Previous estimates of the suicide rate for China by Phillips & Liu (1996) & He (1997) have varied widely. This brief report extrapolates 1994 data from the World Health Organization on urban & rural suicide rates to the whole of China based on its urban/rural & male/female population estimates. The present authors estimate the total Chinese suicide rate to be 16.0 (14.4 for men & 17.8 for women). For previous years, using the same technique, the rate is estimated to have been 13.9 in 1990, 17.1 in 1988, & 17.6, in 1987. The estimated suicide rate of 29.0/100,000 reported by Phillips & Liu appears to be an overestimate. (2 refs)