaanxi (陕西省)
Shandong (山东省)
Shanxi (山西省)
Sichuan (四川省)
Yunnan (云南省)
Zhejiang (浙江省)
Autonomous regions (自治区)Municipalities (直辖市)Special administrative regions (特别行政区)
Guangxi (广西壮族自治区)
Inner Mongolia / Nei Menggu (内蒙古自治区)
Ningxia (宁夏回族自治区)
Xinjiang (新疆维吾尔自治区)
Tibet / Xizang (西藏自治区)
Beijing (北京市)
Chongqing (重庆市)
Shanghai (上海市)
Tianjin (天津市)
Hong Kong / Xianggang (香港特别行政区)
Macau / Aomen (澳门特别行政区)
Main article: Foreign relations of China
Diplomatic relations of China
The PRC has diplomatic relations with 175 countries and maintains embassies in 162. In 2019, China had the largest diplomatic network in the world.[216][217] Its legitimacy is disputed by the Republic of China and a few other countries; it is thus the largest and most populous state with limited recognition, with a population of more than 1.4 billion.[218] In 1971, the PRC replaced the Republic of China as the sole representative of China in the United Nations and as one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[219] China was also a former member and leader of the Non-Aligned Movement, and still considers itself an advocate for developing countries.[220] Along with Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa, China is a member of the BRICS group of emerging major economies and hosted the group's third official summit at Sanya, Hainan in April 2011.[221]
Under its interpretation of the One-China policy, Beijing has made it a precondition to establishing diplomatic relations that the other country acknowledges its claim to Taiwan and severs official ties with the government of the Republic of China.[citation needed] Chinese officials have protested on numerous occasions when foreign countries have made diplomatic overtures to Taiwan,[222] especially in the matter of armament sales.[223]
Much of current Chinese foreign policy is reportedly based on Premier Zhou Enlai's Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, and is also driven by the concept of "harmony without uniformity", which encourages diplomatic relations between states despite ideological differences.[224] This policy may have led China to support states that are regarded as dangerous or repressive by Western nations, such as Zimbabwe, North Korea and Iran.[225] China has a close economic and military relationship with Russia,[226] and the two states often vote in unison in the UN Security Council.[\