Files
(00) Summary of ‘Being Seen in China’ articles - v4.2
In many ways, Chinese trade is no different from that of any other country or region. Chinese businesses and consumers will always look for your business's internet presence. Your business's website is key to being seen in China, as international internet business platforms like LinkedIn (since 2023) and social media sites like Facebook and YouTube are all blocked.
Filesize: 212 kB
(01) Can your business website be seen in China? v4.4
Only 25% of foreign internet websites can be accessed in China; 20% take more than 20 seconds to open, and 55% cannot be accessed.
Filesize: 481 kB
(02) Structure of the Internet in China V4.2
Major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecom companies dominate China's internet infrastructure. Here’s an overview of the key players and structure.
Filesize: 725 kB
(03) How do Name Servers (NS) and DNS operate in China
The Chinese internet runs considerably faster than most other parts of the world. 4G and 5G networks are available nationally, and internet access is widely available.
China’s national network is built for efficiency and must support over 1.2 billion users.
Chinese name services have been designed and built as a national service. This is critical to a fast national internet service.
DNS lookups for domain names purchased in China can respond within a few milliseconds (ms).
Filesize: 685 kB
(04) Domain name for the Chinese market v5.2
A China-facing domain needs to be memorable, meaningful to Chinese users, and fast to resolve from inside China.
Using Chinese national name servers (NS/DNS) can eliminate “domain not found” errors caused by slow overseas DNS lookups.
Filesize: 750 kB
(05) Top-Level Domains (TLDs) for the Chinese market v6.0
Choosing the right domain strategy for China is less about “getting a .cn” and more about ownership rules, search expectations, and performance.
A domain registered in China can enable Chinese name services (NS/DNS) and improve reliability — without needing to use a Chinese ccTLD.
Filesize: 678 kB
(06) Great Chinese Firewall v4.1
China’s internet content rules are overseen by CNNIC and applied through ICP-style compliance for content published inside China.
In practice, most business sites aren’t “blocked”, but performance and third‑party dependencies (primarily Google and overseas social platforms) can make a website appear unavailable.
Filesize: 590 kB
(07) Geo DNS and CDN services v4.1
Geo DNS stands for Geographical Domain Name System. It is a DNS-based service that routes users to different servers or IP addresses based on their geographical location. Geo DNS helps optimise website performance, improve load times, and distribute traffic by directing users to the nearest or most appropriate server. It is often used with CDNs for global content delivery.
Filesize: 770 kB
(08) Chinese use of QR codes v4.0
In China, QR codes are a default way to share websites, contacts, WeChat accounts, and make payments — reducing language and typing barriers.
They also enable tracking (different URLs for different channels), but they must be designed and tested carefully — and protected against QR code scams.
Filesize: 901 kB
(09) Chinese website look and feel v4.0
Chinese companies and consumers want overseas websites that look and feel like websites in their home country — not a “Chinese-looking” site that raises authenticity questions.
The priority is accessibility + trust: your pages must open reliably in China and display cleanly on mobile and tablets (often inside the WeChat browser).
Filesize: 1.08 MB
(10) Translate your business website? v4.1
We recommend against translating your website into Chinese in its entirety.
Chinese users can and do translate foreign-language websites themselves using browser and mobile tools.
Filesize: 796 kB
(11) Automatic translation into Chinese v4.2
Automatic translation has improved significantly with AI, but it still introduces risks for trust, accuracy, and brand perception when used directly on websites.
For Chinese users, the safest approach is to let readers control translation themselves, while you optimise your original content to translate cleanly.
Filesize: 792 kB
(12) Chinese multimedia v4.2
In China, multimedia is not “nice to have” — it is the default way people consume information. Short video, live streaming, and micro‑dramas have become mainstream formats for marketing, education, and e‑commerce.
To be effective in China, your content must be mobile‑first, fast to load, and designed for platforms where video and social sharing are built in.
Filesize: 756 kB
(14) Emailing in China v4.0
Email works in China, but it behaves differently: popular overseas services may be blocked, delivery can be delayed, and end‑to‑end encrypted email is not supported on Chinese networks.
If you travel to China or operate an office there, your goal is simple: keep business email reliable, professional, and predictable — while assuming messages can be read by third parties.
Filesize: 989 kB
(15) Messaging in China v4.0
Most international messaging systems are tied to social media platforms and are not available in China.
For business, the practical default is WeChat — but enterprise messaging, niche platforms, and regulatory constraints all matter.
Filesize: 1007 kB
(16) Chinese telephones and mobiles v4.0
In China, office desk phones are increasingly rare in small and medium businesses. Mobile-first communication — often inside social media apps — is the normal way people call and message.
For overseas businesses and travellers, the key is to plan for mobile connectivity, validate contacts carefully, and understand building-level telecom arrangements when renting offices.
Filesize: 586 kB
(18) Up to date contents v4.0
Businesses now publish information across websites, platforms, video, social media, messaging, email systems, and printed collateral. The more channels you use, the harder it becomes to keep information consistent.
When you enter the Chinese market, keeping public information accurate matters even more — because some international channels are not available and Chinese partners will rely heavily on what they can access.
Filesize: 653 kB
(19) Improving Website Performance in China v4.2
This paper outlines cost-effective performance improvements that help your website or application perform better in China. Many of these recommendations also improve performance globally.
While China regulates internet content, e.g., by blocking international social media platforms, most issues with overseas websites stem from China's position on the global internet and its high-performance technical environment.
The global internet, in the main, was built by U.S. providers. China was over 10 years behind the rest of the world in its internet rollout. This has led to significant performance issues with internet connections to and from China. In most cases, internet traffic from China is routed to North America regardless of the final destination; for example, traffic from China to Europe is routed through the USA, adding 10s of seconds to a website's performance.
Filesize: 753 kB