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I have a hard time believing that China is a multi-ethnic country comparable to the United States.

She is not as multi-ethinic as the USA in the sense that the HAN RACE is close to 90% of the population. Here in the USA, blacks comprise about 13%, Hispanics about 15%, Asians about 5% and Whites about 68%.

Besides the majority Han Chinese, China recognizes 55 other "nationalities" or ethnic groups, numbering approximately 105 million persons, mostly concentrated in the northwest, north, northeast, south, and southwest but with some in central interior areas.

The major minority ethnic groups are Zhuang (16.1 million), Manchu (10.6 million), Hui (9.8 million), Miao (8.9 million), Uyghur (8.3 million), Tujia (8 million), Yi (7.7 million), Mongol (5.8 million), Tibetan (5.4 million), Buyei (2.9 million), Dong (2.9 million), Yao (2.6 million), Korean (1.9 million), Bai (1.8 million), Hani (1.4 million), Kazakh (1.2 million), Li (1.2 million), and Dai (1.1 million).

So, when you meet a Chinese, there is a 90% chance that he is a HAN.

So, when you meet a Chinese, there is a 90% chance that he is a HAN.

I agree; but as soon as you bring race into it it gets complicated.

Here in the USA, blacks comprise about 13%, Hispanics about 15%, Asians about 5% and Whites about 68%.

While in appearance the skin color gives away blacks versus whites, but if you think about it, China I would say is also diverse, although along a very different line. The 90% you speak of, is actually many different races assimilated into the Han Chinese majority. But you see, that 90% of China speak different languages and such.

Anyways, I view their empire (similar to American) definition of what it means to be Chinese as bankrupt (for example, their treatment of Eastern Turks and Tibetans)... For more on that, check out this. But, yeah, perhaps, I could've been oversimplifying. It is a touchy subject after all and we are talking about Communist China and their history of conquering/assimilating people for many millenia.

The major minority ethnic groups are Zhuang (16.1 million), Manchu (10.6 million), Hui (9.8 million), Miao (8.9 million), Uyghur (8.3 million), Tujia (8 million), Yi (7.7 million), Mongol (5.8 million), Tibetan (5.4 million), Buyei (2.9 million), Dong (2.9 million), Yao (2.6 million), Korean (1.9 million), Bai (1.8 million), Hani (1.4 million), Kazakh (1.2 million), Li (1.2 million), and Dai (1.1 million).

Not too sure about these figures, but since all of them are Chinese citizens (unlike the very few minorities in Korea or Japan), but Manchu is no longer an ethnic group really. The Manchu language is no more and people do not call themselves Manchu-Chinese;they would say they are Han Chinese.