Going online in China

A website hosted on a server in mainland China must have an ICP filing (ICP Bei'an) before it goes live, and the filing is made in the name of a company registered in China. Some business models, such as platforms that take payments from third parties, may also need an ICP commercial licence; your legal adviser should confirm this for your case. We prepare the technical material for the filing and explain each step.

There are a few common routes: host the site outside the mainland (for example in Hong Kong) and accept slower loading in China, work through a Chinese partner or distributor's entity, or set up your own entity first. Each affects the website, WeChat accounts and payments differently. We explain the options for your situation before anything is built.

Global sites often depend on Google Fonts, Google Maps, Google Analytics, reCAPTCHA or overseas CDNs, which are blocked or slow in China. Pages then load slowly or partly break. A Chinese site hosted in China and built without those services loads quickly and is easier for Baidu to index.

WeChat accounts are registered to a verified entity. Overseas companies can register in some cases, but features such as WeChat Pay and some service categories need a Chinese entity. Accounts also need to be verified again every year. We check what applies to your company before the build starts.

Payments are made through a merchant account. A Chinese entity can apply for a domestic merchant account; overseas companies can use the cross-border options both platforms offer. We integrate the payment into your website or Mini Program and help you prepare the application.

Google Play isn't available in China. Android apps are published through the stores run by Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Tencent and others, each with its own review. Stores check privacy policies and permission requests closely and often ask for a software copyright certificate. Apps also need to replace Google sign-in, maps and push services.

The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) covers how you collect, store and use personal data of people in China, and sets rules for transferring it abroad. We design storage and data flows with this in mind, for example keeping customer data on servers in China. The legal assessment stays with your counsel.

It depends on your customers, but most consumer brands start with WeChat, Douyin and Xiaohongshu, then add Weibo, Zhihu, Bilibili or Baidu. Official accounts are verified as a company; most platforms verify Chinese entities, and some offer routes for overseas companies. We check this per platform, register the accounts in your company's name and can run them for you.

More and more Chinese buyers ask AI assistants which brand to choose instead of searching. The assistants they use are Chinese ones such as DeepSeek, Doubao, ERNIE Bot, Kimi and Yuanbao. If there is little accurate Chinese material about your brand, they leave you out or get your details wrong.

It depends on what you need and on platform reviews that we don't control, such as the ICP filing and WeChat or app store review. After the introductory call we give you a plan with a timeline for each step.

You do. Domains, servers, WeChat and merchant accounts are registered to your company, and source code and documentation are handed over once the project is paid.