Property, plant and equipment, net (Details 1) ¥ in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 CNY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 CNY (¥)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 CNY (¥)
Depreciation charge \| $	$ 60		$ 61		$ 55
ZHEJIANG TIANLAN
Depreciation charge \| ¥		¥ 11,775		¥ 12,647		¥ 14,144

The aggregate expense recognized in the current period that allocates the cost of tangible assets, intangible assets, or depleting assets to periods that benefit from use of the assets.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-Subparagraph (e)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=115929826&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3602-108585

Name:	us-gaap_DepreciationDepletionAndAmortization
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration