When it is 09:00 in Chicago it is 23:00 in Beijing in January and 22:00 in July. Beijing is 14 hours ahead Chicago right now — but it is not constant: the difference is 14 hours ahead in January and 13 hours ahead in July. This page gives the live times in both cities, the overlap between their working days, the daylight saving dates that move the difference, and the best meeting windows.
Try the tool: Time Zone Converter — convert any time between Chicago and Beijing, with the offset for the date you pick.
Live times in Chicago and Beijing
The two cities side by side. The January column uses the winter offsets (Chicago UTC−06:00, Beijing UTC+08:00); the July column uses the summer offsets (Chicago UTC−05:00, Beijing UTC+08:00).
| Time in Chicago | Beijing in January | Beijing in July |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | 14:00 | 13:00 |
| 06:00 | 20:00 | 19:00 |
| 09:00 | 23:00 | 22:00 |
| 12:00 | 02:00 | 01:00 |
| 15:00 | 05:00 | 04:00 |
| 17:00 | 07:00 | 06:00 |
| 21:00 | 11:00 | 10:00 |
The world clock shows the current time in both cities live, and the individual city pages — time in Chicago and time in Beijing — explain each city's time zone, offsets and daylight saving in full.
The time difference between Chicago and Beijing
The difference is not constant. In January Beijing is 14 hours ahead Chicago; in July it is 13 hours ahead Chicago. The difference changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 (from 14 hours ahead to 13 hours ahead) and Sunday, 1 November 2026 (from 13 hours ahead to 14 hours ahead) — those are the dates when one of the two cities changes its clocks and the other does not, or when they change on different days. Between those dates the difference is one value; outside them it is the other.
To convert a time, add the difference: 09:00 in Chicago is 23:00 in Beijing in January and 22:00 in July; 17:00 in Chicago — the end of the working day — is 07:00 in Beijing in January and 06:00 in July. To go the other way, subtract it: 09:00 in Beijing is 19:00 in Chicago in January. The time difference calculator does the arithmetic for any date, and the UTC to Beijing page gives the full conversion table for Beijing.
Meeting overlap between Chicago and Beijing
The overlap is the hours when both cities are in their working day (09:00–17:00 local time). The table marks the overlapping hours in Chicago's working day and shows what time they are in Beijing.
January
| Chicago time | Beijing time | Both working? |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 23:00 | Yes |
| 10:00 | 00:00 | Yes |
| 11:00 | 01:00 | Yes |
| 12:00 | 02:00 | Yes |
| 13:00 | 03:00 | Yes |
| 14:00 | 04:00 | Yes |
| 15:00 | 05:00 | Yes |
| 16:00 | 06:00 | Yes |
July
| Chicago time | Beijing time | Both working? |
|---|---|---|
| 09:00 | 22:00 | No |
| 10:00 | 23:00 | No |
| 11:00 | 00:00 | No |
| 12:00 | 01:00 | No |
| 13:00 | 02:00 | No |
| 14:00 | 03:00 | No |
| 15:00 | 04:00 | No |
| 16:00 | 05:00 | No |
In January the overlap is 8 hours: 09:00, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00 Chicago time. In July it is 0 hours: there is no hour when both cities are in their working day. The meeting planner finds the overlap for any two cities and any date, and the meeting time finder finds it for a whole team.
Daylight saving in Chicago and Beijing
Chicago observes daylight saving: in 2026 the clocks go forward on 8 March 2026 and back on 1 November 2026, moving the offset from UTC−06:00 to UTC−05:00.
Beijing does not observe daylight saving, so its offset of UTC+08:00 never changes.
The difference changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 and Sunday, 1 November 2026 in 2026. On those dates, one city changes its clocks and the other does not — or they change on different days — so the difference moves by an hour. A standing meeting set in one city's local time will land an hour early or late on the other side until the second city catches up. The fix is to set the calendar event in UTC, or to check the overlap again after each change. The individual DST pages — Chicago DST 2026 and Beijing DST 2026 — give the exact dates for each city.
Best meeting windows
The best windows in January are 09:00–17:00 in Chicago (23:00–07:00 in Beijing). These are the hours inside both working days, so nobody is up early or late. It is a short window, so keep the meeting short and send an agenda in advance.
Calling and travel notes
When it is 09:00 in Chicago it is 23:00 in Beijing in January; when it is 12:00 in Chicago it is 02:00 in Beijing; when it is 17:00 in Chicago it is 07:00 in Beijing. The difference is 12 hours or more, so the two cities are on different dates for part of the day: when it is Monday morning in Chicago, it is still Sunday in Beijing if Beijing is behind, or already Monday evening if it is ahead. Always state the date as well as the time when you schedule across this pair. Scheduling between the Americas and Asia is the hardest case in time-zone work: the difference is 12 hours or more, so one side's working day is the other's night. The only workable approach is to meet at the edge of the day — early morning in Chicago and evening in Beijing, or the reverse — and to keep the meeting short. Rotate the awkward hour week by week, or the same side will always be the one giving up its evening. Record the meeting and share notes, so the side that could not attend can still follow the decision.
Worked conversions
Six conversions, for January (offsets Chicago UTC−06:00, Beijing UTC+08:00):
| Chicago | Beijing |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | 22:00 |
| 09:00 | 23:00 |
| 12:00 | 02:00 |
| 14:00 | 04:00 |
| 17:00 | 07:00 |
| 20:00 | 10:00 |
In July, add 1 hour to each Beijing time. For the reverse direction, see Beijing to Chicago time.
Chicago and Beijing at a glance
| Fact | Chicago | Beijing |
|---|---|---|
| Country | United States | China |
| Region | Americas | Asia |
| IANA time zone | America/Chicago |
Asia/Shanghai |
| Standard offset | UTC−06:00 | UTC+08:00 |
| Daylight saving offset | UTC−05:00 | — does not observe |
| Offset in January 2026 | UTC−06:00 | UTC+08:00 |
| Offset in July 2026 | UTC−05:00 | UTC+08:00 |
| Observes daylight saving | Yes | No |
The table is the whole pair in one place. The two numbers that matter most are the January and July offsets: if they are the same in both columns for a city, that city's offset never changes; if they differ, the city observes daylight saving and the difference between the cities moves with it. The individual city pages — time in Chicago and time in Beijing — explain each city's time zone, and the DST pages — Chicago DST 2026 and Beijing DST 2026 — give the exact change dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is the time difference between Chicago and Beijing?
Beijing is 14 hours ahead Chicago right now. In January the difference is 14 hours ahead and in July it is 13 hours ahead — it changes with daylight saving.
How do I schedule a recurring meeting between Chicago and Beijing?
Pick a time inside the overlap — 09:00–17:00 Chicago time — and set the calendar event in UTC so it moves correctly when the clocks change. Re-check the overlap in March and October, when the difference moves, and rotate the time if the meeting falls outside someone's working day.
What time is it in Beijing when it is 09:00 in Chicago?
It is 23:00 in January and 22:00 in July. The time zone converter gives the answer for any date.
What is the best time for a meeting between Chicago and Beijing?
The best windows in January are 09:00–17:00 Chicago time — inside both working days.
Does the time difference between Chicago and Beijing change during the year?
Yes. It changes on Sunday, 8 March 2026 and Sunday, 1 November 2026 in 2026, when one city changes its clocks and the other does not.
What time is it in Chicago when it is 09:00 in Beijing?
It is 19:00 in January and 20:00 in July. See Beijing to Chicago time for the full comparison from Beijing's side.
What are the time zones of Chicago and Beijing?
Chicago is in America/Chicago (UTC−06:00 standard time) and Beijing is in Asia/Shanghai (UTC+08:00 standard time).
What time is it in Chicago when it is midnight in Beijing?
It is 10:00 in Chicago in January and 11:00 in July — the same day, because Chicago is ahead of Beijing. Midnight conversions are the ones that most often land on the wrong date, so always check the date as well as the time.
Sources
- IANA Time Zone Database, via Node.js Intl (
Intl.DateTimeFormatwithtimeZone) — offsets, daylight saving dates and local times in this article were worked out from the IANA database, not typed from memory. - TimeFlow's own time-zone data (
data/cities.ts,data/dst.ts), computed from the IANA database. - TimeFlow's time zone converter and meeting planner — the live tools behind the numbers on this page.
- Time-zone and daylight saving rules are set by governments and can change. For flights, deadlines and meetings that cannot move, confirm the time with an official source.