Tencent Cloud (腾讯云) is the cloud computing platform of Tencent, the group behind WeChat. It provides servers, storage, databases, CDN, video and AI services in mainland China and abroad. Foreign companies use Tencent Cloud to host websites, apps and WeChat mini program back ends close to Chinese users, after an ICP filing for any site served from the mainland.
What Tencent Cloud offers
Tencent Cloud covers the infrastructure of a website or an application: Cloud Virtual Machines (CVM), storage, databases and networking. It adds services drawn from Tencent’s own products, such as audio and video processing, live streaming, big data, AI and IoT, and industry solutions for sectors like gaming, finance and education.
Its regions in mainland China include Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu and Chongqing, and it also has a region in Hong Kong and others around the world.
Who uses Tencent Cloud
Tencent Cloud serves internet companies, traditional businesses, startups and public organizations. Its strengths follow Tencent’s businesses: gaming, live streaming, video on demand and instant messaging. In Canalys figures for the second quarter of 2022, it held 17% of spending on cloud infrastructure services in mainland China, behind Alibaba Cloud and Huawei Cloud. Our comparison of cloud hosting providers in China puts it next to its competitors.
For a WeChat project, Tencent Cloud is a natural choice, but not a requirement. A WeChat Mini Program can only call server domains that use HTTPS and have an ICP filing, so its back end runs on a mainland server, at Tencent Cloud or at another provider such as Alibaba Cloud.
How a foreign company sets up a website on Tencent Cloud in China
The steps below assume you have a company registered in mainland China. If you do not, or if you hesitate between a mainland server and Hong Kong, our ICP license and China hosting consulting starts there.
1. Open an account and buy a server
Sign up for a Tencent Cloud account, as an enterprise or an individual, then buy a cloud server in a mainland China region. You can buy it on the Cloud Virtual Machine page or through the API. The region cannot be changed once the server is created, so choose the one closest to your users.
2. Register a domain name
Check that the domain name you want is still available, with the suffix you want, then register it. A domain filed for a mainland website must be registered under the same identity as the ICP filing. Our guide on how to register a .cn domain name covers the Chinese suffixes.
3. Complete the ICP filing
A domain that resolves to servers in mainland China, CDN nodes included, needs an ICP filing before it serves visitors, or an ICP license for commercial internet information services. The applicant is an entity registered in mainland China, and the file goes through the hosting provider, here Tencent Cloud, before the authorities review it. A foreign company files through its Chinese subsidiary or branch. Our guide to the ICP license in China explains which permit fits your business model, and the PSB filing follows once the site is online.
4. Point your domain to the server
Once the filing is approved, add your domain in Tencent Cloud DNS and point it to the public IP address of your server with an A record.
5. Deploy and test your website
Deploy your website on the server, then test it from several cities in China. Without an ICP filing, a website on a mainland server is not accessible in mainland China. Our guide on how to host a website in China details the whole process, mainland or Hong Kong.
How QPSoftware can help
From Shanghai, QPSoftware helps foreign companies choose their hosting in China, prepare the ICP and PSB filings with Tencent Cloud or another provider, and deploy websites and mini program back ends. If you want to make your website work in China, we start with a check of how your site loads from China today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a foreign company use Tencent Cloud in mainland China?
Yes. A foreign company can open a Tencent Cloud account and buy servers in mainland regions. To serve a website from them, it needs an ICP filing, and the applicant must be an entity registered in mainland China, such as a subsidiary or a branch. Tencent Cloud supports the filing for its customers. Without it, a website on a mainland server is not accessible in mainland China.
Is Tencent Cloud available in English?
Yes, for its international site, tencentcloud.com, with English product pages, sign-up and documentation. Parts of the purchase flow for mainland regions, the DNS console and the ICP filing system are in Chinese, as the screenshots on this page show. Plan for someone who reads Chinese, on your team or at your agency, when you file and configure mainland servers.
Do I need Tencent Cloud to host a WeChat Mini Program?
No. A WeChat Mini Program can call any server domain that uses HTTPS and has an ICP filing, so its back end can run at Tencent Cloud, Alibaba Cloud or another provider with mainland servers. Tencent Cloud belongs to the same group as WeChat and is a common choice, but the filing rules are the same everywhere.