AI Tools in China: Which Ones Work for Visitors

Which AI can I use in China?

Without a VPN, you can use Chinese AI apps such as DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi and Doubao, and DeepL some of the time. Western chatbots are blocked on Chinese mobile data and Wi-Fi. GreatFire, which tests websites from mainland China, answers “No” to whether the ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity websites open there, and “Sometimes” for Claude’s.

• Without a VPN: DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi and Doubao, though Doubao doesn’t take US, UK or Australian phone numbers. DeepL some of the time.
• With a roaming eSIM or a VPN: ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Perplexity. For ChatGPT, pick a route that comes out in a country OpenAI supports. Hong Kong isn’t one.
• Not allowed from China: Claude. Anthropic’s policy covers anyone physically in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, whatever the connection.

Western AI tools in China

All six Western AI tools in the table below are blocked or unreliable on Chinese networks, and OpenAI, Anthropic and Microsoft don’t offer theirs in mainland China.

AI tool	On Chinese networks	Offered in mainland China?	Our guide
ChatGPT	Blocked	No. OpenAI doesn’t support mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau	ChatGPT in China
Claude	Blocked	No. Anthropic leaves out mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, including for people visiting	Claude in China
Google Gemini	Blocked	Only to Workspace accounts, for the Gemini web app	Gemini in China
Microsoft Copilot	Blocked	No. Microsoft excludes China, but not Hong Kong	Copilot in China
Perplexity	Blocked	No country list. Its terms don’t mention China	Perplexity in China
DeepL	Unreliable	The free version is, and the app is in Apple’s China App Store. Paid plans aren’t sold in mainland China	DeepL in China

GreatFire answers “No” to whether chatgpt.com, gemini.google.com, copilot.microsoft.com and perplexity.ai open from mainland China. It answers “Sometimes” for claude.ai and deepl.com, and “Yes” for www.deepl.com. Its latest checks were on October 18 or 19, 2026, except for DeepL’s www address, last checked on October 4. Our Claude page explains why we list Claude as blocked, and our Copilot page also covers GitHub Copilot.

The firewall and each company’s own limits

Two separate things decide whether an AI tool works for you in China: China’s firewall, and the company’s own choice of where to offer it. A tool can be stopped by one or by both. ChatGPT in China is stopped by both: the firewall blocks it on Chinese networks, and OpenAI doesn’t support mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau.

The firewall works on Chinese networks. China’s rules for generative AI services, in force since August 15, 2023, apply to services that generate text, images, audio or video for the public in China. When such a service comes from outside China and doesn’t comply with Chinese law and the rules, the national cyberspace authority “shall notify the relevant agencies to take technical measures and other necessary measures” (our translation). The rules don’t name any company. The AP reported in 2024 that ChatGPT is technically unavailable in China because of the firewall, and that determined people get access through commonly available VPNs.

Company limits are each company’s choice, and getting past the firewall doesn’t lift them:

• OpenAI leaves mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau off its list of countries where it supports ChatGPT, on the web and on mobile. Taiwan is on the list. OpenAI warns that accessing ChatGPT from an unsupported country may get your account blocked or suspended, and the AP reported that it planned additional measures to block connections from unsupported regions from July 9, 2024.
• Anthropic says its products are available only in the places on its list, which leaves out mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. It counts use by anyone physically in an unsupported region as unsupported, including staff of companies in supported countries. Its Usage Policy lists access that breaks this policy under “Do Not Abuse Our Platform”.
• Microsoft says Copilot is available in over 170 markets, with exceptions for “regions like China (excluding Hong Kong SAR) and embargoed markets”. The page covers personal and work accounts and the free Copilot Chat.
• Google lists mainland China for the Gemini web app as “Workspace only”. It lists Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan with no note.
• Perplexity has no list of countries that we could find. Its terms, last updated January 23, 2026, bar exporting the service to U.S.-embargoed countries and don’t mention China.
• DeepL sells its paid plans in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, but not in mainland China. Its free app, DeepL 翻译 (DeepL Translate), is in Apple’s China App Store.

With a roaming eSIM or VPN

A roaming eSIM or a VPN can take your connection past China’s firewall, but each company’s own limits still apply. UNSW cybersecurity expert Salil Kanhere told the Bega District News in July 2026 that roaming data is in many cases routed through your home carrier or an overseas gateway. He said certain travel eSIMs route traffic through offshore gateways such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Australia, while a local Chinese SIM or a China-specific eSIM typically remains subject to local filtering. The paper adds that blocked apps stay blocked on hotel and café Wi-Fi.

Where your connection comes out decides which tools then work:

• ChatGPT: pick a route that comes out in a country OpenAI supports, such as Singapore or Japan. Hong Kong isn’t on OpenAI’s list.
• Claude: Anthropic doesn’t allow use while you’re physically in mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, whatever the route. Our Claude page covers reports of suspended accounts.
• Microsoft Copilot and Gemini: Hong Kong isn’t excluded. Microsoft’s exception is for China excluding Hong Kong SAR, and Google lists Hong Kong for the Gemini web app.
• Perplexity: it doesn’t recommend a VPN. It says one may trigger frequent security checks by Cloudflare and could make its mobile app unusable.

Compare plans on our eSIM page, and read eSIM or VPN for China?, VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China and Is a VPN legal in China?.

What AI do they use in China?

People in China use Chinese AI apps, and the most popular are ByteDance’s Doubao, Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek. TechNode reported in July 2026 that QuestMobile’s report on the first half of 2026 put the three in the top tier of China’s AI-native apps, with 382 million, 167 million and 130 million monthly active users.

NPR described the field in March 2026:

• Doubao: ByteDance’s chatbot, China’s most popular. NPR says it’s built into Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
• Qwen: Alibaba’s chatbot. NPR says ordering a milk tea through it is almost as simple as asking for one, and that it can pay with one tap if you use Alipay.
• Yuanbao: Tencent’s chatbot, folded into WeChat and connected to WeChat Pay.
• DeepSeek and Kimi: NPR names DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, which makes Kimi, among China’s prominent AI startups.
• ERNIE Bot: Baidu’s chatbot. SCMP reported in 2024 that Baidu renamed it Wenxiaoyan in Chinese. Apple’s China App Store now lists Baidu’s AI assistant app as Wenxin (文心), and yiyan.baidu.com opens Baidu’s Wenxin assistant.

Chinese AI apps have to follow China’s content rules. The AP reported in 2024 that Chinese AI models must abide by China’s censorship rules. The generative AI rules say services must uphold “core socialist values” and must not generate content the law prohibits, such as content that incites subversion of state power or harms the national image (our translation).

AI apps that work in China without a VPN

DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi and Doubao work on Chinese networks without a VPN. GreatFire answers “Yes” to whether their sites open from mainland China:

• DeepSeek: chat.deepseek.com, last checked on September 2, 2026.
• Qwen: www.qianwen.com, last checked on September 23, 2026.
• Kimi: www.kimi.com and www.kimi.ai, last checked on July 13 and August 25, 2026.
• Doubao: www.doubao.com, last checked on June 7, 2026. GreatFire hasn’t checked it since.

GreatFire hasn’t tested Yuanbao’s site, yuanbao.tencent.com, or Baidu’s yiyan.baidu.com. Both apps are in Apple’s China App Store.

We couldn’t confirm whether these apps work for visitors on a roaming eSIM or a VPN that takes their connection out of China.

Signing up with a foreign phone number

DeepSeek, Kimi and Qwen accept an email address, a Google account or a foreign phone number. Doubao takes phone numbers only from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and Yuanbao only from mainland China and Hong Kong. ERNIE Bot needs a Baidu account, and Baidu’s help center describes few ways to register one without a mainland China number. We checked these sign-in pages from Australia on October 20, 2026. DeepSeek’s page says its options depend on your region, so you may see different ones. We didn’t create accounts, so we couldn’t confirm that verification codes reach foreign numbers.

App	Made by	Without a Chinese number	Apple’s US, UK and Australian App Stores
DeepSeek	DeepSeek	Email, or sign in with Google or Apple	US and Australia. In the UK, DeepSeek’s company lists an app called DSeek
Kimi	Moonshot AI	At kimi.ai: Google, or a phone number from a list that includes the US, UK and Australia	All three
Qwen	Alibaba	Google, or a phone number from a list that includes the US, UK, Canada and Australia	None
Doubao	ByteDance	Not with a foreign number: only mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, or a Douyin or Feishu account	None
Yuanbao	Tencent	Not with a foreign number: only mainland China and Hong Kong. WeChat and QQ login are also offered	None
ERNIE Bot (Wenxin)	Baidu	Limited. Baidu accounts register only by phone	All three

Apple’s App Store has all six apps in China.

• DeepSeek. Its sign-up page said: “Only email registration is supported in your region.” Its login page also offered Google and Apple sign-in.
• Kimi. Moonshot AI runs two sites. Its mainland China site, kimi.com, offered WeChat QR login or a +86 number. It told users outside mainland China to log in at Kimi.ai “with your Google account or a non-+86 phone number”. Kimi.ai offered Google or a phone number, and its list of country codes doesn’t include mainland China.
• Qwen. Qwen’s site, qianwen.com, offered Google, a phone number, or a QR code to scan with the Qwen app. Opened from Australia, the phone field picked Australia’s +61 code.
• Doubao. Opened from Australia, doubao.com said Doubao was “restricted by region”, asked visitors to log in first and suggested Dola instead (our translation). Its phone sign-in listed only mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and it also offered sign-in with a Douyin or Feishu account.
• Yuanbao. Its site offered WeChat, QQ or a phone number, and the phone list had only mainland China and Hong Kong. We couldn’t confirm whether a WeChat account registered with a foreign number can log in.
• ERNIE Bot. Baidu’s Wenxin assistant asks you to log in with a Baidu account. Baidu’s help center says Baidu accounts can be registered only with a phone number, and not with WeChat. One answer says only mainland China numbers work. Another says overseas numbers work only through four Baidu products, such as the Xiaodu smart speaker app, and that numbers from EU countries can’t be used.

Before you fly

1. Sign up at home. UNSW’s Salil Kanhere recommends installing and configuring Chinese apps before you leave, testing logins and confirming that SMS verification works.
2. Check the developer before you install. Apple lists DeepSeek’s app under Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, Kimi’s under Beijing Moonshot Technology, Yuanbao’s under Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) and Wenxin’s under Beijing Baidu Netcom Science & Technology. A search for Yuanbao in the US App Store returns an app from another developer.
3. Set up a roaming eSIM or a VPN for Western tools. Kanhere says to buy and install a travel eSIM before you arrive, because provider websites are likely blocked once you’re inside China.

Related guides

• Apps to download before going to China
• eSIM or VPN for China?
• VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China
• Authenticator apps and SMS codes in China
• Google Translate in China
• Cursor in China
• Hugging Face in China