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news Scmp World 2026-05-10

Chinese Developers Bypass Restrictions to Access Global AI Models

A grey market of API relay platforms in China allows developers to access overseas AI models like Claude and Gemini, which are officially unavailable.


In China, a grey market of API relay platforms is thriving, allowing local developers to bypass restrictions to access top-tier overseas AI models such as Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini, which are officially unavailable in the country, despite an escalating crackdown by the foreign providers. Such relay stations, which route access to overseas AI models through proxy servers hosted outside mainland China, are becoming a go-to place for developers wanting to use US AI models for tasks...

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