CST time now |
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19:39:00 Fri, 27 Jun 2025
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| UTC Offset: UTC +8 |
China Standard Time (CST) operates at UTC+8 and is the official time zone across the entire country of China. It is often simply referred to as "Beijing Time" or "China Time", and applies uniformly nationwide, despite China spanning five geographical time zones. CST does not observe daylight saving time, remaining fixed throughout the year.
Importance and Global Use of CST
CST provides a single unified time standard for all regions of China, simplifying national administration, transportation, education, and broadcasting. The fixed UTC+8 offset allows consistent scheduling across the vast country and avoids confusion that could arise from regional or seasonal changes.
Internationally, CST is crucial for global business, manufacturing, and trade, as China is a central player in the world economy. The fixed time zone supports reliable cross-border communication, supply chain management, and financial coordination, particularly with other Asian markets on UTC+8, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Western Australia.
Where and When CST is used worldwide
Asia
Asian countries using CST all year
- China
- Macau
- Taiwan
Other Time Zones in UTC +8
Other time zones share the same offset as China Standard Time (CST), but are known by different names. While their clocks align, they may represent different regions or countries based on local time zone definitions.
- Australian Western Standard Time – AWST
- Brunei Darussalam Time – BNT
- Casey Time – CAST
- Choibalsan Time – CHOT
- Hong Kong Time – HKT
- Irkutsk Time – IRKT
- Malaysia Time – MYT
- Philippine Standard Time – PHST
- Singapore Time – SGT
- Ulaanbaatar Time – ULAT
- Central Indonesian Time – WITA