Chinese Federation

The Chinese Federation (中華連邦, Zhōnghuá liánbāng, Chūka renpō) (1912 a.t.b.-2018 a.t.b.) was one of the three dominant superpowers in the world. As it sits immediately to the West of Japan, it receives a fair amount of coverage, particularly in the second season. After joining the United Federation of Nations, it became the United States of China (合衆国中華, Hézhòngguó Zhōnghuá, Gasshūkoku Chūka, "Federal State of China").

Government
While it might be more respectful of human rights than its Britannian counterpart, the Chinese Federation is still an imperial monarchy with most of the power concentrated in the hands of High Eunuchs, the Empress Tianzi now serving more of a symbolic role. When the High Eunuchs were in power, the Chinese Federation seemed to operate along an oligarchic system, as the High Eunuchs concentrate and exercise an absolute power. This is changed in the second season, when Zero, with the help of Chinese rebels, sees the Eunuchs executed and the Empress restored to power.

The capital of the Federation is the Vermilion Forbidden City in Luoyang, where the young Empress spent most of her life.

Geography
Though not as large as either Britannia or the Europia United, the Chinese Federation still holds a substantial amount of territory comprising all of East Asia (with the exception of Japan), South Asia (perhaps with the exception of Iran), Central Asia, and Southeast Asia, though there is speculation that Britannia may hold some territory in Southeast Asia. There is also some confusion as to the nature of the Korean Peninsula as some sources indicate that it is Chinese territory while the light novels indicate it is Area 16 of Britannia. It is also implied that the Chinese Federation also controls Sakhalin and (in the anime) Papua New Guinea. According to other sources, New Guinea belongs to Britannia. Britannia seems to also have access to Cambodia, but it was never referred to as an Area.

Militarized Zone of India
The Militarized Zone of India is one of the territories under the Chinese Federation. It is referred to by the Federation government with the diminutive "beyond known lands". Rakshata Chawla seems to imply that there is someone named Maharajah, or the Old Geezer as she would say; if this is true then he would either be the Head of State or a Governor of the Militarized Zone of India. India is said to be vying for independence and has to this end covertly amassed profits by supplying arms to Resistance groups in Area 11 through the Kyōto House until the death of Taizō Kirihara in a.t.b. 2017. They have since directly aided the Order of the Black Knights by providing them with Akatsuki Knightmare Frames.

Militarized Zone of Liaodong
The Militarized Zone of Liaodong is a territory on the eastern seaboard of the Chinese Federation under the jurisdiction of General Cao. Liaodong is a peninsula right next to the Korean Peninsula, hence explaining its close proximity to Area 11. In our world, Liaodong was almost ceded to the Japanese after the First Sino-Japanese War, largely due to the intervention of Russia, Germany, and France. Japan thus gave up its claims of this peninsula and received 30 million taels of silver instead.

Mongolia
One of Rolo's case files (as shown in R2 Episode 4 'Counterattack at the Gallows') reveals that Mongolia is a member state of the Chinese Federation and that it possesses its own government (with which Rolo's victim had been involved in shady dealings).

In turn 12, Schneizel suggests putting several troops on the Mongolian border, in order to hold the Chinese Federation's new government in gunpoint, without having to resort to war (as advocated by Carine ne Britannia or Guinevere de Britannia).

Luoyang
The city of Luoyang in our Henan (which forms a federated entity with Shandong in Code Geass) is the capital of the Chinese federation. It houses the Vermillion Forbidden City, which serves both as the seat of government for the High Eunuchs and prison for the Empress, which represents the unity of the country.

The fact that Luoyang is the capital of the Chinese federation instead of Beijing is not without historic foundations, because this one was the seat of 7 dynasties between 510 BC and 913 AD, as well as the State of Cao Wei (one of the Three Kingdoms) between 220 and 265 BC, it is, therefore, part of the "Four Great Ancient Capitals of China", alongside Beijing, Nanjing and Xi'an.

Jiangsu
The artificial island of Horai, home to 1 million Japanese, sympathizers or members of the Black Knights, is mentioned at the beginning of episode 9, as being off the coast of the real province of Jiangsu (which forms a federated entity with those of Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Shanghai Municipality in Code Geass).

Xinjiang
Under the leadership of V.V, the location of the Geass Order was located on the territory of the Chinese Federation in the southern part of a federated entity that has the same administrative boundaries as Xinjiang. Moreover, the emerged part of the Geass Order was in the middle of a giant erg (a desert of fine sand), whose geographical position coincides with that which appeared during the conversation.

Jianmen Pass
Jianmen Pass (or Jianmenguan) is a strategic military position that is located in a federated entity of the Chinese Federation that includes the real provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. It's both conquered by the Black Knight Order and Xingke, at the beginning of the thirteenth episode of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2.

Cambodia
Cambodia is a federated entity of the Chinese Federation, which houses the Toromo Agency, a technology research organization of Britannia, on which Schneizel has been relying since Stage 20 of Code Geass's first season. But it takes a significant role at the end of season 2, when Schneizel, Kanon, Cornelia, Diethard and Anya take refuge there, in the midst of the Cambodian jungle, after Lelouch's ascension to the throne.

Toromo Agency's main creation, the Sky Fortress DAMOCLES, was built in Cambodia.

Demographics
While geographically the smallest of the three super-nations, the Chinese Federation is no doubt the one with the highest population, consisting of at least 2.5 billion people counting the modern-day population of the world. However, it is also noted that a large portion of the Federation's population consists of the elderly. It is mentioned that the vast majority of the Federation's citizens live in poverty.

Flag
The flag of the Chinese Federation has a bronze eight-sided star figure in the center, with a corresponding smaller outlined version in its center, on a burgundy red background. It is based upon a real-life flag used in the early Republic of China, during the Wuchang Uprising in 1911. This flag was also used as the flag of the Chinese military until 1928.

Foreign Relations
In the first season, the Chinese Federation tries to take Area 11 from Britannia by invading it with Japanese exiles under the guise of re-establishing the former Japanese government (we can draw a parallel between this event and the real one of the Bay of Pigs). In the second season, China has established a large political consulate in Area 11, and Zero makes use of it, fleeing there and claiming diplomatic immunity. Zero later negotiates with the Chinese who grant him Horai Island, an artificial landmass for the usage of the Black Knights as a home base.

Later, when Zero's coup restores Tianzi to power – thus securing the Chinese Federation as an ally – the Britannian Empire attempts to annex large portions of the now dissolving empire (starting with Mongolia in the North) as local rebellions and separatist movements threaten to tear the Federation into its original components. However, this is unsuccessful.

The Chinese Federation later became a part of the United Federation of Nations, and declared war on the Holy Britannian Empire.

Military
Main Article: Chinese Military

The Chinese Federation maintains regular military forces not dissimilar to those of Britannia. Their numbers and organization are not stated.

Regular infantry wears green armor with stylized helmets and carry assault rifles. They are also seen carrying swords in Turn 9: A Bride in the Vermilion Forbidden City. Officers also carry swords (notably Xingke, who wields his with some skill). The Army of the Forbidden City (also called the Forbidden Army in some sources) wear stylized red uniforms and carry traditional weapons as part of their role as Tianzi's Ceremonial Guard. They also have access to firearms and red-painted Gun-Ru Knightmares. Though outwardly loyal to the Empress, they are in fact controlled by the Eunuchs.

The standard Chinese Knightmare is the Gun-Ru, which is generally deployed in large units. They are referred to as 'Dragon Cavalry', though whether this is the Knightmare-using arm of the Chinese forces (their answer to the Britannian RPI) or a specific unit is unclear. They are supported by VTOL helijets similar to those used by Britannia, along with four-wheeled AFVs armed with cannon and missile pods. China also uses Longdan land fortresses, which appear to perform the same role as the Britannian G-1, while also providing artillery support. These vehicles are generally used in a combined-arms approach. The airships used by UFN forces from Turn 16: United Federation of Nations Resolution Number One onwards may be Chinese in origin. Chinese naval forces are mentioned in Stage 24: The Collapsing Stage, but no actual details are revealed.

The Chinese Federation is implied to have a ballistic missile capability, with missiles at the Dalian base (Mamoru Iwasa, Code Geass Light Novel: Stage -2- Knight, P.89), which is on the Liaodong Peninsula (see above). This implies that they had a hand in the invasion of Kyushu, which would give them a minimum range of approximately 1000 km (approximate distance from Dalian to Fukuoka).

Background
The country itself may be based on the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The governing system in effect at the introduction of the Chinese Federation resembles pre-three kingdoms (Han) and three kingdoms (Wu, Shu, Wei) era's system of government, with the high Eunuchs running the major details of the country, ruling from Luoyang, the historical capital of the Han Dynasty (As opposed to Beijing, which was established as the capital by the Mongol Rulers of the Yuan Dynasty).

All engagements shown in battle (Xiaopei, Xuzhou, Jianmen Pass) are areas that existed in the three kingdoms period, and classic surnames from the three kingdoms era appear frequently as well, Xi, Zhou, and Cao being prime examples, also as can be seen from High Eunuchs members names, most males in the country has only two syllables on their names (instead of three in modern China), leading one to believe the Chinese Federation is loosely based on The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Moreover, the Mausoleum of the 88 Emperors and said 88 emperors suggests that, assuming each Emperor ruled for about 25 years each, the Dynasty has ruled in unbroken succession from around 127 B.C., the time in which the Han Empire was in its heyday.

At the end of stage 06, the 98th Emperor of Britannia delivers a speech in which he asserts that the Chinese federation wanted to distribute the wealth fairly, thus turning it into a nest of lazy persons. It can be seen as an analogy with China from the Maoist era (where people were also starving, despite a significant increase in life expectancy) or with the Taiping revolt, which has also egalitarian roots.

The Chinese federation has nearly the same borders as Eastasia in Georges Orwell's dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, which is not surprising when we know that there are a certain commonalities between the Holy Britannian Empire and Oceania. Finally, if what the Emperor said in stage 06 is true, then the Chinese Federation is even more similar to Eastasia since it's also a "communist" state.