China is the third-largest or the fourth-largest country by area. Governed by the Communist Party of China, the state exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing) and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. China is a unitary one-party socialist republic and is one of the few existing socialist states. Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978, China’s economy has been one of the world’s fastest-growing with annual growth rates consistently above 6 percent. China has been the world’s second-largest economy by nominal GDP and since 2014, the largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity. China is also the world’s largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world’s largest standing army, the People’s Liberation Army and the second-largest defense budget. Since 2019, China has the highest number of rich people in the world. China has been characterized as a potential superpower, mainly because of its massive population, economy and military.