Internet, WeChat and paying: digital life in China, honestly
Google, WhatsApp and Instagram don't work in China, and that's not a fault but policy. Daily life runs on WeChat and Alipay, to which you can also link your foreign credit card. What that means in practice, what you arrange with DigiD before leaving, and where the law stands.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
No, not like at home. According to the NederlandWereldwijd travel advice, Google, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, X and many Dutch and international news sites are always blocked in China.
What that means for you:
- Daily life runs on WeChat and Alipay, the Chinese apps for chatting and paying.
- You can link your own Visa or Mastercard to them, since 2024 up to $5,000 per payment and $50,000 a year.
- The pitfall is in the Netherlands: your DigiD (the Dutch government login) has to be set up before you leave so that it works from China, because not every country has a DigiD desk.
Whoever moves to China also moves digitally, and that conversation belongs before the move.
What doesn't work in China?
The travel advice names the services: the whole Google package, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube and X, plus many news media. It says more that matters when you move:
- the government can temporarily block phone and internet traffic, including SMS and international lines;
- on arrival and during your stay the authorities can check your phone or laptop for messages, including what you shared earlier;
- posting or sharing messages online that are critical of China or the Chinese government can be a criminal offence, even if you did so before your arrival.
The practical consequence: your photo backup, your calendar and your passwords must not live solely in a blocked service. Move your digital household before you leave, and keep your Dutch departure file somewhere you can open from China.
How do you pay while you have no Chinese account yet?
According to the travel advice, in China you can often only pay with your phone. In 2024 the Chinese government and the central bank made that easier for foreigners:
| Means of payment | What it does | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Alipay or WeChat Pay with your Visa or Mastercard | mobile payment at shops and services | $5,000 per payment, $50,000 per year (was $1,000 and $10,000) |
| Small mobile payments | without identity details | below a certain amount |
| Foreign bank card | where the card organisation's logo is shown at the till | credit card, according to the travel advice, mostly only in large hotels and at airports |
| UnionPay card | at all payment terminals | — |
| Cash | exchange at banks with an exchange sign, withdraw at machines with your card's logo | not accepted everywhere |
| Chinese bank account | an account of your own in yuan | opened on your passport |
That first row saves the first weeks. After that you want a Chinese account behind WeChat and Alipay; how you open one and what the bank asks is in bank and payments in China. According to the travel advice, bring several means of payment: a card or credit card and cash, because not every Dutch card works at every Chinese bank.
What do you arrange with DigiD before leaving?
Arrange DigiD while you still live in the Netherlands. The DigiD site asks emigrants to do two things before leaving: download the DigiD app and add the ID check, and link your phone number with SMS verification switched on. An ID check with a foreign identity or residence document is not possible, and a new DigiD from abroad requires an appointment at a desk or a video call with NederlandWereldwijd. Not every country has a desk, and the desk code is valid for only 30 days.
SMS verification only helps if that number keeps working. So keep a Dutch number, or change the number in Mijn DigiD before you cancel your old subscription. With a working DigiD you keep handling matters online with the Dutch government, healthcare, education and your pension fund.
Where does the law stand on VPNs?
The Chinese rule comes from a notice by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) of January 2017. It says: without approval from the telecoms regulator, nobody may set up own or leased lines, VPNs included, to carry out cross-border activities. A VPN is a shielded connection through a server elsewhere.
The explanation contains the exception that matters for expats. Trading companies and multinationals that need a connection across the border for their own office use lease it from a licensed telecoms provider. So ask your employer how work crosses the border.
On private use, the notice says nothing you can read as permission. This guide gives no advice on getting around it. It says what is there, and that the travel advice warns that your devices can be checked.
How do you know whether this life suits you?
Try it. For a tourist trip or family visit of 30 days or less you don't need a visa with a Dutch passport, though you do need a return or onward ticket. Live that trip out of WeChat and Alipay, and see whether you like it when the internet is Chinese. How you arrange the first days after the move, you read in your first weeks in China.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to China.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice China (blocked services, phone checks, paying, visa-free up to 30 days) — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- State Council — the payment guide for foreigners (2024; limits of $5,000 per payment and $50,000 per year) — english.www.gov.cn
- MIIT — notice on the internet access market (2017; no own or leased lines, VPN included, for cross-border activities without approval) — miit.gov.cn
- CAC — MIIT's explanation (companies lease a line from a licensed provider for their own office use) — cac.gov.cn
- DigiD — living abroad (app with ID check and SMS verification before leaving, desks and video calls) — digid.nl
- Beijing — opening a bank account as a foreigner (passport, supporting documents) — english.beijing.gov.cn
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