Chinese Users Find Workarounds for Anthropic’s Geolocation Blocks
11 reported
According to a Wired report, people in China have developed increasingly sophisticated methods to access Anthropic's AI models despite the company's geolocation restrictions. The workarounds include using virtual private networks, foreign phone numbers, and international payment methods, as well as purchasing accounts on ecommerce platforms like Taobao and through Telegram marketplaces. A newer method involves "transfer stations" that act as intermediaries, purchasing API access outside China and redistributing tokens to users inside the country. Anthropic has responded with evolving detection systems, identity verification, and efforts to disrupt proxy networks. The cat-and-mouse game has fueled an underground economy for Claude access in China, with users frequently reporting account suspensions despite precautions. Researchers and engineers in China told Wired they prefer Claude over domestic models for coding tasks, citing a six-to-nine-month gap in capabilities.
What’s reported
Anthropic publicly released Fable 5 in early June, but revoked access worldwide a few days later due to Trump administration export controls.
Chinese users access Claude via VPNs, foreign phone numbers, international payment methods, and purchased accounts on Taobao and Telegram.
"Transfer stations" act as intermediaries, purchasing API access outside China and redistributing tokens to Chinese users.
Anthropic spokesperson Michael Aciman said the company uses identity verification and detection systems to enforce policies.
In April, Anthropic rolled out identity verification via Persona, requiring government-issued photo IDs from supported countries.
Researchers and engineers in China told Wired they prefer Claude over Chinese models for coding, with a perceived six-to-nine-month gap.
Dario Amodei, Anthropic's CEO, has cited Chinese access to frontier models as a national security threat.
Anthropic accused Alibaba of using Claude outputs to train rival models via "distillation."
Singapore is often used by Chinese users to fake geographic locations, distorting adoption data.
Transfer stations often charge cheaper prices than Claude's own API access due to enterprise discounts.
Chinese crypto billionaire Justin Sun opened his own transfer station in May.
Key figures
Michael Aciman, spokesperson for Anthropic
Zilan Qian, research associate at the Oxford China Policy Lab
Matt Sheehan, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dario Amodei, cofounder and CEO of Anthropic
Hieu Minh Ngo, reformed criminal hacker turned cybercrime investigator at ChongLuaDao
Justin Sun, Chinese crypto billionaire
Sources: Wired
