China is the world's most populous country, with a continuous culture stretching back nearly 4,000 years.
China has a population of around 1.3 billion people, that’s 20% of the world's population!
After stagnating for more than two decades under the rigid authoritarianism of early communist rule, led by its late leader Chairman Mao, China now has the world's fastest growing economy and is undergoing what has been described as a second industrial revolution.
This makes China a land of new opportunities. Many predict that within the next fifteen to twenty years China will replace the USA as the dominant economic power in the world. In 2006 China had the largest current account surplus in the world - nearly $180 billion.
Most of what we buy in the west is now manufactured in China, and it is the world's fifth largest exporter of merchandise after the US, Germany, Japan, and France.
Many of the basics that form the foundation of the modern world originated in China, including paper, gunpowder, credit banking, the compass and paper money.
Most of what we buy in the west is now manufactured in 
