How to Call China from the US

To call China from the US, dial 011 + 86 + area code + local number. The 011 is the US exit code; 86 is China’s country code. For a Beijing landline listed as 010-1234-5678, the full US dial string is 011 86 10 1234 5678. For a Shanghai number listed as 021-8765-4321, dial 011 86 21 8765 4321. For a Chinese mobile (always 11 digits starting with 1), skip the area code: 011 86 138 1234 5678.

This guide covers every variant — major city area codes, mobile number format, China Standard Time, calling costs, WeChat versus direct-dial, and why US businesses calling Chinese suppliers need a VoIP solution rather than carrier per-minute rates.

How to dial China from the US

The sequence is always the same:

1. Dial 011 — the US international exit code. Every international call from a US landline starts with 011. On a US mobile, you can substitute + (long-press 0 on most keypads).
2. Dial 86 — China’s country code, assigned by the ITU and administered by MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology).
3. Dial the area code without its leading 0. Beijing’s domestic area code is 010; drop the 0 and dial 10. Shanghai’s domestic area code is 021; dial 21.
4. Dial the local subscriber number (6–8 digits for landlines).
5. Press call / send.

For Chinese mobiles, step 3 is skipped entirely — the 11-digit mobile number follows the country code directly.

Destination	Example number (China format)	US dial string
Beijing landline	010-1234-5678	011 86 10 1234 5678
Shanghai landline	021-8765-4321	011 86 21 8765 4321
Shenzhen landline	0755-8888-0000	011 86 755 8888 0000
China mobile	138-1234-5678	011 86 138 1234 5678

From a US mobile, substitute +86 for 011 86 — the format +86 10 1234 5678 works on any US smartphone and saves correctly in contacts.

Chinese area codes by major city

Area codes in mainland China are 2–4 digits long for landlines and assigned by MIIT. The table below covers the top ten business hubs:

City	Area code	Example dial from US
Beijing	10	011 86 10 XXXX XXXX
Shanghai	21	011 86 21 XXXX XXXX
Guangzhou	20	011 86 20 XXXX XXXX
Shenzhen	755	011 86 755 XXXX XXXX
Tianjin	22	011 86 22 XXXX XXXX
Chongqing	23	011 86 23 XXXX XXXX
Chengdu	28	011 86 28 XXXX XXXX
Wuhan	27	011 86 27 XXXX XXXX
Hangzhou	571	011 86 571 XXXX XXXX
Nanjing	25	011 86 25 XXXX XXXX

Most major-city landlines (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou) have 8-digit local numbers. Smaller cities may have 7-digit or 6-digit local numbers. The rule is consistent: drop the leading 0 from the area code, dial the rest as listed.

How Chinese phone numbering works

China’s numbering plan is set and maintained by the MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology), China’s equivalent of the FCC. Three state-owned carriers dominate:

• China Mobile — largest carrier by subscribers; prefixes 134–139, 147, 150–152, 157–159, 178, 182–184, 187–188
• China Unicom — second largest; prefixes 130–132, 145, 155–156, 166, 171, 175–176, 185–186
• China Telecom — landline and mobile; prefixes 133, 149, 153, 173, 177, 180–181, 189, 191

All Chinese mobile numbers are 11 digits and begin with 1. When you see a number like 138-1234-5678, the 138 prefix identifies it as China Mobile. The full ITU-E.164 format is +86 138 1234 5678.

Separate codes for special administrative regions and Taiwan: Hong Kong is +852 (8-digit local numbers, no area code). Macau is +853 (8-digit local numbers). Taiwan is +886 (distinct numbering plan; 2-digit area code for Taipei: 02, drop the 0 → dial +886 2 XXXX XXXX). Do not use +86 for any of these — calls will fail or reach a wrong number.

Time zones — China Standard Time (CST)

China uses a single time zone — CST, UTC+8 — for all of its 9.6 million square kilometres. Despite the country spanning what would naturally be five geographic time zones (comparable to the full width of the contiguous US), Beijing declared a single national time in 1949 to unify the country administratively.

There is no Daylight Saving Time in China. The offset is fixed at UTC+8 year-round, which means the gap with US time zones shifts by one hour twice a year when the US clocks change:

US time zone	Behind CST (summer / DST)	Behind CST (winter / standard)
Eastern	12 hours	13 hours
Central	13 hours	14 hours
Mountain	14 hours	15 hours
Pacific	15 hours	16 hours

Practical guidance: a 9 AM Eastern call reaches Beijing at 9 PM or 10 PM — after business hours. For business calls, US East Coast callers should target 6–8 AM ET, which is 6–8 PM in Beijing — catching contacts before they leave for the evening. US West Coast callers at 6–8 AM PT reach Beijing at 9–11 PM, which is late but reachable for time-sensitive matters.

US to China calling costs

Per-minute rates to China vary dramatically by calling method:

Carrier per-minute without an add-on plan: AT&T and Verizon post rates of $1.00–$5.00 per minute to Chinese landlines and mobiles without an international plan. A 20-minute supplier call can cost $20–$100. These rates are rarely justified for business use.

Carrier international add-on packages: US carriers offer monthly international add-ons typically priced $5–$15/month that reduce per-minute rates to China to roughly $0.25–$0.50/min. Better than pay-as-you-go, but still 10–50x the cost of VoIP.

VoIP per-minute rates: Business VoIP providers — including DialPhone — route calls to China at $0.01–$0.10 per minute via optimized carrier interconnects. A 20-minute call costs $0.20–$2.00 instead of $20–$100. For any US business calling Chinese suppliers, factories, or offices more than a few times a month, VoIP produces measurable savings on day one.

Free options — WeChat: WeChat voice and video calls are free over data. See the section below on when WeChat is and is not a substitute for direct-dial.

For current DialPhone rates to China, see DialPhone pricing or start a free trial.

Calling Chinese mobile vs landline — and WeChat dominance

The dial format for Chinese mobiles is the same as for landlines: 011 + 86 + number. The only structural difference is that mobile numbers have no area code — the full 11-digit mobile follows the country code directly. You cannot reach a Chinese mobile by dialing an area code first.

WeChat and the Great Firewall: WeChat (Weixin) has over 1.3 billion monthly active users, and inside China it is the default personal communications platform for voice, video, and messaging. For calling Chinese contacts who are individuals or small business owners, WeChat is often the most frictionless channel — free, widely installed, and works on both sides.

For US business operations — calling factories, logistics partners, or offices — direct-dial voice is more reliable: it does not require the recipient to have the app open, it works with office PBX extensions, and a US business phone number with STIR/SHAKEN attestation presents a verified caller ID rather than an unknown app call.

Apps blocked in mainland China: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Slack, and most Western messaging platforms are blocked by China’s Great Firewall. VPN usage is restricted. These blocks do not affect voice calls or SMS — standard PSTN calls and text messages route via telecom carriers outside the firewall entirely.

SMS to China and the US–China business use case

Standard SMS (A2P and P2P) routes via carrier interconnects and is not blocked by the Chinese firewall. US businesses can send SMS confirmations, order updates, and two-factor codes to Chinese mobile numbers using standard 10DLC or toll-free SMS.

Common US–China business calling scenarios:

• US importers calling China manufacturers — daily or weekly production update calls, QC check-ins, shipment coordination. Supplier contacts often prefer direct landline or mobile calls over WeChat for formal business.
• US e-commerce companies with China fulfillment — warehouse operations teams, freight forwarder coordination.
• US companies with China offices — remote team management, HR calls, IT support. A VoIP AI receptionist routing inbound calls from Chinese office staff works identically to domestic routing.
• US-based Chinese diaspora businesses — calling family suppliers, maintaining vendor relationships.

For all these use cases, a DialPhone business phone plan with an international calling bundle eliminates the carrier per-minute surprise and provides call recording, transcription, and STIR/SHAKEN-attested caller ID — the latter matters because Chinese mobile carriers increasingly filter calls with no attestation as potential spam. See how STIR/SHAKEN affects international calls for background.

If you are planning to port an existing number to DialPhone before adding international calling, see the number porting guide. For the parallel guide on UK calling — same 011 + country code structure — see how to call the UK from the US.

Calling China FAQ

Calling China FAQ

Is +86 the country code for China? +

Yes. +86 is the ITU-assigned country code for the People's Republic of China (mainland). When dialing from a US landline, substitute 011 for the +, giving you 011 86 before the area code and local number.

Note that Hong Kong uses +852, Macau uses +853, and Taiwan uses +886 — these are separate dial codes and require their own exit sequences.

Can I call China from the US without a special plan? +

Yes, but costs vary sharply. US carrier per-minute rates to China run $1–$5 per minute without an international add-on, which is expensive for anything beyond a brief call.

VoIP providers (including DialPhone) typically charge $0.01–$0.10 per minute to Chinese destinations. For regular calls to China suppliers, partners, or offices, a VoIP business phone plan pays for itself quickly.

Do I need to drop the 0 before a Chinese area code? +

Yes. Chinese area codes are written with a leading 0 for domestic dialing — for example, Beijing is written 010 inside China. When calling from the US, that leading 0 is a trunk prefix you replace with the international sequence 011 86, not add to it.

So a Beijing number listed as 010-1234-5678 becomes 011 86 10 1234 5678 from a US phone.

How do I dial a Chinese mobile number from the US? +

Chinese mobile numbers are 11 digits long and always start with 1 (e.g., 138-1234-5678 or 186-0000-1111). There is no area code — dial the full 11-digit mobile directly after the country code.

Format: 011 + 86 + 11-digit mobile. Example: 011 86 138 1234 5678. On a US mobile you can use + in place of 011: +86 138 1234 5678.

What about calling Hong Kong from the US? +

Hong Kong is a separate dial destination with country code +852. From a US phone: 011 + 852 + 8-digit local number. Hong Kong has no area codes — all numbers are 8 digits.

Do not use +86 for Hong Kong. Macau is +853 and also separate.

Is calling China expensive? +

It depends on the method. Major US carriers charge $1–$5 per minute to China without an international add-on plan — even a 10-minute call can cost $50.

VoIP services such as DialPhone reduce that to $0.01–$0.10 per minute. For businesses calling Chinese suppliers, factories, or offices regularly, VoIP typically cuts the monthly China calling bill by 90% or more versus carrier rates.

What time is it in China right now? +

China runs a single nationwide time zone: China Standard Time (CST), UTC+8. There is no Daylight Saving Time.

US Eastern is 12 hours behind CST in summer and 13 hours behind in winter. US Pacific is 15 hours behind CST in summer and 16 hours behind in winter. A 9 AM Eastern call reaches a 9 PM or 10 PM recipient in Beijing — outside business hours. Plan calls for early US morning (6–8 AM ET) to hit China business hours.

Does WeChat work for calling China? +

Yes, WeChat voice and video calls are free over Wi-Fi or mobile data and work between US and Chinese users. WeChat has over 1.3 billion monthly active users and is the dominant personal communications platform in China.

For business use, voice calls to Chinese landlines and mobiles via a VoIP number are more reliable than app-dependent calls and present a professional caller ID. WhatsApp, Signal, and Slack are blocked in mainland China by the Great Firewall — WeChat is the consumer app alternative, but it cannot replace direct-dial business calls.

Related guides

• How to call the UK from the US — same 011 + country code pattern
• Number porting guide — move your existing number to VoIP
• STIR/SHAKEN explained — why caller ID attestation matters for international calls
• DialPhone business phone — international calling rates included
• DialPhone pricing — current plan rates
• Start free trial