a person with Chinese nationality. The Chinese expression Zhongguo ren (中國人 or 中国人) literally means "Chinese person" but usually refers to a person of Chinese nationality. This would include someone from the People's Republic of China. Whether or not a person from the Republic of China on Taiwan has Chinese citizenship is a controversial topic;
a person of Chinese descent (Hua ren (華人 or 华人): a descendant of Zhongguo ren, including people of any nationality (e.g., Chinese Americans). This not only refers to ethnic Han but also to any descendant of China's minorities (Zhonghua minzu). See overseas Chinese.
When used by non-Chinese, the term has also been used synonymously with the Han Chinese, which is the majority ethnicity (>92%) within China. Some Chinese reject this usage, and conflicts over this particular usage tend to come up in discussions about ethnic minorities.
