What is CST in CST (China)?
China Standard Time is 13 hours ahead
Central Time is on UTC−5:00 and China Standard Time is on UTC+8:00 right now. Central Time is on daylight saving, so its clocks read CDT. The gap changes during the year — see below.
- Time in Chicago
- 9:14 pm
- Time in Beijing
- 10:14 am
- Difference
- +13 h
- Next clock change
- November 1, 2026
Convert a time
CST — China Standard Time
10:00 am
Wed, the next day
When the difference changes
Central Time and China Standard Time do not change their clocks on the same dates, so the gap between them is not the same all year. Most converters show only today’s figure. These are the periods ahead:
- Now – November 1, 2026China Standard Time is 13 hours ahead
- November 1, 2026 – March 14, 2027China Standard Time is 14 hours ahead
- March 14, 2027 – onwardsChina Standard Time is 13 hours ahead
Periods shorter than a day are not listed: both zones change at 2am in their own local time, so there are a few hours on each transition date when the gap is briefly something else.
Daylight saving
Central Time
Clocks go back one hour at 2am local time, becoming CST.
China Standard Time
China Standard Time stays on CST all year, so its offset from UTC never moves.
CST to CST (China) conversion table
Every hour of Tuesday, September 22, 2026, converted from Central Time to China Standard Time. 13 of the 24 hours fall on a different calendar day in Beijing, which is marked.
- 12:00 am CDT
- 1:00 pm CST
- 1:00 am CDT
- 2:00 pm CST
- 2:00 am CDT
- 3:00 pm CST
- 3:00 am CDT
- 4:00 pm CST
- 4:00 am CDT
- 5:00 pm CST
- 5:00 am CDT
- 6:00 pm CST
- 6:00 am CDT
- 7:00 pm CST
- 7:00 am CDT
- 8:00 pm CST
- 8:00 am CDT
- 9:00 pm CST
- 9:00 am CDT
- 10:00 pm CST
- 10:00 am CDT
- 11:00 pm CST
- 11:00 am CDT
- 12:00 am CST+1 day
- 12:00 pm CDT
- 1:00 am CST+1 day
- 1:00 pm CDT
- 2:00 am CST+1 day
- 2:00 pm CDT
- 3:00 am CST+1 day
- 3:00 pm CDT
- 4:00 am CST+1 day
- 4:00 pm CDT
- 5:00 am CST+1 day
- 5:00 pm CDT
- 6:00 am CST+1 day
- 6:00 pm CDT
- 7:00 am CST+1 day
- 7:00 pm CDT
- 8:00 am CST+1 day
- 8:00 pm CDT
- 9:00 am CST+1 day
- 9:00 pm CDT
- 10:00 am CST+1 day
- 10:00 pm CDT
- 11:00 am CST+1 day
- 11:00 pm CDT
- 12:00 pm CST+1 day
Scheduling between the two
There is no overlap between a nine-to-six working day in Chicago and one in Beijing — the gap is too wide. A call has to sit early or late for one side. Early morning in Chicago is the usual compromise, since that is late afternoon or evening in Beijing.
A note on CST: it can also mean China Standard Time (UTC+8) and Cuba Standard Time (UTC−5). This page means US Central Time.
A note on CST (China): it can also mean the abbreviation CST is shared with US Central Time and Cuba Standard Time.
Central Time (CDT) is used in Dallas, Houston, Mexico City and Winnipeg
China Standard Time (CST) is used in the whole of China, which runs on one offset from Kashgar to Shanghai