Abstract: Rapid intensification (RI) of offshore tropical cyclones (TCs) poses unexpected destructive threats, attracting significant research and operational interest. The mainstream criteria for identifying RI of TCs fall into two categories: the change in the minimum central pressure of the TC and the change in the maximum wind speed. This study utilizes the TC best-track dataset compiled by the Shanghai Typhoon Institute of China Meteorological Administration (STI/CMA), using the 12h changes in minimum central pressure and maximum wind speed as discriminant criteria to identify RITCs over the offshore areas of China from 1980 to 2019. The results of this identification are then compared and analyzed. Results indicate that (1) The number of RITCs identified by the two criteria shows little difference, but the overlap rate of individual RITCs is not high. The difference is greatest in the 2000s and smallest in the 2010s. (2) The criterion based on the 12h maximum wind speed change exhibits higher sensitivity to variations in the time span of the statistical data, with greater fluctuations in the corresponding RI thresholds. (3) The largest discrepancies in the RI samples identified by the two criteria appear annually in the 1980s, monthly in September, and diurnally at 06 UTC(Universal Time Coordinated，UTC). (4) Regionally, the 12h maximum wind speed change criterion is more sensitive in the offshore areas north of Taiwan, south of the East China Sea, and west of Guangxi, whereas the 12h minimum central pressure change criterion is more sensitive in the offshore areas east of Guangxi. Our conclusions could provide valuable insights for identifying samples and cases of RITCs in China's offshore areas.