In-depth evaluation of Aliyun international station vs domestic station: the difference is not in "where is the server", but in "account number, compliance, tax and delivery system"
Many people will understand Aliyun China Station as "buying servers in mainland China" and Aliyun International Station as "buying overseas servers". This understanding is not accurate. It would be more accurate to say:
Aliyun China Station and International Station are two independent commercial, account, billing and compliance systems.
。 The official documentation clearly states that the China site and the international site operate on separate, independent account, billing, and legal compliance systems. Account data is completely isolated and does not interoperate between the two platforms, and accounts cannot be directly transferred from the China site to the international site, nor vice versa.
Therefore, the core judgment of this review is:
Which site to choose, first look at your company's place of registration, payment reimbursement method, tax contract subject, whether you need to file in mainland China, and then look at the server area.
One sentence conclusion
For projects that require RMB settlement, domestic invoice, ICP filing, and Chinese ecological support, Alibaba Cloud China Station is preferred.
Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan or overseas entities, mainly engaged in cross-border business, overseas deployment, multi-currency settlement, multi-language console and document support projects, priority is given to Alibaba Cloud International Station.
International stations can also buy resources from mainland China, but as long as the resources are deployed in mainland China and provide websites or application services to the outside world, they still have to comply with the requirements of mainland China for real-name authentication and ICP filing.
The official document also emphasizes that even if the account belongs to the legal entity of the international station, the purchase of resources in mainland China still needs to comply with the laws and regulations of mainland China.
Core Differences Overview
Dimension
Alibaba Cloud China Station
Alibaba Cloud International Site
Evaluation conclusion
Account System
Mobile phone number registration in mainland China, you must complete personal or enterprise real-name authentication before purchasing and using cloud resources.
Email registration and security verification of mobile phone numbers outside mainland China; real-name authentication is triggered by scenarios, such as purchasing resources in mainland China or applying for a credit limit.
China station is more suitable for mainland subjects, international station is more suitable for overseas subjects
Account Data
Account data is stored in a data center in Mainland China
Account data is stored in a data center outside Mainland China
This is not a front-end page difference, but the isolation of the underlying account system.
Billing Currency
RMB Pricing and Settlement
Pricing is mainly in US dollars, and settlement supports a variety of mainstream currencies.
Financial claims and tax treatment vary widely
Taxes and fees
Price includes VAT
The price does not include tax, and the tax is calculated according to the policy of the country/region where the account is located.
International station quotation cannot be directly compared with domestic station price including tax.
Payment Methods
Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, Corporate Remittance
Credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, etc., vary by account country
Domestic enterprises pay more smoothly in China; overseas enterprises pay more smoothly in international stations.
Contracting Parties
Contract with Alibaba Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. or its affiliates by product
Sign a contract with the Alibaba Cloud legal entity in the corresponding region
Group finance, legal affairs and audit should focus on
Product Region
Global geographical resources are basically available, except for the official description of Saudi Arabia.
Global geographical resources are basically available, Saudi Arabia is only available for international stations.
Station
Points are not equal to regions, but some regions have different selectability.
Product Update
Give priority to the release of new products and features suitable for the Chinese mainland market
Provide global common core products, some products or functions vary according to compliance requirements
Products with the same name do not mean that the functions are completely consistent.
Console/Documentation
Console Chinese, English; product documentation is mainly in Chinese
The console supports Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese; the document supports Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Indonesian
International teamwork is more suitable for international stations
ICP Filing
The deployment of foreign service websites in mainland China must be filed
The deployment in mainland China must also be filed, and the filing process is different from that in China.
Filing depends on the deployment site, not the site name.
The above differences come from the official "Differences between China Station and International Station" document of Alibaba Cloud.
Dimension 1: account number and subject-this is the difference between the lowest level and the easiest to step on.
Alibaba Cloud China and International are not two portals of the same account system, but two separate systems. The official clearly stated that the account data of the two accounts are completely isolated and not connected with each other. The account number of China Station cannot be directly changed to the account number of International Station, but can only re-register a new account number and migrate business data and resources manually or through tools.
What does this mean?
First,
RAM users, resources, bills, discounts, contracts, invoices, and credit limits cannot be easily translated.
。 Many enterprises registered a site casually at the beginning, and later found that the contract subject, invoice or filing was inappropriate. If they want to switch again, it will become a complete migration project.
Second,
Subject selection affects subsequent compliance paths
。 China Station requires the use of mainland China mobile phone number registration, and the purchase and use of any cloud resources must complete real-name authentication; International stations use email registration, and need to do security verification of mobile phone numbers outside mainland China, real-name authentication is usually triggered in the purchase of mainland China resources or application for credit lines and other scenarios.
Third,
Overseas enterprises should not be forced to walk China station
。 The real-name authentication document of Alibaba Cloud China Station indicates that if the enterprise is registered in Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas countries or regions, it should go to Alibaba Cloud International Station to complete registration and purchase.
Evaluation judgment:
In the account dimension, the China station is more like a "localized cloud platform for mainland Chinese entities", and the international station is more like a "cross-border cloud platform for global entities". For enterprise users, when registering, don't just ask the technical team for convenience or inconvenience, but let finance, legal affairs, taxation and compliance confirm the subject together.
Dimension 2: Billing, payment and tax-not the same set of financial logic behind the price list
From the billing system, the difference between China station and international station is very obvious. The pricing and settlement currency of China Station is RMB, and the price includes VAT. The pricing currency of International Station is USD, and settlement supports a variety of mainstream currencies. The price does not include tax. The tax is calculated separately according to the tax policy of the country or region where the account is located.
There is another point that is easily overlooked in the international station: the Country/Region selected during account registration will determine the billing currency and applicable tax rate, and cannot be changed after registration.
International stations use US dollars for billing and settlement by default. Some authorized customers in Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong can switch to EUR, SGD or HKD according to conditions.
In terms of payment methods, China Station is more in line with the habits of enterprises and individuals in mainland China. The official listed methods include Alipay, WeChat payment, UnionPay and corporate remittance. The recharge document of China Station also indicates that Alipay, UnionPay online payment, online banking and other methods can be used to recharge. International stations are more in line with overseas payment habits and support bank cards, PayPal and bank transfers, but the available methods will be affected by the account signing entity and the country/region where the account is located.
In terms of invoices, China Station is more friendly to Chinese enterprises. Alibaba Cloud China supports issuing electronic invoices for the consumed amount. The invoice header must be the same as the real-name authentication entity of the account. Enterprise real-name authentication accounts support digital electronic ordinary invoices and digital electronic special invoices. Alibaba Cloud also stated that digital invoices have been fully used since May 31, 2024, and electronic invoices can be recorded as official accounting vouchers.
Evaluation judgment:
Looking only at the unit price of cloud resources may misjudge the cost. True TCO should include taxes, exchange rates, payment fees, invoice deductibility, contract body, internal reimbursement process, and budget currency. Mainland Chinese companies usually choose Chinese stations to save management costs; overseas companies usually choose international stations to be more compliant and easier to pay.
Dimension 3: Region and Network-The site is not a region, and the region determines the boundary between delay and compliance.
According to Aliyun's official statement, both China and international stations can purchase global regional resources, but there are also differences: Saudi Arabia is only available for international stations, while China's global regional resources are officially marked "except Saudi Arabia". The Alibaba Cloud Global Infrastructure page lists multiple regions such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Europe, and the Middle East; the official also disclosed that its global infrastructure is 29 regions and 94 usable zones.
This means,
International stations are not only able to buy overseas servers, and China stations are not only able to buy servers in mainland China.
。 What really affects the access speed is the region, availability zone, network line, CDN node, cross-border link and user distribution you choose.
For example, a mainland Chinese company doing Southeast Asian business can purchase overseas resources such as Singapore, Jakarta, and Tokyo at the China Station; an American company that wants to serve mainland Chinese users can also purchase mainland Chinese resources at the international station. However, once the latter involves public network websites, App or CDN in mainland China, it will enter the compliance requirements in mainland China.
Evaluation judgment:
The selection of sites solves the problem of "who will sign the contract, who will pay, and which set of rules will comply"; The selection of regions solves the problem of "fast access by users, where to put the data, and whether to trigger local supervision". The two cannot be confused.
Dimension 4: Product ability and update rhythm-products with the same name may not have exactly the same experience.
Aliyun's official statement of product differences is very clear: China Station gives priority to the release of the latest products and functions suitable for the Chinese mainland market;
Products or features may differ from China due to compliance requirements. The International Site Terms also state that services, features, promotions, SLAs or other regional offerings may only be available for specific regions or customers, and that services and features may differ by country.
This has several implications for technology selection:
First,
Don't assume that the functions in the documentation of the Chinese station must be available at the international station at the same time.
。 Especially for AI, big data, security compliance, industry cloud, SMS, voice, domain name, financial cloud, government and enterprise products, the difference may not be in the product name, but in the opening conditions, region, quota, function switch, price and audit process.
Second,
Don't assume that the overseas products displayed on the console of the international station, the account of the Chinese station must be able to purchase or enjoy the same activities in the same way.
。 Officials have suggested that regional services, promotions, SLAs and guarantees may be available to customers in specific regions.
Third,
If the enterprise has multi-region deployment, you need to check the regional support on a product-by-product basis.
。 The Alibaba Cloud ECS documentation also indicates that the regions and zones supported by each cloud service may be different. For details, see the corresponding cloud service documentation.
Evaluation judgment:
The advantages of the China station are localized products in the mainland, compliance services, Chinese ecology and domestic business adaptation; the advantages of the international station are global common products, multilingual support, overseas business systems and multinational team experience. Before making a key system, the target account number should be measured in the target Region instead of just looking at the public product page.
Dimension 5: ICP filing and Mainland China compliance-the least ambiguous item
ICP filing is not "only needed by China station",
As long as the website or application is deployed on a server or CDN node in mainland China and provides services to the outside world, an ICP filing is required.
。 The ICP page of Aliyun International Station indicates that websites or applications deployed on servers or CDN nodes in mainland China need to apply for ICP filing. The Aliyun ICP document also indicates that if the domain name is resolved to an Aliyun instance in mainland China, ICP filing must be obtained first, otherwise the website or application may be suspended.
if the resource is located outside mainland china, alibaba cloud documentation clearly states that no filing is required. This is also the reason why many cross-border enterprises choose Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and other regions: the filing threshold can be lowered, but the price is that the access delay, stability and accessibility for mainland Chinese users usually need to be evaluated separately.
International station accounts can also go ICP filing, but the process experience is not exactly the same as China station. According to the Aliyun document, the international station account supports logging in and filing on the PC side. However, the mobile ICP filing requires logging in with the Aliyun China station account. The international station account is not supported. The official also recommends registering a China station account for filing application. The ICP filing process itself also requires the purchase of Alibaba Cloud servers in mainland China. Both the filing system and the mobile terminal are in Chinese, and the applicant must be able to read and write Chinese.
In addition, commercial Internet information services may also involve ICP licenses; specific industries such as journalism, publishing, medicine
, medical devices, finance, religion, etc., may also involve pre-approval. The Alibaba Cloud ICP process document clearly indicates this.
Evaluation judgment:
If your business core is in mainland China and you need complete compliance links such as websites, App, CDN, domain name resolution, etc., China stations are usually smoother. If you are an overseas entity entering the Chinese market, the international station can be used as a global account entry, but matters such as mainland China filing, subject qualification, Chinese process, public security networking filing, and commercial ICP must be planned in advance.
Dimension 6: Contracts and Legal Entities-Corporate Procurement Can't Just Look at the Console
The main body of the contract between the Chinese station and the international station is different. According to the official comparison document, China Station will sign a contract with Aliyun Computing Co., Ltd. or its affiliated companies according to the types of products purchased. International stations sign contracts with Aliyun legal entities in the corresponding regions. The international website terms further list that different registration/billing addresses may correspond to different contracting entities such as Alibaba Cloud Singapore, Alibaba Cloud Europe, Alibaba Netherlands, Alibaba Cloud US, Alibaba Cloud India, and Alibaba Cloud Malaysia.
This is especially important for businesses. Because the subject of the contract affects the payment path, tax processing, audit materials, data processing agreements, dispute resolution, intra-group supplier access and compliance review. For listed companies, multinational companies, financial institutions, medical enterprises, cloud account registration site is essentially a part of supplier access.
Evaluation judgment:
The technical team feels that "all can open ECS" does not mean that the procurement level is equivalent. When an enterprise goes to the cloud, site selection should include supplier evaluation, data compliance evaluation, and financial and tax evaluation.
Dimension 7: console, documentation and support-international teams prefer international stations, while domestic teams prefer Chinese stations.
The console of China Station supports Chinese and English, and the product documentation is mainly in Chinese. The console of International Station supports Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese and Japanese, and the product documentation supports Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian. The official document also states that both sides provide 7 × 24-hour service support.
This is a significant difference in teamwork.
If the team members are mainly in mainland China, Chinese technical documents, Chinese work orders, domestic financial payments, domestic invoices and filing processes will make the China station more efficient.
If the team is located in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Europe, the United States and other places, the multilingual documents, overseas payment methods and regional contract subjects of the international station are more suitable for global collaboration.
Evaluation judgment:
China stands in the "depth of localization"; international standing in the "breadth of transnational collaboration".
Evaluation score: according to the typical enterprise scene to evaluate
The scores below are subjective measures based on actual usage orientation and are not official ratings.
evaluation dimension
China station
International site
Explanation
Ease of use for enterprises in mainland China
9/10
6 out of 10
China stands more smoothly on mobile phone number, real name authentication, RMB, invoice and filing.
Ease of use for overseas enterprises
5/10
9/10
Overseas subjects are more suitable for international station registration, payment, contract and multi-language support.
Mainland China Compliance Landing
9/10
7/10
International stations can also buy mainland resources, but the filing and mobile processes are not as smooth as those of Chinese stations.
Ease of global deployment
8/10
9/10
Both sides can buy global resources, but the international station is more friendly to overseas entities and multi-currencies.
Financial reimbursement convenience
9/10, Chinese mainland enterprises
9/10, Overseas Enterprises
Look at the company's main body and tax location.
Product functional consistency
7/10
7/10
For products with the same name, the region, function, price and compliance conditions shall be checked item by item.
Multilingual Collaboration
6 out of 10
9/10
International station console and documentation language coverage is wider
Migration flexibility
5/10
5/10
The two sets of account systems are isolated and cannot be directly converted.
Typical Scenario Recommendations
1. Mainland China company, website/App mainly for Mainland China users
Prioritize selecting
Alibaba Cloud China Station
。
The reason is very direct: RMB settlement, domestic payment, digital electricity invoice, real name authentication, filing, Chinese documents and domestic service system are more matched. In particular, when the domain name needs to be resolved to ECS, load balancing, CDN or object storage static website in mainland China, the ICP filing process will become a rigid precondition.
2. Overseas companies, which only do overseas or cross-border business, do not deploy public network services in mainland China
Prioritize selecting
Alibaba Cloud International Site
。
It is more suitable for overseas registration subjects, credit card/PayPal/bank transfer, multi-currency settlement, multi-language documents and overseas contract subjects. Resources can be deployed in Singapore, Japan, the United States, Europe, Hong Kong, China and other regions, usually does not involve ICP filing in mainland China.
3. Overseas companies to enter the Chinese mainland market
Can be used
International Station as Global Account Entry
However, it is necessary to design the compliance path in mainland China in advance.
If websites, App or CDN are to be deployed in mainland China, ICP filing is still required. If it is a commercial Internet information service, ICP business license may also be involved; Some industries may also require pre-approval. Officials also suggested that the international station account number can be filed on the PC side, but the mobile station account number needs to be filed on the Chinese station, and it is recommended to register the Chinese station account number for filing management.
4. Mainland Chinese companies go to sea
There are two scenarios:
One is to continue to use the Chinese station to purchase overseas geographical resources, suitable for financial, contract, management of the main body is still in the mainland of China's enterprises.
The other is to register a separate international station account for overseas subsidiaries, which is suitable for overseas branches to purchase independently, file taxes independently, contract independently and maintain local teams.
A more mature approach is:
China business and overseas business sub-account, sub-bill, sub-authority, sub-data boundary management
。 Don't cram all your business into one main account to save trouble.
Otherwise, it will pay a higher price in terms of authority, cost, audit and compliance.
Easiest to step on the pit
First, it is mistaken for the international station to buy servers in mainland China without filing.
The actual situation is that as long as the domain name is resolved to a server in mainland China or the CDN node in mainland China is used for external services, ICP filing is required.
Second, the mistake is that the two site accounts can be transferred to each other.
Officials have made it clear that no, only re-register accounts and migrate business data and resources.
Third, we mistakenly compare the US dollar price with the RMB tax-inclusive price directly.
China station price includes value-added tax, international station price does not include tax, tax according to the account of the country/region policy.
Fourth, mistakenly think that the function of the product with the same name is completely consistent.
The official description of products and features may vary due to compliance requirements, and the international site terms also indicate that services, features, promotions, SLAs, etc. may vary by country or customer group.
Fifth, choose any country/region of registration.
The Country/Region of the international account determines the billing currency and applicable tax rate, and cannot be changed after registration.
Final evaluation conclusion
The difference between Aliyun China Station and International Station is not the difference between "domestic server" and "foreign server",
Two sets of cloud business systems for different customer subjects
。
The core advantages of China Station are:
Mainland China is subject-friendly, RMB including tax, domestic payment, digital invoice, ICP filing connection, localized products and Chinese ecology.
。
The core advantages of the international station are:
Overseas entity friendly, global contract entity, multi-currency/overseas payment, multi-language documents, global common cloud products and multinational team collaboration
。
My suggestion is:
Business entities in mainland China, mainly serving users in mainland China, choose China station.
Business entities in overseas or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the main service overseas users, choose international stations.
Enterprises with both mainland China and overseas business should not struggle with "one account governing the world", but should do the architecture design of dual-site, multi-account, sub-bill and sub-compliance boundary from the very beginning.
