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mainland China

mainland China

9 2.3
The part of China the central government runs, not including Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan
  • proper noun
translation icon : China continental
  • A conjunction of several other considerations will also help to shape mainland China's political future.
  • mainland China's economic
  • investment in mainland China
  • dependence on mainland China

A liquidation of Evergrand's assets in mainland China could just exacerbate these issues.

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Examples

  • You are in Hong Kong, but you are about to cross an invisible border into Mainland China.

  • Taiwan's economic policy toward mainland China follows the mercantilist model of trade regulation.

    Academic text (1996)
  • They're students from mainland China.

  • Because Taiwan does not allow direct investment in mainland China, there are no such "Taiwanese businessmen."

    Academic text (1996)
  • However, the rivalry between Mainland China and Taiwan was severely damaging Hong Kong's local interests.

    Academic text (2012)
  • Through its investments in mainland China, Taiwan is indirectly entangled in these disputes.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Canton offers a glimpse of mainland China, which continues to lure the Western traveler.

    Academic text (1995)
  • The Taiwan government tries to intervene directly in the booming economic interactions with mainland China through strict economic regulations.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Taiwan's economic dependence on mainland China greatly constrains Taipei's capacity to cool down the mainland fever.

    Academic text (1996)
  • Li emigrated from mainland China to the United States 25 years ago.

Surface Forms

Morphology

mainland + China

The meaning is directly composed from 'mainland' (the main part of a country) + 'China', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to the main/continental part of China. This construction is cross-linguistically common and follows regular composition patterns, though precise political exclusions (Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan) might require extra context.

Etymology

Mainland China comes from the idea of the mainland — the big, connected land on a map, not the smaller islands or special areas. That's why it refers to the large part of China that does not include Hong Kong, Macau, or Taiwan.