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Glite Dictionary
People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

11 2.1
The official name of China, a communist country with the world's biggest population
  • proper noun
  • /ˈpipəlz rɪˈpʌblɪk əv ˈʧaɪnə/
translation icon : República Popular China
  • The People's Republic of China is known for its rich history and diverse culture.
  • the People's Republic of China (PRC)
  • Government of the People's Republic of China
  • founding of the People's Republic of China

Examples

  • Since July 1, 1997, Hong Kong has been a "special administrative region" of the People's Republic of China.

    Academic text (2015)

  • The Wuhan Foreign Languages School is one of ten foreign language middle schools in the People's Republic of China.

    Academic text (1992)

  • There had never been an embassy from the People's Republic of China.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Respondents from the People's Republic of China held quite different views.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Our constitution states that all power in the People's Republic of China belongs to the people.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is an inalienable part of the People's Republic of China.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, 157 countries have established diplomatic relations with China.

    Academic text (1999)

  • The Communists then established the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Peking (Beijing) on 1 October 1949.

    Academic text (1999)

  • In the People's Republic of China, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language.

  • Tourists flock to the Great Wall, which is a symbol of the People's Republic of China.

Synonyms

China
vsPeople's Republic of China
∞ 1.0

A large country in East Asia with more people than any other country

is the formal official name rather than the everyday label
PRC
vsPeople's Republic of China
9 4.7

A short form of the name People's Republic of China

is the full official name rather than its shortened form
Communist China
vsPeople's Republic of China
5 3.6

A country ruled by the Communist Party since 1949

is the official name without focusing on political era
Red China
vsPeople's Republic of China
  • Offensive
1 7.6

China when it was ruled by a communist government, a name Western writers used in the past

is the neutral official name without dated political connotations

Surface Forms

People's Republic of China main

Morphology

People's + republic + of + China

The phrase is directly compositional: 'People's' (belonging to the people) + 'republic' (a form of government) + 'of China' yields the idea of a state of China characterized as a 'people's republic.' This construction is cross‑linguistically common (e.g. República Popular de China) and follows standard noun‑phrase composition, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will grasp the basic meaning as the country's official name.

Etymology

People's Republic of China was chosen as the country's official name in 1949 when the Communist Party formed a new government. The words People's and Republic point to the idea 'for the people' and 'without a king'. That's why this long phrase is the country's official name today.