# China eSIM: Order No. 25 Covers Local SIMs, Not Roaming

Source: https://esimrules.com/destinations/china/
Author: Nadezhda Semenova — Entrepreneur, co-founder of the travel service Trippy (https://esimrules.com/about/)
Updated: 2026-09-12

> A China eSIM: Android needs the APN globaldata typed in by hand, iOS sets it automatically. No KYC at checkout. Catalog and law both checked 14 August 2026.

## Does this apply to you? (registration attaches to joining a Chinese network)

An eSIM China is Chinacom, an Airalo data-only profile roaming on China Unicom that carries no Chinese phone number and never triggers 入网 registration. China’s identity-registration law attaches to 入网 — joining a Chinese carrier’s network — not to a roaming eSIM. MIIT Order No. 25, in force since 1 September 2013, applies only when a Chinese operator issues a number under contract. A roaming profile is a contract with a foreign operator.

The check never reaches it (Ministry of Justice, 14 August 2026).

This page covers you if you’re buying Chinacom, an eSIM for China, for data only. You install it on a phone you already own, before you land. It doesn’t cover opening a new contract with a Chinese carrier for a local SIM or phone number. A resident, a long-term worker, or a traveller switching to a Chinese line all trigger the registration duty in full, passport included. That’s a different transaction. You sign an agreement directly with China Unicom or another domestic operator, and Article 3 of the order defines that signing as 入网.

Nothing here is a loophole. Order No. 25 doesn’t carve out roaming eSIMs with a waiver. It was never written to reach them in the first place. The duty sits on the Chinese operator issuing a number, and a roaming profile issues no Chinese number. That distinction, not an exemption, is why the rest of this page can say what it says.

## What MIIT Order 25 actually says

Order No. 25 — 电话用户真实身份信息登记规定 — comes from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). In English, that’s the Provisions on the Registration of Genuine Identity Information of Telephone Users. It was issued 16 July 2013 and took effect 1 September 2013 (read via the Ministry of Justice site, moj.gov.cn, checked 14 August 2026).

Article 2 sets the scope: the rules apply to identity registration carried out on the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Article 3 defines the registration itself. It’s what a carrier does when it processes 入网 — connecting a fixed line, a mobile phone, or a wireless data card. That happens at the point the carrier signs a contract or confirms service with a subscriber. The same article treats opening a new number and transferring an existing one the same way. Article 6 obliges the carrier to demand a valid identity document at that point, and obliges the subscriber to produce one. Article 7 lists five categories of accepted document. Items (1) and (2) cover a mainland Chinese national. They name the ID card, the temporary ID card, the household register, and military or armed-police ID. Item (3) covers residents of Hong Kong, Macao and [Taiwan](/destinations/taiwan/) travelling to the mainland. Item (4) names a foreign citizen’s passport (外国公民护照). That is the document for a non-Chinese subscriber. Item (5) is a catch-all for other documents Chinese law prescribes. Article 9 obliges the carrier to check that document, and to record its type, the holder’s name, its number, and its address, accurately.

That passport clause matters for one reason: it shows the rule doesn’t dodge foreign nationals. It applies to them explicitly, the same as it applies to a Chinese national holding a different document. What keeps a Chinacom buyer outside the rule isn’t a foreigner exemption. It’s that the transaction — a roaming contract with an operator outside China — never becomes 入网 with a Chinese carrier at all.

The order isn’t recent. It has stood since 2013, over a decade before this page was checked. A page that dates it to 2025 or 2026 is dating the wrong thing.

Two other Chinese statutes are commonly cited in discussions of SIM registration: the 2015 Counter-Terrorism Law and the 2017 Cybersecurity Law. We haven’t read either one for this page. Order No. 25 is the only primary source behind every legal claim here. We name it specifically, because a claim without a document behind it is a guess dressed up as a fact.

## What this page does NOT answer: which sites load

We do not know which sites or apps load on a Chinacom profile once you land, and we’re not going to guess. Site and app access inside China depends on how each operator routes its international data traffic. Some routes run through servers outside mainland China; some don’t. We haven’t measured Chinacom’s routing. No test, no claim.

That puts this page against the grain of its own category. We captured 57 organic results across 28 domains for the query “china esim vpn works” on 10 August 2026. Among the seller pages in that capture, the message runs one way. One says “international roaming legally bypasses the Great Firewall via roaming gateways” ([shenzhen-trip.com](https://www.shenzhen-trip.com/guides/esim-and-vpn-in-china/), snippet undated, captured 10 August 2026). One promises “direct, unrestricted internet access without any VPN required” ([nomadesim.com](https://www.nomadesim.com/blog/do-you-need-a-vpn-for-travel-to-china), 26 June 2026). One says blocked apps “work right out of the box” ([trip.com](https://www.trip.com/guide/phone/china-esim-with-vpn.html), 20 April 2026).

Google’s own AI Overview said the same thing on the day of that capture. It told travellers they “usually do not need a separate VPN,” because these plans route traffic through servers outside mainland China, “which automatically bypasses the Great Firewall and lets you access apps like Google, WhatsApp, and Instagram right when you land.” It cites eight sources. Its own text gives no dated measurement of any specific operator. Neither does a single snippet we captured. All four state an outcome as if it were a fixed property of the SIM.

It isn’t a property of the SIM. It’s a property of the route the operator’s international gateway sends your traffic through. That route can differ by operator, by package, and over time, since gateways get reconfigured. Whatever one traveller’s phone did on one day is a reading of that route at that moment. It doesn’t transfer to another traveller, and it doesn’t hold for the same operator months later. We have no dated test of Chinacom’s own routing. So we publish no claim about it — not that it bypasses anything, not that it doesn’t.

What Order No. 25 governs, and what your internet access looks like on landing, are two separate questions. This page answers the first one, with a document and an article number behind every claim. For the second, treat any confident “yes” as unverified — ours included, since we don’t give one. Wait for a dated, operator-specific test.

## What you get: Chinacom on China Unicom, 5G, data-only

Chinacom is Airalo’s eSIM for China, roaming on the China Unicom network at 5G, data-only. It carries no Chinese phone number and no voice line. That’s the exact profile shape that keeps it outside Order No. 25’s 入网 rule, as the sections above explain (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026).

| Data | Duration | Price |
|---|---|---|

Airalo lists its rate separately on its site.

The plan is rechargeable online, with no fixed expiry tied to a package. Checkout carries no Know Your Customer (KYC) step and no ID upload (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026). That follows from Airalo’s own catalog design, not from Order No. 25. The law imposes no duty on this product to begin with. A seller elsewhere is free to ask for a document the law never demanded. A top-up bought within a 90-day grace window attaches to the existing profile. It doesn’t force a fresh install (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026).

One scope note worth flagging before you buy: Chinacom covers mainland China only. [Hong Kong](/destinations/hong-kong/) and Macao run on separate telecom systems, and need their own dedicated eSIM (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026).

## The APN Android makes you type: globaldata

**On Android, type ****`globaldata`**** into the Access Point Name (APN) field manually — without it, your eSIM installs but carries no data**. iOS fills the APN automatically once the profile installs. Android doesn’t (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026).

The setting sits under Settings > Network & internet > SIMs > Chinacom > Access Point Names on stock Android. The exact menu path shifts slightly by phone maker. Add a new APN. Set the APN field to `globaldata`. Leave the other fields at their defaults, then save and select it as the active APN for the Chinacom line.

China is one of 73 countries in [Airalo’s catalog](https://www.airalo.com/china-esim) — 121 of 368 operator entries, 32.9% — where Android needs the APN entered by hand instead of filling in on its own (checked 3 September 2026). Worth ruling out first if the eSIM for China shows installed but carries no data. Do this once, on Wi-Fi, before you rely on the connection.

## Before you fly, and on landing

**Install the profile before you leave, on a working Wi-Fi connection — not at the airport**. The QR code or install link needs internet to complete, and an airport connection isn’t guaranteed. The profile stays installable for 365 days from purchase. Buying weeks or months ahead of your trip costs nothing (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026).

Nothing activates at install. Chinacom starts its own clock on first use, once your phone actually connects to China Unicom. That’s not the moment you install the profile, and not checkout either (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026). A profile that shows installed but inactive before you board is expected, not a fault.

On landing, switch on data roaming for the Chinacom line specifically. Confirm the APN field reads `globaldata` if you haven’t set it already. Running Chinacom alongside a home SIM works on any dual-SIM phone. Set Chinacom as your data line. Turn off cellular data — not the whole line — on your home SIM, so nothing pulls an expensive home-carrier roaming connection by accident.

On general reliability, one dated community report backs the routine described above: "I’m still a customer with 6 esims on the go. No issues in the last month across: China, HKG, [Japan](/destinations/japan/), EU, UK and Canada“ (u/Puslinch-Komet, r/Airalo, 4 July 2024, posted in a thread titled ”Do not use Airalo"). That’s a report about the connection completing, not about which sites it reaches once it does. That’s a separate question, covered above.

A Chinacom profile carries no Chinese phone number, no SMS, and no calling minutes. Anything that verifies you by SMS to a Chinese number sits outside what a data-only profile does. Think a delivery app, a local bank’s one-time password, or a loyalty sign-up. That need routes back to the 入网 process this page opens with, and to Order No. 25 in full.

## FAQ

## Sources and freshness

*Checked against MIIT Order No. 25 (电话用户真实身份信息登记规定), issued 16 July 2013, in force since 1 September 2013, read via China’s Ministry of Justice site (moj.gov.cn) on 14 August 2026, and against Airalo’s China catalog data, checked the same date. We have not read China’s 2015 Counter-Terrorism Law or its 2017 Cybersecurity Law, and no claim on this page depends on either. We have not measured Chinacom’s international traffic routing, and no claim on this page asserts an outcome for site or app access. Order No. 25 can be amended or superseded, and this page won’t update automatically. Recheck the Ministry of Justice text directly if it’s been more than a few months since this date.*

> *Sources cited only — expert review pending. For individualized advice, consult a licensed professional.*

## FAQ

Does China's ID-registration law apply to a roaming eSIM?
No. Order No. 25 attaches its identity check to 入网 — signing up for service with a Chinese carrier — under Article 3. A Chinacom roaming profile is a contract with a foreign operator, not a Chinese one. The passport requirement Article 7(4) sets for foreign subscribers never reaches it.

Do I need to show my passport to activate a China eSIM?
No. Airalo's Chinacom checkout runs no KYC step and asks for no ID upload (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026). The passport requirement in Order No. 25, Article 7(4), applies only to signing a contract for a Chinese carrier's own number — a separate transaction this product doesn't involve.

Will my China eSIM let me reach blocked sites?
We don't know, and we're not going to guess. Access depends on how the operator routes international traffic. We haven't measured that for Chinacom. Treat any confident "yes" as unverified — ours included, since we don't give one. Wait for a dated, operator-specific test.

Which eSIM is best for China?
This page covers one product: Chinacom, an eSIM for China from Airalo, roaming on China Unicom at 5G. The Order No. 25 scope explained above applies the same way no matter which data-only China eSIM you choose. None of them sell a voice-capable Chinese line.

What's the APN for Chinacom on Android?
`globaldata`, entered manually under your phone's Access Point Names settings. iOS sets this automatically; Android doesn't. That puts China among the 73 countries in Airalo's catalog — out of 215 — where Android needs the value entered manually (121 of 368 entries, checked 3 September 2026).

Does Chinacom cover Hong Kong or Macao?
No. Chinacom's coverage is mainland China only (Airalo catalog data, checked 14 August 2026). Hong Kong and Macao run on separate telecom systems from mainland China, and need their own eSIM product.

Is China's SIM registration rule a new measure?
No. Order No. 25 was issued 16 July 2013 and took effect 1 September 2013. That's over a decade before this page was checked. A page that dates it to 2025 or 2026 is dating the wrong thing.