Corporate VPN in China: Does Your Work VPN Work?

Does a company VPN work in China?

A corporate VPN in China can work, but whether it does depends on how your employer set it up. Microsoft says China’s links to the global internet are congested, which causes packet loss and delays for all traffic in and out of the country. Fortinet warns that users in mainland China who connect to its cloud security service abroad may get delays, filtering or throttling.

The University of Minnesota says its VPN may make email and university websites easier to reach from China, but that reliability varies with the local connection. Wake Forest University’s business school says it can’t guarantee VPN connections there.

What helps, according to Microsoft and the vendors below, is a connection built for China: a private cross-border line, or a vendor service hosted in China or run with Chinese partners. Microsoft says many companies with users in China run private networks between their China offices and locations abroad.

For the rules that apply to you as a traveler, see is using a VPN legal in China.

Business VPN rules in China

A company that needs a cross-border connection for its own office use can lease one from a Chinese telecom operator with a licensed international gateway. That is how China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) explained its rules in January 2017.

• The rule. MIIT’s notice No. 32, dated January 17, 2017, says that without approval from the telecom authorities, no one may set up or lease dedicated lines, including VPNs, or other channels to carry out cross-border business activities. International lines that telecom operators lease to users are for the users’ internal office use only (translated from Chinese). The notice ran a cleanup campaign until March 31, 2018.
• Who it targets. In a Q&A published on January 26, 2017, MIIT said the rule is aimed at companies and individuals without an international telecom license that use leased lines or VPNs to run cross-border telecom businesses. Foreign trade companies and multinationals that need cross-border connections for their own office use can lease them from operators with licensed international gateways. MIIT said the rule would not affect their normal operations.
• How lawyers read it. Writing in March 2021, lawyers at AllBright Law Offices said that only VPN services from licensed basic telecom operators are legal in China, and that such a line can only be used inside the company. They added that even a VPN for internal use must be filed with MIIT.
• In 2026. Zscaler’s China compliance FAQ, updated June 18, 2026, says such cross-border links are provided only by China’s three main telecom companies: China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.

For you, this means your employer decides. Ask IT whether the company VPN runs over a licensed line or a vendor’s China service.

Does Palo Alto GlobalProtect work in China?

GlobalProtect is supported in mainland China through Prisma Access China, Palo Alto’s China version of its cloud security service, if your company has it.

• Palo Alto says its Prisma Access instances in China are hosted in China and follow local regulations. Its mainland China locations are Beijing and Ningxia.
• Prisma Access China is a separate deployment. Companies need China-specific licenses and must set it up as a new environment. Palo Alto doesn’t support moving an existing Prisma Access deployment into China.
• Prisma Access China’s GlobalProtect portal addresses end in prismaaccess.cn.
• To reach apps and websites outside China, Palo Alto describes sending traffic over a cross-border line, such as an MPLS line.

We found no Palo Alto documentation on how GlobalProtect performs from China when it connects to a company firewall outside China, so that is not confirmed.

Does Cisco AnyConnect (Secure Client) work in China?

Cisco Secure Client, the app formerly called AnyConnect, connects users in China through Cisco Secure Access China, if your company has it.

• Cisco says that because of restrictions on offering cloud services in China, it partners with Digital China Cloud, which operates the service. Companies buy it through Digital China Cloud and its resellers in China.
• Users in China connect with Cisco Secure Client. If a company sets up both Cisco’s global service and the China service, Cisco says users traveling into China automatically use the China service, with policies that can comply with Chinese rules.
• Reports, alerts and logs are stored inside China by default.

We found no Cisco documentation on Secure Client connections from China to a company VPN gateway outside China, so that is not confirmed.

Does Zscaler work in China?

Zscaler sells China services for users in mainland China. Your company has to buy them, and Zscaler has to set them up.

• China Premium Access runs on the networks of Zscaler’s Chinese technology partners. Zscaler says this traffic still passes through the Great Firewall, and that its partners have registered the service’s IP addresses under China’s ICP registration scheme.
• China Premium Access Plus uses a dedicated cross-border private link, which Zscaler’s partner registers with Chinese government agencies through China Telecom, China Unicom and China Mobile.
• Both use data centers in Beijing and Shanghai. Zscaler’s setup notes cover remote users as well as offices.

Zscaler says MIIT accepts VPNs for cross-border business connections, but that each customer is responsible for complying with Chinese law.

Does FortiClient work in China?

We found no Fortinet statement that FortiClient works from mainland China. Fortinet’s only China note we found is a warning for FortiSASE, its cloud security service, which remote users connect to with the FortiClient app.

• Fortinet says users in mainland China who connect to a FortiSASE location outside the country may get slower, less direct routes. It says this is largely due to the rules that control traffic in and out of mainland China, which can cause delays, filtering or throttling.
• FortiSASE’s list of locations includes Hong Kong and Taipei, but none in mainland China.

For FortiClient connecting to a company’s own Fortinet firewall, we found no China guidance from Fortinet, so that is not confirmed.

Does Citrix Workspace work in China?

Not confirmed: we found no Citrix documentation about using Citrix Workspace from mainland China. Citrix’s list of points of presence for its Gateway service includes Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore, but no location in mainland China. If your company runs its own Citrix gateway, ask IT how it is set up for China.

What to ask your IT team before you fly

Your IT team decides how the VPN works in China, so ask before you go.

1. Can I use the company VPN in mainland China? Not every employer offers it. The University of Auckland says its VPN “is not available to staff in China”.
2. Is there a separate setup for China? Wake Forest University’s business school runs a separate VPN for travelers to countries with internet restrictions, China included. It asks for requests at least two weeks before the trip, to leave time for setup and testing. Services can also end: the University of Alberta said in spring 2024 that its China Cloud Network Service had been discontinued.
3. Does our VPN use a licensed cross-border line or a vendor’s China service? These are the setups that MIIT’s rules and the vendors above describe.
4. Which apps should go through the VPN? Microsoft advises companies with users in China to send Microsoft 365 traffic through the company VPN, so it crosses the border on the company’s private link.
5. Can I set everything up before I leave? The University of Minnesota tells travelers to install and set up the VPN on their laptop and phone before they leave, because it may not be possible to download it in China. It also points travelers to its advice on using Duo in China.
6. Who do I contact if it stops working? Get a chat or email contact for your help desk. The University of Minnesota, for example, offers help by chat and email to travelers in China.

If your work VPN won’t connect

• Tell IT. Microsoft says users in China should report problems to their IT department. Not every problem is caused by the border.
• Use desktop apps. For users in China without VPN access, Microsoft recommends apps that cache data, such as Outlook, Teams and OneDrive, over web versions. If your company has Teams Audio Conferencing, you can join meetings by phone. See Microsoft Teams in China and Outlook in China.
• A roaming eSIM. Some travel eSIMs send your data out of mainland China. Airalo says its China eSIMs route traffic through gateways outside the mainland. See do I need a VPN in China if I have an eSIM.
• A personal VPN. Our VPN guides for China cover consumer VPNs. Ask IT before you install one on a work device. For hotel connections, see VPN for hotel Wi-Fi in China.

This guide is not legal advice. Rules and enforcement in China can change without notice.