Pension plan (Details Narrative) ¥ 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 (¥)
Aggregate contributions to pension plans and retirement benefit schemes \| $	$ 278		$ 281		$ 314
ZHEJIANG TIANLAN
Aggregate contributions to pension plans and retirement benefit schemes \| ¥		¥ 4,692		¥ 4,298		¥ 3,905

Amount of cash outflow for pension benefit. Includes, but is not limited to, employer contribution to fund plan asset and payment to retiree. Excludes other postretirement benefit.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 25
-Subparagraph (g)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=118932676&loc=d3e3536-108585

Name:	us-gaap_PensionContributions
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration