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If you're travelling to meet or dealing with a Chinese company it is worth bearing in mind that there are several different types of Chinese currency.
Depending on whether your business is in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan you could well need to be looking at 4 separate exchange rates.
Here we introduce each of the 4 Chinese currency currently in use in "Greater China" - the Renminbi, Hong Kong Dollar, Macau Pataca & New Taiwan Dollar.
In this article we use the term "Chinese Currency" to mean the currencies currently being used throughout the area of "Greater China".
If you're thinking "surely China only has one currency like every other country" then think again, it is a lot more complicated than that.
China (or more formally "The People's Republic of China") is a very large and politically complicated country which, under the "one country, two systems" principle, governs the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau.
Meanwhile, the self-governing island of Taiwan (a.k.a. Republic of China) considers itself to be the real government of China - a viewpoint diametrically opposed by Beijing, which considers Taiwan to be a breakaway province.
As you can see, it is a very complicated picture, and that is where the phrase "Greater China" comes in handy - it allows us to talk about China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Taiwan without getting political!
Different parts of "Greater China" follow different financial systems, business registration systems, laws and indeed, currencies.
Here are 4 currencies in daily use in the various parts of "Greater China" starting with the money used by the vast majority of people and companies, Mainland China's renminbi:
So now you know the four Chinese currencies, you might be wondering what they are worth?
Well, here are the live currency cross rates for each Chinese currency against the United States Dollar and the Euro:
Did you know that there are 7 different regions of China which are often cited in official sources when describing China's geography, climate, economy and governance?
Each of these regions are comprised of several Chinese provinces which are in close proximity and share certain geographical and cultural similarities.
Keep reading to view a map and learn more about the 7 regions of China.
If you have done business with a Chinese company there is a good chance that their staff have provided you with a scan or photo of their China ID Card.
This ID Card, also known as the Resident Identity Card, is compulsory for all Chinese citizens and contains much information about the holder.
Each China ID Card has a unique 18-digit Citizen Identity Number and knowing this number alone can tell you the holder's date of birth, place of birth and gender.
Foreign companies are doing business in China for a wide range of different reasons - including importing, exporting, setting up joint ventures, investing, developing new markets, developing new partnerships & more - but in which Chinese provinces are these efforts focused?
Is most business done in China's gateway municipalities of Shanghai and Beijing, or do foreign companies flock to the manufacturing powerhouse provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang?
Read this article to learn what are, according to our research, the 9 China provinces where foreign companies do business the most.
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Matt Slater
Author
Hi there, I'm Matt, the founder of China Checkup. Originally from the UK, I am now based in Brisbane, Australia.
Frustrated by the scarcity of concise, high-quality and timely information about Chinese companies, I setup China Checkup whilst living in Shanghai in 2013.
My team are proud that China Checkup's company verification reports have now helped thousands of clients from all corners of the world to do business in China more safely.