Cloudflare China — overview, services, and global differences
Cloudflare China runs on JD Cloud in Mainland China — not a global region toggle. Enterprise, a separate subscription, ICP filing, and JD content vetting apply; in-China DNS and Global Acceleration are optional for offshore origins.
Cloudflare is a special case in the China stack conversation. Teams already on Cloudflare often assume Mainland China is a configuration toggle — enable a region, point DNS, and move on. In practice there are two distinct paths: default global Cloudflare, which serves Mainland China users from the nearest overseas edge, and the Cloudflare China Network, which runs selected Cloudflare products on data centers inside Mainland China operated by Cloudflare’s official partner JD Cloud.
The second path is gated — by contract tier, by Internet Content Provider (ICP) filing, and by JD Cloud content review. This guide maps what the China Network is, how onboarding works, how DNS and Global Acceleration behave, and where foreign teams most often stall.
What the Cloudflare China Network is
Delivering content quickly and securely to users in Mainland China requires infrastructure within the country. Traffic routed through servers outside Mainland China faces significant latency and reliability issues at the network boundary — the problem Cloudflare’s global POPs improve but do not eliminate.
The Cloudflare China Network addresses this by running selected Cloudflare performance and security products on JD Cloud data centers located in Mainland China. Those data centers cover most populated regions in China. You manage configurations on the same Cloudflare dashboard you use everywhere else, with the same customer support model — including optional premium and local-language support.
Main features documented by Cloudflare include:
- A single solution for performance improvement and security services such as WAF, DDoS protection, and bot management.
- A unified dashboard for network traffic and security posture.
- In-China Authoritative DNS and in-China nameservers to reduce Time to First Byte (TTFB).
- Global Acceleration — connectivity offerings that simplify deploying global assets for Mainland China users.
Availability and prerequisites
The China Network is not included in standard Cloudflare plans. It is available as a separate subscription for customers on a Cloudflare Enterprise plan. You must sign a contract, add the China Network package to your Enterprise account, and agree to the China Service Supplemental Terms — all through your Cloudflare sales team, not as self-serve checkout.
Every apex domain you onboard must have a valid ICP filing or license. Only domains that have completed ICP filing and related compliance requirements can use the China Network. Content served inside Mainland China is monitored by local authorities and must comply with local regulations.
Cloudflare also notes that IPv6 support is mandatory for all Internet-facing services operating in Mainland China. The China Network automatically enables IPv6 on your domains to fulfill this requirement — it cannot be disabled.
Cloudflare itself, as a US company, does not hold a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) CDN license for Mainland China. JD Cloud holds the licenses required to operate and provide CDN services there.
Default global Cloudflare vs China Network
| Dimension | Default (no China Network) | Cloudflare China Network |
|---|---|---|
| Edge POPs for Mainland China users | Nearest global data centers (outside Mainland China) | JD Cloud data centers inside Mainland China |
| Plan requirement | Any plan (Pro, Business, Enterprise, etc.) | Enterprise + China Network package |
| ICP | Not required for overseas-only serving | Required for each apex domain |
| DNS resolution | Closest data center to the end user | Mainland China clients resolve via JD Cloud; optional In-China Authoritative DNS (see below) |
| Product scope | Full global Cloudflare catalog | Subset — see product availability below |
Without the China Network, Mainland China users hit the nearest overseas edge. Latency is usually better than a single far origin but worse and less predictable than a domestic POP — and it varies by region and time of day. That path works for some marketing sites and internal tools; it is not the same as legally serving filed content from in-China infrastructure.
Product availability snapshot
Not all Cloudflare products run on the China Network. The tables below summarize what Cloudflare documents as available on the JD Cloud–operated network. For sign-off, cross-check the official page and your account team — product lists evolve.
Application services
| Product / feature | China Network notes |
|---|---|
| Authoritative DNS | In-China resolution available (see DNS section) |
| CDN / Cache | Core cache features; static cache only — no Cache Reserve or Tiered Cache |
| Image Transformations | Edge format optimization |
| DDoS Protection | Layer 7 protection (HTTP flood, WordPress Pingback, HULK, LOIC, etc.) |
| Managed rules | OWASP and Cloudflare managed rulesets |
| Custom rules | Custom WAF rules; uploaded content scanning; managed challenges |
| Rate limiting rules | Expression-based rate limits |
| Content scanning | Detect and scan uploaded files for malicious signatures |
| Client-side security (Page Shield) | Track and alert on external scripts |
| Bot Management | Available; limited ML models only |
| Argo Smart Routing | Layer 7 smart routing to origin |
| Rules | Request/response adjustments and Cloudflare settings |
| Load Balancing | Performance and availability |
Developer services
| Product / feature | China Network notes |
|---|---|
| Workers | Serverless execution on Cloudflare network |
| Workers KV, R2, Assets, Images | Available with restrictions — see gaps below |
| mTLS, Rate Limiting, Secrets, Service bindings | Supported |
| Tail Workers, Version metadata, Workers for Platforms | Supported |
Network services
| Feature | China Network notes |
|---|---|
| IPv6 | Enabled by default on all data centers |
| SSL/TLS | Customer, Dedicated, Universal, Custom, ACM certificates |
| HTTP/3 (QUIC) | Supported |
| WebSockets | Supported with Workers |
Zero Trust services
Zero Trust offerings in Mainland China are covered under Global Acceleration rather than the standard China Network product list. See the Global Acceleration section below.
Documented gaps and footnotes
These limitations matter during architecture review:
- Turnstile is not available within Mainland China. China Network zones and global zones with Mainland China visitors may experience Turnstile issues.
- Pages is not available in Mainland China because the
pages.devcertificate does not reside within Mainland China. Global Pages may potentially be extended into Mainland China through Global Acceleration. - R2 buckets cannot be created within Mainland China, and custom domains are not supported within Mainland China. R2 can be extended into Mainland China through Global Acceleration.
- Origin Rules require China Network enabled on both the original zone and the target zone. Otherwise visitors receive error 1016 with HTTP 530.
- Bot Management supports only certain machine-learning models compared with global.
Onboarding sequence — three steps
Cloudflare documents onboarding in Get started. The sequence is sales-led and compliance-heavy.
| Step | Official requirement | Practical notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Contract required services | Hold a Cloudflare Enterprise plan; add the China Network package; agree to China Service Supplemental Terms | Contact your Cloudflare sales team — not self-serve in the dashboard |
| 2. Obtain ICP and vet domain content | ICP filing or license for all apex domains; present valid ICP for zones being onboarded; display ICP number in page footer; submit vetting information to JD Cloud | JD Cloud must review and approve domain content before China Network is enabled |
| 3. Onboard domains | Add domains after content vetting completes | First-time zone enablement takes approximately 24–48 hours; subsequent enable/disable is available in the dashboard |
Step 2 — what JD Cloud vetting requires
Before JD Cloud enables China Network for your domains, you typically provide:
- Customer and company name
- Domain name
- ICP license or filing number
- A general description of each domain’s content (for example, marketing website)
- A signed Self Attestation letter (provided by your sales team)
JD Cloud reviews content to ensure compliance with Mainland China Internet regulations and JD Cloud service terms. They can approve or reject any domain based on content nature. A proof-of-concept (PoC) also requires a valid ICP number and JD Cloud content vetting approval before Cloudflare will provision China Network access.
Important: Neither Cloudflare nor JD Cloud is responsible for processing ICP applications on your behalf. Cloudflare can provide referrals to ICP partners; the filing itself is your organizing entity’s obligation. See our ICP and PSB filing guide for the full sequence foreign teams follow.
Landing partner — Chinaready
Foreign companies typically need a PRC organizing entity — a subsidiary, qualifying branch, representative office where permitted, or a landing partner arrangement — to obtain ICP filing and coordinate with Cloudflare sales and JD Cloud vetting. The three official onboarding steps assume you already have, or are building, that China-side structure.
A China landing partner is not a workaround for filing. It is an operating model for foreign companies that need a Mainland China organizing-entity path aligned with hosting choice, provider-console filing managed with correct scope and documents, domain and DNS that match what MIIT approved, and a single coordination point between the product team and compliance steps. That is the role Chinaready is built for.
| Official step | How Chinaready supports foreign teams |
|---|---|
| 1. Contract | Align the PRC entity with Cloudflare Enterprise and China Network contracting; coordinate with your sales conversations — Chinaready is not a Cloudflare or JD Cloud reseller |
| 2. ICP + vetting | Parallel-track ICP filing for apex domains; prepare JD Cloud vetting materials (company name, domain, ICP number, content description, attestation support); ensure ICP number display in site footer before review |
| 3. Onboard | Coordinate domain and DNS cutover after JD Cloud approval; align partial-setup CNAME patterns if your architecture splits global and in-China resolution |
Teams that lack a clear PRC entity path, or need filing and onboarding coordinated on a defined timeline, can start with a China Readiness Assessment. PSB filing within 30 days of launch still applies where required — see the ICP and PSB guide.
China Authoritative DNS
By default, the Cloudflare China Network resolves each DNS request at the data center closest to the client. For clients outside Mainland China, the closest global Cloudflare data center handles the request. For clients inside Mainland China, a JD Cloud data center handles the request.
This default behavior does not require In-China Authoritative DNS — it is how China Network routing works once your domain is onboarded with valid ICP.
In-China Authoritative DNS (In-China nameserver)
Cloudflare can deploy DNS service inside Mainland China to improve TTFB. With this option enabled, DNS queries resolve at JD Cloud data centers in Mainland China instead of at global DNS servers.
When to use: Cloudflare recommends confirming that the majority (over 90%) of your traffic comes from Mainland China before enabling In-China Authoritative DNS.
Warning: After you enable In-China Authoritative DNS, all DNS requests — including those from users outside Mainland China — route to JD Cloud data centers in Mainland China instead of the nearest global data center. This can increase latency for users outside Mainland China.
| DNS option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Default | Uses the DNS server closest to the end user (global POPs outside Mainland China; JD Cloud POPs inside Mainland China) |
| In-China DNS | Uses only DNS in Mainland China, operated by JD Cloud |
ICP gate: In-China Authoritative DNS applies to domains that have completed ICP filing and China Network onboarding. Domains without ICP cannot use the in-China DNS path on the China Network.
Setup: After China Network is enabled, contact your Cloudflare sales team to enable In-China Authoritative DNS — it is not currently self-serve in the dashboard. Update your domain registrar with assigned in-China nameservers (full setup) or create CNAME records (partial setup):
- In-China DNS: CNAME to
.cdn.cloudflarecn.net(for example,www.example.cn.cdn.cloudflarecn.net) - Global default DNS: CNAME to
.cdn.cloudflareanycast.net(for example,www.example.com.cdn.cloudflareanycast.net)
Test resolution after changes. For partial setups mixing global and in-China zones, each record points to the appropriate suffix for that zone’s requirement.
Global Acceleration
Organizations that serve content or connect employees in Mainland China face connectivity challenges from network infrastructure and regulatory requirements at the border. Global Acceleration is a suite of connectivity and performance offerings that address these challenges through optimized network paths into and out of Mainland China. Services are provided by Cloudflare partners including China Mobile International (CMI), CBC Tech, and JD Cloud.
Global Acceleration can be an add-on to China Network and also extends Zero Trust services into Mainland China.
CDN Global Acceleration
CDN Global Acceleration provides stable, reliable connections for dynamic content — API responses, personalized pages, and other non-static payloads — entering and exiting Mainland China on the China Network CDN. This matters when your origin must stay outside Mainland China but you still need acceptable performance for Mainland China users.
Prerequisites for CDN Global Acceleration:
- Cloudflare Enterprise plan
- China Network enabled on the zone
The general process documented by Cloudflare:
- Validate prerequisites — Enterprise and China Network (for CDN GA); separate entitlements for Cloudflare One Client or Cloudflare WAN acceleration.
- Sign contract — your Cloudflare account team assists with contracting directly or through local China partners, depending on the service.
- Deploy — local China partners assist with Global Acceleration deployment.
Other Global Acceleration offerings (brief)
Cloudflare documents additional Global Acceleration services on the same page:
| Service | Scenario |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare One Client Global Acceleration | Cloudflare One Client used in Mainland China |
| Cloudflare WAN Global Acceleration | Cloudflare WAN used in Mainland China |
| ICP services | Partner-assisted ICP filing or license acquisition (distinct from Cloudflare filing ICP directly) |
| MLPS services | Multi-Level Protection Scheme Level 3 certification support |
| Travel SIM | Temporary Cloudflare One Client access for employees traveling to Mainland China |
For architecture sign-off, treat CDN Global Acceleration as the path for offshore origins behind a filed China Network front door — not as a substitute for ICP when serving from in-China infrastructure.
Key considerations
Before committing to the China Network, review this checklist against your stack and compliance plan:
- Enterprise + China Network package — both are required; Pro or Business plans cannot access in-China POPs.
- ICP filing or license per apex domain — filing is your organizing entity’s responsibility; Cloudflare and JD Cloud do not process applications.
- ICP displayed in footer — required before JD Cloud content vetting and ongoing compliance.
- JD Cloud content vetting — domains can be rejected; plan content descriptions and attestation early.
- ICP revocation — local authorities manage revocation; JD Cloud may suspend or terminate China Service; Cloudflare reroutes affected domains to nearest data centers outside Mainland China.
- Product parity — not all global Cloudflare features run in Mainland China; review Turnstile, Pages, R2, cache tier, and Origin Rules constraints.
- IPv6 — automatically enabled on China Network; cannot be disabled.
- In-China DNS tradeoff — routes all DNS globally to JD Cloud China when enabled; only for >90% Mainland China traffic.
- Data residency — account identification (email, password hashes, billing) is not stored on China Network; zone configuration and Developer Suite bindings are stored on the China Network operated by partners when China Service is enabled for a zone.
- PSB filing — ICP filing first; PSB filing within 30 days of launch where applicable — see ICP and PSB guide.
When Cloudflare China Network fits
Choose the Cloudflare China Network when you are already on Cloudflare Enterprise, need in-China edge performance and security for ICP-filed domains, and can complete JD Cloud content vetting — including maintaining footer ICP display and compliance with local content rules.
It is usually the wrong first answer when the problem is simply reachability of a global Cloudflare site to Mainland China users on a non-Enterprise plan. Latency from overseas POPs, third-party dependency failures, and filing obligations are different classes of work. Teams on Pro or Business evaluating China reachability should measure first — see Netlify and China and Vercel and China for the reachability framing — and consider hybrid routes, dependency stripping, or a domestic front door before committing to Enterprise China Network contracting.
Minimum diligence before sign-off: confirm every required product in the available products list; parallel-track Enterprise contracting, PRC entity work, and ICP filing; plan DNS cutover (default vs In-China Authoritative DNS); scope Global Acceleration if origins stay offshore; align PSB filing with launch.
For a route recommendation tailored to your stack, start a China Readiness Assessment.
References
- Cloudflare China Network — overview — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — Get started — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — China Authoritative DNS — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — Global Acceleration — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — Available products and features — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — FAQ — last checked 2026-06-27
- Cloudflare China Network — Internet Content Provider (ICP) — last checked 2026-06-27
- China ICP and PSB filing for foreign companies — Chinaready guide
