Greater China

Greater China is a loosely defined term for a region that shares cultural and economic ties with the Chinese people. It is mostly used by international companies and organisations rather than in any official sense, and it usually points to the area covering the People's Republic of China, meaning mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, together with Taiwan, where the Republic of China governs. Some writers use it for commercial links among ethnic Chinese, others for cultural exchange, and others for the prospect of political reunification, and some extend it to overseas Chinese communities such as Singapore. The term is contested: critics in Taiwan see it as blurring distinct polities, and the Chinese government has avoided it. Firms such as Procter and Gamble and Apple use it to name regional headquarters. It is not an institution like the European Union or ASEAN and implies no sovereignty.