The China country code is +86 — the gateway to mainland China's 1.4 billion people, 1.74 billion mobile subscriptions (across China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom), and the world's largest single telecom market. Reach Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and 50+ tier-1/tier-2 cities with one prefix.
China was assigned +86 by the ITU in 1949, placing it in zone 8 alongside East + South-East Asia. Here is the structure behind every Chinese number plus the rules the MIIT enforces.
China has used the +86 country code since 1949, when the ITU placed it in zone 8 alongside Japan +81, South Korea +82, Vietnam +84, North Korea +850, Taiwan +886 and Hong Kong +852. The "6" suffix was the next free single-digit slot when China was assigned.
China's telecom industry is regulated by the MIIT (Ministry of Industry and Information Technology). All three Chinese mobile carriers — China Mobile (~970M subs), China Unicom (~340M subs), China Telecom (~430M subs) — operate under MIIT licensing. Real-name SIM registration is mandatory since 2013.
Chinese landline area codes are 2 to 4 digits including the leading 0. Tier-1 cities have 2-digit codes (010 Beijing, 021 Shanghai, 020 Guangzhou). Tier-2 cities have 3-digit codes (022 Tianjin, 023 Chongqing, 028 Chengdu). Smaller cities have 4-digit codes (0755 Shenzhen, 0571 Hangzhou).
China runs on one time zone. Despite spanning 5 geographic time zones, all of mainland China — from Kashgar in Xinjiang to Heihe on the Russian border — runs on Beijing Time (CST, UTC+8). This was decreed in 1949 by the PRC government for unity; before that, China used five regional zones (Kunlun, Sinkiang-Tibet, Kansu-Szechwan, Chungyuan, Changpai).
A Chinese phone number in international format is written as +86 [area code without 0] [local] for landlines, or +86 [11-digit mobile]. For example, +86 10 1234 5678 for a Beijing landline, +86 21 1234 5678 for Shanghai, or +86 138 0013 8000 for an Indian mobile.
The leading "0" in Chinese landline numbers (010 Beijing, 021 Shanghai) is the Chinese national trunk prefix — dropped when dialing internationally. Chinese mobiles are always 11 digits starting with 1 (130-199 series); no leading 0 to drop on mobile. Hong Kong (+852), Macau (+853) and Taiwan (+886) use separate country codes from mainland China's +86.
From the Forbidden City in Beijing to the trading floors of the SSE in Pudong, every mainland Chinese number lives behind a +86. Pick the area code that matches your tier-1 or tier-2 partner city.
Every country uses a different international exit code before the +86 China country code. From any mobile, the + symbol replaces the exit code automatically — so +86 138 0013 8000 works worldwide. Always drop the leading 0 from Chinese landlines (010 Beijing → 10, 021 Shanghai → 21) when dialing from abroad.
011011 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN011011 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN00110011 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN010010 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN001001 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN001001 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN001001 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN002002 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN001001 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN001001 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN8 108 10 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN0000 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNN00 2100 21 86 NN NNNN NNNN+86 1NN NNNN NNNNTip: Chinese mobiles are always 11 digits starting with 1 (130-199 series). Landline area codes (010 Beijing, 021 Shanghai) drop the leading 0 from abroad. The full E.164 format is +86 [area without 0] [local] or +86 1NN NNNN NNNN for mobile — 13 digits total.
+86 reaches 1.4 billion people, the world's largest single mobile subscriber base + the most-used app ecosystem on Earth — WeChat, Alipay, Taobao all expect a +86 mobile for verification.
WeChat (1.3B users), Alipay (900M), Taobao, JD.com, Meituan + Douyin all require a +86 mobile to register or unlock advanced features. Foreign numbers face WeChat's tighter Friend-Verification gate.
+86 routes to the world's most-developed telecom market — 1.74 billion mobile subscriptions across China Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom. The single largest customer addressable market on Earth.
A 010 prefix says "I'm in Beijing — Chaoyang, Wangjing, Zhongguancun". A 021 says "I'm in Shanghai — Pudong, Lujiazui, Xintiandi". Chinese buyers see the area code and treat your offer as local.
All of mainland China — Beijing to Urumqi, Harbin to Sanya — runs on Beijing Time (UTC+8). No DST adjustments. Your office hours line up cleanly with all Chinese contacts.
CallMama routes +86 numbers through licensed carrier interconnects so calls + SMS land cleanly with no MIIT-flagged spam scoring or "outside China" caller-ID warnings.
If you sell into Chinese manufacturing supply chains (Shenzhen, Dongguan, Suzhou, Shanghai), a +86 line is treated 5x faster than a foreign +1 or +44 line by the WeChat-first procurement teams.
Pick your area code — 010 Beijing, 021 Shanghai, 020 Guangzhou, 0755 Shenzhen — and start calling, texting and receiving WeChat + Alipay + Taobao OTPs from Chinese customers.
Same six features come standard on every CallMama China number — no upsell tiers, no per-feature charges.
Route any incoming call to your real mobile, a teammate, or voicemail — by schedule, caller, or custom rule.
One-tap recording for client calls and consults. Files store securely in your dashboard for replay or download.
Decide which local number shows on outbound calls so contacts always see a familiar prefix.
Voicemails arrive as audio plus a written transcript in your inbox — read or listen, no missed message.
Send and receive text and image messages from your number — same line works on web, iOS, and Android.
Outbound calls to 200+ countries from the same app. Skip carrier roaming and international add-ons.
From "I want a China number" to making your first call — three taps and you're live.
Choose the area code or city prefix that matches where you sell.
Six-digit confirmation drops into the app. No documents to upload, no waiting room, no callbacks.
Your China line is live. Start dialing, texting, and being reached — exactly the way a local would.
Name, country code, ISO 3166 alpha-2 & alpha-3, exit code, and ITU zone. Filter by continent or search by name or code.
| Country | Code | ISO-2 | ISO-3 | Exit | Zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | +93 | AF | AFG | 00 | 9 |
| Albania | +355 | AL | ALB | 00 | 3 |
| Algeria | +213 | DZ | DZA | 00 | 2 |
| American Samoa | +1 | AS | ASM | 011 | 1 |
| Andorra | +376 | AD | AND | 00 | 3 |
| Angola | +244 | AO | AGO | 00 | 2 |
| Anguilla | +1 | AI | AIA | 011 | 1 |
| Antarctica | +672 | AQ | ATA | 00 | 6 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | +1 | AG | ATG | 011 | 1 |
| Argentina | +54 | AR | ARG | 00 | 5 |
| Armenia | +374 | AM | ARM | 00 | 3 |
| Aruba | +297 | AW | ABW | 00 | 2 |
| Australia | +61 | AU | AUS | 0011 | 6 |
| Austria | +43 | AT | AUT | 00 | 4 |
| Azerbaijan | +994 | AZ | AZE | 00 | 9 |
| Bahamas | +1 | BS | BHS | 011 | 1 |
| Bahrain | +973 | BH | BHR | 00 | 9 |
| Bangladesh | +880 | BD | BGD | 00 | 8 |
| Barbados | +1 | BB | BRB | 011 | 1 |
| Belarus | +375 | BY | BLR | 810 | 3 |
011 86 10 1234 5678 for a Beijing landline, or 011 86 138 0013 8000 for a Chinese mobile. On any mobile, replace 011 with +.00 86 21 1234 5678 for a Shanghai landline. Or use +86 138 0013 8000 from any UK mobile.00 86 755 1234 5678 for a Shenzhen landline, or 00 86 138 0013 8000 for a Chinese mobile. India-China telecom routes via Hong Kong + Singapore — connection times are typically 3-5 seconds.+86 [area without 0] [local] for landlines or +86 [11-digit mobile]. Example: +86 10 1234 5678 for Beijing, +86 21 1234 5678 for Shanghai, +86 138 0013 8000 for a China Mobile number. Total length is 13 digits with +86.One tap to install. One more to call. It really is that simple.