China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia and the world's most populous nation alongside India. It covers about 9.6 million square kilometres, making it the third or fourth largest country by area depending on how disputed territory is counted, and borders fourteen states, more than any other country except Russia. The land falls in three great steps from the Tibetan Plateau in the west, through the basins and plateaus of the centre, to the densely settled alluvial plains and river deltas of the east, where the great majority of the population lives. China is a one-party socialist republic governed by the Chinese Communist Party, with Beijing as its capital, and since the reforms begun in 1978 it has grown into the world’s second largest economy by nominal GDP and the largest by purchasing power parity.