Internet in China

The People's Republic of China has been on the Internet intermittently since May 1989 and on a permanent basis since 20 April 1994. In 2008, China became the country with the largest population on the Internet; as of 2025, it has remained so. As of December 2024, 1.09 billion people in China (77.5% of the country's total population) use the internet.

China's first foray into the global cyberspace was an email (not TCP/IP based and thus technically not internet) sent on 20 September 1987 to the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, reading, "Across the Great Wall, towards the rest of the world" (Chinese: 越过长城，走向世界; pinyin: Yuèguò chángchéng, zǒuxiàng shìjiè). This later became a well-known phrase in China and as of 2018, was displayed on the desktop login screen for QQ mail.

By law, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) governs the country's Internet. China's Internet is heavily censored by the CCP, with numerous foreign websites blocked by the Great Firewall. China has one of the lowest cross-border internet traffic rates in the world. The usage of foreign apps and websites is extremely low, with most Chinese netizens using domestic alternatives. The Cyberspace Administration of China, an institution directly under the CCP Central Committee, is the national internet regulator and censor. China requires a real-name system for Internet services and online platforms.