Greater China

Greater China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	大中華
Simplified Chinese	大中华
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dà Zhōnghuá Bopomofo ㄉㄚˋ ㄓㄨㄥˉ ㄏㄨㄚˊ Wade–Giles Ta Chung-hua IPA [tâ.ʈʂʊ́ŋ.xwâ] Yue: Cantonese Jyutping daai6 zung1 waa4 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tāi Tiong-hôa
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Đại Trung Hoa
Chữ Hán	大中華
Korean name
Hangul	중화권
Hanja	中華圈
Japanese name
Kanji	中華圏
Kana	ちゅうかけん
Kyūjitai	中華圈

"Greater China" is an informal term describing a geographical area sharing cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people.^[1][2][3][4] The notion contains a "great deal of ambiguity in its geographical coverage and politico-economic implications",^[5] because some users use it to refer to "the commercial ties among ethnic Chinese, whereas others are more interested in cultural interactions, and still others in the prospects for political reunification" ^[6] but usually refers to an area encompassing Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, places where the majority population is culturally Chinese.^[7][8][9] Some analysts may also include places which have predominantly ethnic Chinese population such as Singapore. The term can be generalised to encompass "linkages among regional Chinese communities".^[10][11]

The term's usage is contested; some observers in Taiwan characterise the term as harmful or a conflation of distinct polities and markets,^[4] while the Chinese government has avoided it, either to allay fears of its economic expansionism or to avoid suggesting Taiwan and the People's Republic of China are on equal footing. Australian sinologist Wang Gungwu has characterised the concept as a "myth", and "wrong" if applied to overseas Chinese communities.^[12]