The development and formation of a contemporary ChinaIntroductionChina has fifty-five state-recognized minorities which, according to 2000 census calculations, constitute 8.41% of the population and occupy 60% of the territory of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The Chinese define nationality in Stalinist terms as “a historically constituted and stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life and psychological structure manifested in a common culture.” Economically, China is rapidly becoming a modern nation. From 1979 to 2000, China's economic growth was 9.6% per year, the highest of any economy in those years. This rapid growth has allowed China to reduce the number of citizens living in extreme poverty. However, capitalist enterprises continue to promote class distinctions, and the coast continues to develop much faster than the interior. China's growing political importance and economic power are making it increasingly global. In today's society, globalization and modernization are closely related. However, globalization simultaneously undermines modernization in the sense that it destroys national sovereignty. China has always espoused the right of nations to maintain sovereignty over their internal affairs. This claim, however, is becoming increasingly complicated as China becomes increasingly accountable for its human rights record in the international sphere. As a result, the way other countries formulate policies towards China are influenced by the current human rights situation in China. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) faces many obstacles in trying to involve ethnic minorities in development discourse, and in the global...... middle of paper ......mation Co., 1990.Silk Road Development Program . 2004. Online. March 12, 2004. “Uighur Autonomous Region.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. March 1, 2004. .“Uighur.” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2004. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. March 1, 2004. “Uyghur History.” Uyghur worlds. 2004. Online. March 12, 2004. Wingfield-Hayes, Rupert. “A linguistic blow for Chinese Muslims.” BBC News. 2002. BBC News Online. March 13, 2004. Selvaggio, Oliver. “The Silk Road – Images”. University of California, Irvine. 1992. Online. March 8, 2004. Zingg, Elisabeth. “The Uighur Ethnic Face Language Dilemma in China.” News from the World Tibet Network. 1998. Online. March 14 2004.>