.cn: Navigating China's Controlled Domain Space

## .cn in Context China's `.cn` ccTLD (Country-Code Top-Level Domain) is simultaneously one of the world's largest domain registries and one of the most tightly regulated. With approximately **22 million registrations**, `.cn` ranks second globally in ccTLD volume — behind only Tokelau's `.tk` (which offers free domains and inflates its count with mostly parked domains). But registration volume tells only part of the `.cn` story. The Chinese domain ecosystem includes a separate regulatory layer — the ICP licensing system — that fundamentally shapes what you can do with a `.cn` domain once you have registered it. TLD Finder ## CNNIC: Registry Under Government Authority The China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), founded in 1997 and headquartered in Beijing, operates `.cn` and is directly supervised by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). This government supervision distinguishes CNNIC from virtually every other major ccTLD Registry Operator: it is not an independent nonprofit, a commercial entity, or a cooperative, but an agency whose policies must align with Chinese state internet governance objectives. CNNIC is responsible for domain registration, IP address allocation in China, and internet statistics research. It publishes a biannual China Internet Development Report that is widely cited as the authoritative source of data on China's internet sector. In terms of technical operations, CNNIC maintains robust DNS (Domain Name System) infrastructure, operates WHOIS services, and enforces registry-level policy. ## Registration Process and Requirements Registering a `.cn` domain requires substantially more documentation than most global ccTLDs: **For organizations (businesses, associations):** Registrants must provide a scanned copy of their business license (营业执照), which in China is issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation. Foreign companies registering `.cn` must provide equivalent documentation from their home country — typically their certificate of incorporation and a company registration document, certified or apostilled. **For individuals:** Registrants must provide a copy of their national ID (居民身份证), or for foreigners, their passport. A headshot photograph of the registrant is also required — a unique requirement that most global registries do not impose. **Verification process:** CNNIC-authorized registrars conduct identity verification, which typically takes 3–5 business days. Some registrars offer expedited verification for premium clients. Until verification is complete, the domain cannot be used. **Registrar selection:** Foreign registrants should use registrars with direct CNNIC authorization and experience handling international documentation. Domestic Chinese registrars like Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun) and Tencent Cloud are well-positioned for Chinese entity registration. For foreign entities, international registrars with `.cn` experience can manage the process. ## The ICP Filing System Registering `.cn` is the first step. Operating a website is the second — and it requires a separate, parallel regulatory process: the **ICP filing** (互联网内容提供者备案, commonly called 备案 or bèi'àn). The ICP system has two tiers: **ICP Filing (备案):** Required for any non-commercial website. The filing must be submitted through your hosting provider in China, who submits it to the provincial telecommunications authority. Processing time is typically 10–30 business days. The filing assigns your website an ICP filing number (e.g., 京ICP备XXXXXXXX号) that must be displayed in the footer of your website. **ICP License (经营性互联网信息服务许可证):** Required for commercial websites — those selling goods or services, taking payments, or engaging in e-commerce. The license application is more complex, requires significant documentation of the business entity, and can take 2–6 months to obtain. Only companies registered in China can hold ICP licenses, making this effectively impossible for pure foreign entities. **What this means in practice:** If you register `.cn` and want to host your website on servers in mainland China (necessary for good performance for Chinese users due to the Great Firewall's effect on international connections), you need an ICP filing at minimum. No mainland China hosting provider will activate server access without a valid ICP filing number. Foreign companies without a Chinese subsidiary face a structural dilemma: they can register `.cn`, but they cannot obtain an ICP license, limiting them to non-commercial ICP filings. For e-commerce or commercial operations, Chinese subsidiary establishment is a prerequisite. ## The Great Firewall and Performance The **Great Firewall** (防火长城) — China's internet censorship and filtering infrastructure — affects the performance of foreign-hosted websites accessed from mainland China. Websites hosted outside China on non-`.cn` domains experience significant latency and packet loss when accessed from Chinese internet connections, because all traffic must traverse government-controlled network checkpoints. Hosting content in mainland China (on servers operated by licensed providers like Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, or Huawei Cloud) avoids this performance penalty but requires an ICP filing. This creates a practical pressure toward using `.cn` for China-facing operations: the domain and the hosting infrastructure are designed to work together under the same regulatory framework. Foreign companies with a Chinese subsidiary typically establish separate Chinese-market web properties on `.cn` with mainland hosting, distinct from their global `.com` presence. This dual-property approach lets the company serve Chinese users with fast, locally hosted content while maintaining its international brand on a globally accessible domain. ## Content Restrictions Websites hosted in China and/or using `.cn` are subject to China's internet content regulations, which prohibit or restrict a wide range of content including: - Content deemed politically sensitive or critical of the Chinese government - References to historical events covered by censorship - Foreign news sites and social media platforms without special licensing - VPN services and circumvention tools - Various categories of adult content CNNIC's Registry Operator role does not extend to content moderation — that is the CAC's domain — but the two systems are interlinked. A `.cn` domain hosting content that violates Chinese regulations can be suspended at the registry level as part of enforcement action. ## IDN Variants: Chinese-Script Domains CNNIC operates IDN TLD (Internationalized Domain Name TLD) equivalents for China under two scripts: - `.中国` (zhōngguó, "China" in simplified Chinese characters) — delegated by IANA in 2010 - `.中國` (traditional Chinese characters, used primarily in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) These IDN ccTLDs allow URLs composed entirely of Chinese characters, including the domain extension. For Chinese users who prefer typing in their native script, IDN domains can reduce friction. However, browser and application support for IDN URL display varies, and many Chinese internet users are accustomed to pinyin-style Latin character entries even in a Chinese-language context. ## Market Dynamics and Trends The `.cn` market contracted significantly from its 2014 peak of approximately 21 million registrations, partly due to CNNIC's stricter documentation requirements introduced that year to reduce fraudulent registrations. The market has since recovered and grown. Domestic Chinese internet companies — Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com, ByteDance — operate primarily on `.com` for their international presence and on `.cn` for their China-facing services. Chinese startups typically register both, with `.com` for global ambitions and `.cn` for the domestic market. ## Should You Register .cn? **Yes, if:** You are a foreign company with a Chinese subsidiary or legal entity. You have a Chinese-language product or service. You are conducting e-commerce in mainland China. You want brand protection against Chinese competitors registering your brand in `.cn`. **Consider carefully if:** You cannot establish a Chinese entity (making ICP license impossible for commercial operations). Your content may be subject to Chinese content restrictions. You lack the operational capacity to manage China-specific regulatory compliance. **Defensive registration is straightforward:** Many international brands register their `.cn` equivalent purely defensively — not to operate a China-hosted website, but to prevent bad actors from registering the same name and causing brand confusion. A defensively registered `.cn` with a non-commercial ICP filing is feasible for most entities. See ccTLD Registration Restrictions: Open vs Closed for a broader comparison of how `.cn`'s restriction model compares to other ccTLDs worldwide.