Here is a list of 1000 most common Chinese characters according to CME
 
This list consists of:
CME Lessons 1-70: 520 characters
CME Book 5 appendix: 160 characters
Additional list: 320 characters
TOTAL: 1000 characters
 
Here is the 1000 characters in a Word file. However, you will first need to install the Pintone font. This can be found at the Yahoo email account tonemarks (password: fmo1865). Also, note that the characters will appear in traditional form so you will need to convert them to simplified.