What is the standardized official language of China, commonly called Putonghua?

Standard Chinese is the standardized official language of China, commonly called Putonghua.

It is based mainly on the pronunciation of Beijing Mandarin and uses modern Mandarin grammar as its national standard. The name Putonghua means “common speech” in mainland China; Taiwan commonly uses the name Guoyu, while Singapore and Malaysia often use Mandarin.

Standard Chinese is promoted through education, broadcasting, government, and public life. It is written using Chinese characters, with simplified characters standard in mainland China and traditional characters used in several other regions.

A common mix-up is treating Mandarin and Standard Chinese as exact synonyms. Mandarin is a broad group of Chinese varieties, while Standard Chinese is the codified national standard selected from that group. Cantonese, Shanghainese, and Hokkien are different Chinese varieties, not alternative names for the national standard.