A Guide to Huawei Cloud in China

Huawei Cloud (华为云) has rapidly established itself as China’s second leading cloud service provider, holding a 19% market share as of January 2025, ranking behind Alicloud. Huawei Cloud offers robust solutions tailored for businesses operating within the Chinese market. With the increasing complexity of regulatory compliance, cross-border data transfer restrictions, and the unique challenges posed by The Great Firewall, understanding how to effectively deploy and manage services on Huawei Cloud is essential for international companies.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about Huawei Cloud in China, from licensing requirements and compliance considerations to technical specifications and best practices for performance optimisation.

Introduction to Huawei Cloud in China

Huawei Cloud is a division of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., one of China’s largest and most influential technology companies. Since its launch, Huawei Cloud has gained a strong foothold in China’s cloud market, competing alongside Alibaba Cloud, Tencent Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

Huawei Cloud’s offerings include a full range of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. It is widely recognised for its capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI), big data analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), and enterprise cloud migration. Huawei Cloud operates numerous data centres across mainland China and continues to expand internationally.

Huawei’s cloud services are particularly favoured in industries such as telecommunications, finance, manufacturing, and government sectors, thanks to their focus on security, performance, and regulatory compliance.

Huawei Cloud China vs Huawei Cloud International 

Huawei Cloud operates its China services and international services through separate legal entities, infrastructures, and compliance frameworks.

• If you register for Huawei Cloud outside of China (for example, through the global Huawei Cloud website), your account is only valid for international regions.
• If you want to use Huawei Cloud inside mainland China, you must create a separate China account through Huawei Cloud China’s dedicated portal.
• These accounts are not automatically linked. Services, billing, technical support, and compliance requirements are handled independently between the two.

In short, operating in China using Huawei Cloud requires a separate setup — including completing regulatory processes like ICP Filing — distinct from international operations.

This separation is similar to how AWS China and Microsoft Azure China work, where Chinese cloud services are offered through localised partnerships, such as with AppInChina, or subsidiaries to comply with China’s strict cybersecurity and data governance laws.

Huawei Cloud Licensing and Compliance Requirements

Operating cloud services in mainland China involves strict regulatory requirements. Huawei Cloud has taken the necessary steps to align with Chinese government policies, ensuring that services offered within China comply with all applicable regulations, including:

• ICP Filing (ICP备案): Companies hosting websites or applications accessible in China must obtain an ICP Filing or ICP License through a locally registered entity such as AppInChina.
• Cloud Service Licensing: Under Chinese law, cloud service providers must possess an Internet Data Center (IDC) license or work through licensed partners.
• Data Residency Requirements: Certain categories of data must remain within China’s borders in compliance with the Cybersecurity Law and Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).

Huawei Cloud offers comprehensive support for businesses needing guidance through these complex compliance processes, including ICP Filing assistance, security compliance tools, and dedicated support for cross-border data strategies.

Huawei Cloud’s Infrastructure in China

Huawei Cloud has an extensive network of data centres strategically located across China, including:

• Beijing
• Shanghai
• Qingdao
• Shenzhen
• Chengdu
• Wuhu
• Guiyang
• Ulanqab

This robust infrastructure ensures low-latency access for users across the country, enhanced redundancy, and strong disaster recovery capabilities. Huawei also operates a specialised backbone network for accelerated communication between its data centers, improving the reliability and performance of enterprise applications.

Setting Up Huawei Cloud in China: Key Steps

1. Establish a Chinese Legal Entity: You typically need a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE), a joint venture, or a Chinese partner, such as AppInChina, to fully leverage cloud services and complete ICP Filing.
   
2. ICP Filing or ICP License: Huawei Cloud provides ICP registration support services through its partners, which are essential if your site or application needs to be publicly accessible in China. If you intend to use your site or application for commercial purposes, you will need an ICP License.
   
3. Select a Suitable Region and Services: Choose a Huawei Cloud region close to your target user base and configure services (e.g., Elastic Cloud Server (ECS), Object Storage Service (OBS), Content Delivery Network (CDN)) accordingly.
   
4. Network Optimisation: Utilise Huawei’s Cloud Connect or Direct Connect services to bypass The Great Firewall where appropriate and ensure fast, stable connections.
   
5. Compliance and Data Security Setup: Configure Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) environments, encryption, firewalls, and compliance monitoring services in line with Chinese laws.

What is the Pricing?

You can access the pricing index through Huawei Cloud’s official website.

Performance Optimization on Huawei Cloud in China

Operating within China’s internet environment poses unique challenges due to The Great Firewall’s effects on latency and packet loss. To optimise performance on Huawei Cloud:

• Deploy CDN Acceleration: Huawei’s CDN services significantly improve website and app performance for Chinese users.
• Use Huawei’s Private Backbone Network for critical services requiring minimal latency.
• Multi-Region Deployment: Distribute applications across multiple data centers to ensure high availability and faster disaster recovery.
• Cross-Border Network Solutions: For multinational operations, Huawei offers Cloud Connect, enabling high-quality, compliant international communications.
  

Challenges of Using Huawei Cloud in China

While Huawei Cloud provides excellent service within China, foreign businesses may face challenges such as:

• Regulatory Complexity: Navigating ICP Filing, cross-border data restrictions, and cyber compliance requirements can be daunting without local expertise.
• Language Barriers: While Huawei provides some English-language support, most detailed technical documents and customer support resources are primarily in Chinese.
• Limited Cross-Border Support: International cloud strategies still require careful design to bridge Chinese and non-Chinese systems efficiently.

How AppInChina Can Help

AppInChina specialises in helping international businesses successfully launch and operate cloud-based applications and services within China. We can support you by:

• Providing you with an account under our Chinese entity
• Ensuring you are compliant with local regulations such as the ICP Filing.
• Providing ongoing technical support.

Contact us today to streamline your Huawei Cloud deployment and unlock your business potential in China.