Cloudflare launches China Express for cross-border network performance
For years, Cloudflare has delivered application services to users in mainland China through in-country data centers and caching via its partnership with JD Cloud, spanning 30 cities. But a persistent problem remains: requests that must reach origin servers located outside mainland China still traverse limited international gateways, where high latency and packet loss degrade performance — particularly for dynamic content requiring frequent origin access. Now, with the new China Express suite, built with partners China Mobile International (CMI) and CBC Tech, Cloudflare aims to close that gap for organizations with users or offices in the region.
Premium DIA improves cross-border traffic
One of the core China Express offerings is Premium Dedicated Internet Access (DIA), an optimized public Internet circuit for cross-border connectivity provided by CMI and CBC Tech. Traffic from mainland China is routed to the partner data center in Hong Kong via a fixed NAT IP. Because the traffic remains on the public Internet, regulatory compliance controls stay in place — no special compliance work is required from the customer.
The performance benefit is significant. For a company with origin data centers outside China, requests traversing Premium DIA see more than a 60% improvement due to higher bandwidth and lower packet loss. Employees in mainland China also experience faster access to SaaS applications like Microsoft 365 when those apps are served from outside the country, along with generally improved Internet speeds.
Private link for mission-critical traffic
Organizations that want to keep sensitive application traffic off the public Internet can instead use Private Link, which provisions a dedicated private tunnel between their locations in China and their data centers abroad. The same private connection can extend to SaaS providers such as Salesforce. Note that Private Link is a tightly regulated area in China, and depending on the use case, partners may impose additional implementation requirements.
Travel SIM with built-in Zero Trust
For employees visiting China with mobile devices, the China Express Travel SIM from CMI addresses both connectivity and security. The SIM provides 4G LTE network access, and when paired with the Cloudflare WARP client on a mobile device, it automatically establishes a WireGuard tunnel to the nearest Cloudflare data center outside China. The user's existing Zero Trust profiles apply, so there is no need to procure additional seats or deploy separate device clients. The mobile hotspot feature can extend the connection to other devices.
Extending Cloudflare One to China
China Express also builds on the broader Cloudflare One expansion into mainland China announced earlier. Through that effort, organizations can apply consistent Zero Trust security policies to employees both inside and outside the country using the WARP device client, and connect physical offices in China into a global private WAN via Magic WAN with the same security policies enforced everywhere.
All China Express solutions are available now and designed for fast deployment, with no special compliance burden for most offerings. Contact Cloudflare or an account team to begin.
