Born in London, England she is the daughter of restauranteur Michael Chow and late model/designer Tina Chow. Her father is Chinese while her mother is Japanese-German. She also has a younger brother who is 2 years younger.

Before becoming an actress, China spent several years following in her mother's footsteps working as a model for Shiseido cosmetics, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein. Her modelling led to her being named one of Harper's Bazaar's "It Girls" in 1996 and appeared in the December 1996 edition of Vogue magazine's "The Next Best-Dressed List".

She made her acting debut in 1998, starring opposite Mark Wahlberg in The Big Hit. She dated Wahlberg thereafter but the two have since split.

--Wikipedia