Alibaba Cloud China Website vs. International Website
Compare the Alibaba Cloud China Website and the Alibaba Cloud International Website to choose the right site for your business.
The Alibaba Cloud China Website (www.aliyun.com) and the Alibaba Cloud International Website (www.alibabacloud.com) operate separate account, billing, and legal compliance systems. The account data of the two sites is completely isolated and cannot be shared. Make sure that you register on the site that matches where your business is registered.
Core differences
To help you decide, the following sections summarize the main differences in three areas: Account and verification, Billing and tax, and Products and services.
Account and verification
|
Item |
Alibaba Cloud China Website (www.aliyun.com) |
Alibaba Cloud International Website (www.alibabacloud.com) |
|
Account registration |
Requires a mobile number from the Chinese mainland. |
Requires an email address for registration, plus a mobile number from outside the Chinese mainland (including Hong Kong (China), Macao (China), and Taiwan (China)) for security verification. |
|
Real-name verification |
Required. You must complete individual or enterprise real-name verification before you purchase or use any cloud resources. |
Required in specific scenarios. Real-name verification is required to purchase or use cloud resources located in the Chinese mainland, or to apply for a credit line. |
|
Account data |
Stored in data centers in the Chinese mainland |
Stored in overseas data centers outside the Chinese mainland |
To prevent confusion when users log on to either site, Alibaba Cloud checks the logon names of China Website accounts and the logon email addresses of International Website accounts to ensure that logon credentials are globally unique.
Billing and tax
|
Item |
Alibaba Cloud China Website (www.aliyun.com) |
Alibaba Cloud International Website (www.alibabacloud.com) |
|
Currency |
Both pricing and settlement are in Chinese Yuan (CNY) |
Pricing is in US dollars (USD). Settlement supports multiple other major currencies. |
|
Pricing |
Prices include value-added tax (VAT). |
Prices do not include tax. Tax is calculated separately based on the tax policies of the country or region of your account. |
|
Payment methods |
Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, and corporate bank transfer. |
Credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, and others), PayPal, bank transfer, and more, depending on the country or region of your account. |
|
Contract signing |
Contracts are signed with Alibaba Cloud Computing Co., Ltd. or one of its affiliates, depending on the products purchased |
Contracts are signed with the Alibaba Cloud legal entity for your region |
Products and services
|
Item |
Alibaba Cloud China Website (www.aliyun.com) |
Alibaba Cloud International Website (www.alibabacloud.com) |
|
Product regions |
Resources in all regions worldwide are available for purchase (except the Saudi Arabia regions) |
Resources in all regions worldwide are available for purchase (the Saudi Arabia regions are available only on the International Website) |
|
Product updates |
New products and features tailored to the Chinese mainland market are released first. |
Provides core cloud products for global use. Some products or features may differ from the China Website due to compliance requirements. |
|
Console languages |
Simplified Chinese and English |
Simplified Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, and Japanese |
|
Documentation languages |
Simplified Chinese |
Simplified Chinese, English, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian, and Portuguese (Brazil) |
|
Service and support |
24/7 support. For details, see https://www.aliyun.com/service |
24/7 support. For details, see |
|
ICP filing |
|
|
FAQ
Can I change an Alibaba Cloud China Website account to an Alibaba Cloud International Website account?
No. The Alibaba Cloud China Website and the Alibaba Cloud International Website are two completely separate sites, and an account cannot be changed from one to the other. You can register a new account on the other site, and then migrate your business data and resources manually or by using tools.
What are the differences when I purchase Chinese mainland resources on the Alibaba Cloud China Website vs. the Alibaba Cloud International Website?
There are three main differences:
Billing and payment: With an Alibaba Cloud International Website account, all purchases are settled in USD or your local currency, and tax is calculated separately based on the tax policies of the country or region of your account. With an Alibaba Cloud China Website account, purchases are settled in CNY, and the prices of products and services include tax.
Account ownership and compliance: Even if your account belongs to an Alibaba Cloud International Website legal entity, your purchase of Chinese mainland resources is still subject to the laws and regulations of the Chinese mainland. For example, you must complete real-name verification and ICP filing.
Product updates: For the same region, the Alibaba Cloud China Website releases products and features tailored to the Chinese mainland market first, whereas the Alibaba Cloud International Website focuses on core cloud products for global use. Some products or features may differ between the two sites.