UltConvert
Image11
Image ConverterCompress ImageResize ImageCrop ImageImage to PDFPassport Photo MakerImage to SVGAll Image tools →
PDF13
Compress PDFPDF ConverterPDF to ImageMerge PDFSplit PDFUnlock PDFProtect PDFAll PDF tools →
Documents & Data7
Convert to PDFDocument ConverterImage to TextImage to ExcelData ConverterEbook ConverterAll Documents & Data tools →
Video6
Video ConverterCompress VideoVideo to AudioVideo to GIFTrim VideoAudio to VideoAll Video tools →
Audio4
Audio ConverterCompress AudioTrim AudioAudio to TextAll Audio tools →
More tools9
QR Code GeneratorZip FilesUnzip OnlinePixel ConverterFont ConverterAll other tools →
BlogHow it works

China Standard Time to PST Converter

Pick a date and a time in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen or Guangzhou and see the matching time in Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle, with US daylight saving taken into account.

China Standard Time

CSTChina Standard Time

PSTPacific Time

––:––

What is the time difference between China and the US West Coast?

Beijing is 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles in the US winter and 15 hours ahead in the US summer. A China morning is the previous evening in California.

China
UTC+8, all year
PST
UTC−8, winter
PDT
UTC−7, summer

Calling Shenzhen from the West Coast

Suppliers in the Pearl River Delta start work as the US West Coast finishes for the day. At 5:00 PM in Los Angeles it is 9:00 AM the next morning in Shenzhen during PST, or 8:00 AM during PDT. Most buyers on the West Coast use the window from about 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM Pacific for live calls with China.

Messages sent at the end of the California day are read at the start of the Chinese one, so an evening email often gets a reply by the next California morning.

CST timeCST · PSTCST · PDT
12:00 AM8:00 AM−1 previous day9:00 AM−1 previous day
1:00 AM9:00 AM−1 previous day10:00 AM−1 previous day
2:00 AM10:00 AM−1 previous day11:00 AM−1 previous day
3:00 AM11:00 AM−1 previous day12:00 PM−1 previous day
4:00 AM12:00 PM−1 previous day1:00 PM−1 previous day
5:00 AM1:00 PM−1 previous day2:00 PM−1 previous day
6:00 AM2:00 PM−1 previous day3:00 PM−1 previous day
7:00 AM3:00 PM−1 previous day4:00 PM−1 previous day
8:00 AM4:00 PM−1 previous day5:00 PM−1 previous day
9:00 AM5:00 PM−1 previous day6:00 PM−1 previous day
10:00 AM6:00 PM−1 previous day7:00 PM−1 previous day
11:00 AM7:00 PM−1 previous day8:00 PM−1 previous day
12:00 PM8:00 PM−1 previous day9:00 PM−1 previous day
1:00 PM9:00 PM−1 previous day10:00 PM−1 previous day
2:00 PM10:00 PM−1 previous day11:00 PM−1 previous day
3:00 PM11:00 PM−1 previous day12:00 AM
4:00 PM12:00 AM1:00 AM
5:00 PM1:00 AM2:00 AM
6:00 PM2:00 AM3:00 AM
7:00 PM3:00 AM4:00 AM
8:00 PM4:00 AM5:00 AM
9:00 PM5:00 AM6:00 AM
10:00 PM6:00 AM7:00 AM
11:00 PM7:00 AM8:00 AM
Every China hour with the Pacific time under PST and PDT. −1 marks the previous day in California.

One fixed side, one moving side

China uses UTC+8 across the whole country and has had no summer time since 1991, as recorded in the IANA time zone database. California moves forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November, the federal dates explained by the US Department of Transportation. The two periods this year and next:

  1. Jan 1, 2026 – Mar 8, 2026CST UTC+8 · PST UTC−8Difference: −16 h
  2. Mar 8, 2026 – Nov 1, 2026CST UTC+8 · PDT UTC−7Difference: −15 h
  3. Nov 1, 2026 – Mar 14, 2027CST UTC+8 · PST UTC−8Difference: −16 h
  4. Mar 14, 2027 – Nov 7, 2027CST UTC+8 · PDT UTC−7Difference: −15 h
  5. Nov 7, 2027 – Jan 1, 2028CST UTC+8 · PST UTC−8Difference: −16 h

Offsets in 2026 – 2027, from the IANA time zone data in your browser's engine

Holidays that empty the calendar

Check the Chinese calendar before booking

Two national holidays shut down most offices and factories in China for about a week each.

  • Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), in late January or February
  • National Day Golden Week, from October 1
  • Weekend working days are often added around both, so a Saturday can be a normal workday

See the live Shanghai clock, or use China time to EST for the US East Coast.

China time to PST questions

How many hours is China ahead of California?

16 hours while California is on PST (early November to mid-March) and 15 hours while it is on PDT (mid-March to early November).

What time is 10:00 AM in Shenzhen in Los Angeles?

6:00 PM the previous day during PST, or 7:00 PM the previous day during PDT.

Is it easier to add or subtract for China to Pacific?

Add. Adding 8 hours (winter) or 9 hours (summer) to a China time and then stepping back one day gives the Pacific time and is easier than subtracting 16 or 15.

Why is the China time called CST here?

CST is the usual short form for China Standard Time, but the same letters are used for US Central Time. To avoid mix-ups, this page writes China time or Beijing time in full.