China

About the Flag

China is located in eastern Asia bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea and South China Sea between North Korea and Vietnam. It is a Communist state with its capital at Beijing. Standard Chinese or Mandarin, Yue (Cantonese), Hu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien - Taiwanese), and various dialects and minority languages are spoken. The President is the Chief of State and the Premier is the Head of Government. There is a unicameral National People's Congress. The legal system is a complex amalgam of custom and statute, largely criminal law. A rudimentary civil code went into effect in the late 1980s. Continuing efforts are being made to improve civil, administrative, and commercial law. China is a member of the UN and the IMO.

China has moved from a Soviet style centrally planned economy to a more flexible and more productive framework with some market elements although still under Communist control. Air pollution, soil erosion, and the steady fall of the water table in the North threaten the county's economic growth. Exports include textiles, garments, footwear, toys, machinery and equipment. Leading trade partners are Japan, the Untied States, Germany, South Korea, and Russia. The currency is the Yuan.

The law on vessel registration is the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Ship Registration (issued by the State Council on June 2, 1994. Document No. 155) and the Interim Measures for Registration of Mortgage over Ships under Construction (issued by the State Marine Safety Administration on June 9, 2009) (the "Regulations"). The local Marine Safety Administrations are the governmental entities responsible for the registration of ships in China (the "Registration Authority").