CMHK International Call Rates: IDD 001, 1597 & Prepaid (2026)

Updated October 2026 · Written by Harry Cheng, founder of china-mobile-phones.com (est. 2003). Rates copied from CMHK’s pages on 25 October 2026.

These are China Mobile Hong Kong (CMHK) rates for calls made from Hong Kong. A number on mainland China’s China Mobile network has its own rates.

• IDD 001: worldwide, register on 12580 or at a CMHK shop, deposit required
• IDD 1597: 23 destinations, no further registration or deposit
• Mainland China: HK$1.98 (Shenzhen and Shekou), HK$2.28 (Guangdong), HK$2.98 (rest of China) per minute
• Charging: per minute, from when the call is answered; local airtime is extra
• Roaming in mainland China: HK$6 per minute for calls to Hong Kong and incoming calls on CMHK’s prepaid card tariff, from 12 September 2025
• Prepaid SIM cards: IDD 001 rates don’t apply; calls to mainland China are HK$0.25 per minute (see the prepaid table)

Calling China from Hong Kong on CMHK

Calls from Hong Kong to mainland China depend on your SIM type. Rates are per minute, plus local airtime, and were checked against CMHK’s pages on 25 October 2026. Dial the country code 86 and the area code without its leading 0; see the China area code guide.

Popular destinations: all three CMHK options

This table puts the three options side by side for popular destinations, in Hong Kong dollars per minute. The prepaid column is CMHK’s single prepaid rate for each country.

CMHK IDD 1597 vs IDD 001 rates per minute

Rates are in Hong Kong dollars per minute, charged in one-minute steps, and don’t include local airtime charges. Where a destination is on both services, IDD 1597 is usually the same or cheaper, with Japan fixed-line as an exception.

Destinations on IDD 001 only (selected)

CMHK’s IDD 001 page has the full country list, which includes destinations with voice prompts and much higher rates. Calls to some UK and Australian number ranges are charged at higher rates, so check the prefix notes on CMHK’s page before calling.

How to register and dial

IDD 001: register by calling 12580 or visiting a CMHK shop. A deposit is required. Once it’s active, dial 001 or +, then the country code, area code and number, including when you’re roaming abroad.

IDD 1597: no further registration or deposit is needed, and it is already activated for all CMHK service plan subscribers. Dial 1597 before the country code. CMHK’s page explains how to switch it off and on from your phone. For destinations outside the 23 on IDD 1597, use IDD 001.

CMHK prepaid SIM international call rates

The IDD 001 and IDD 1597 tables above are not a prepaid price list. CMHK’s IDD 001 page says its rates don’t apply to CMHK prepaid SIM cards, and CMHK describes IDD 1597 as activated for service plan subscribers. Prepaid cards have their own tariff, copied below from CMHK’s prepaid IDD tariff page. To mainland China the prepaid rate is HK$0.25 per minute, against HK$1.98 to HK$2.98 on the service plan tables above, and both are plus local airtime.

• Charging: IDD calls are charged per minute, and a call shorter than a minute is rounded up to a full minute. A local airtime charge per minute is added to the IDD charge.
• Registration: you can make IDD calls straight away with your card. Prepaid SIM cards bought on or after 1 March 2022 must be real-name registered before they can be activated.
• Answered calls: IDD and roaming charges apply once the call is answered, even if an automatic system answers it.
• Not available: IDD calls to Spain have been suspended since 7 April 2022, and calls to designated regions since 6 November 2020, so Spain isn’t listed.
• Other destinations: call CMHK’s 24-hour Customer Care Hotline. Rates can change without notice.

CMHK’s page lists country code 47 under the name “New Zealand”. Code 47 belongs to Norway, so it is shown as Norway here. Check CMHK’s prepaid IDD tariff page for the current rate.

IDD 1597 package and call forwarding

CMHK’s IDD 1597 Special Package gives you 20 minutes of IDD 1597 calls each month for HK$10 a month. It covers Mainland China, Taiwan, Macau, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. Unused minutes don’t carry over, extra minutes are charged at the standard IDD 1597 rate, and for the UK and Australia it applies to fixed-line numbers only. Call 12580 to apply.

CMHK’s International Call Forward service for prepaid SIM cards charges these rates per minute for forwarding calls to another country. Mainland China is charged per minute, and other destinations on a 6-second basis. Local airtime charges on the receiving network aren’t included.

CMHK roaming voice rates abroad

These are the roaming voice rates CMHK lists on its prepaid card roaming tariff page, in Hong Kong dollars per minute. The first charge unit of each roaming call is 30 seconds, then 6 seconds. If you make IDD calls to other countries while roaming, the charge depends on the country you are in and the destination you call. Rates for other plans can differ and all rates can change, so confirm yours with CMHK before you travel. To check your voicemail while roaming, see the CMHK voicemail and call forwarding guide.

Roaming VoLTE voice tariff

CMHK’s tariff for mainland China changed on 12 September 2025, from HK$1.90 to HK$6 for calls to Hong Kong and incoming calls, and to HK$8 for local calls. Calls to other zones stay at HK$25.

Direct dial roaming

*130* roaming tariff

With *130* roaming, charges apply once you receive the call from CMHK’s system, even if the called line is busy or nobody answers. The Asia zone doesn’t include South Korea and India, the Europe zone doesn’t include Russia and Ukraine, and the Africa zone doesn’t include Madagascar. The Mongolia rate doesn’t apply to calls from mainland China with the 179 prefix or calls to designated regions.

Cheaper ways to call from Hong Kong

If you call overseas often, compare per-minute IDD charges with other options. Calling over an app such as WhatsApp uses data instead of per-minute charges. You can also look at my Call China page, the China calling card and the low international call service. If you need a Hong Kong number, see the Hong Kong number service, and for dialing codes see the Hong Kong country code and dialing guide and Top up a CMHK prepaid SIM. Visiting Hong Kong and need data? See the Hong Kong SIM card and eSIM options. Using Your Mainland China Mobile Number in Hong Kong ? See the roaming rates in Hong Kong.

CMHK international call FAQ

中国移动香港国际长途资费

中国移动香港有两种常用的国际长途服务：IDD 001 覆盖全球，需要登记并缴付按金；IDD 1597 提供 23 个目的地的优惠价，无需另行登记。拨打中国内地每分钟资费：深圳和蛇口 HK$1.98，广东其他地区 HK$2.28，其他地区 HK$2.98，另加本地通话费。使用中国移动香港预付卡拨打中国内地，每分钟 HK$0.25，另加本地通话费，其他目的地请查看上方的预付卡资费表。

Стоимость звонка из Гонконга в материковый Китай: HK$0,25 в минуту на предоплаченной SIM-карте CMHK и от HK$1,98 до HK$2,98 в минуту на тарифных планах (IDD 001 или IDD 1597), плюс плата за местное эфирное время.

How this page was put together: The IDD 001, IDD 1597, call forwarding and roaming rates were copied from CMHK’s own tariff pages on 25 October 2026. CMHK can change rates without notice, so check the official pages before you call. The prepaid IDD rates were copied from CMHK’s prepaid IDD tariff page on the same date.

Sources (checked 25 October 2026): CMHK IDD 001 service and tariff · CMHK IDD services overview · CMHK prepaid IDD tariff · CMHK prepaid card roaming tariff.