- An underground API relay market is thriving in China, helping developers access foreign AI models like Claude and Gemini despite official restrictions.
- Relay platforms operate by routing access through proxy servers located outside mainland China to bypass geographical controls.
- Demand has surged as many Chinese developers want to use US AI for programming, debugging, image generation, and workflow automation.
- On platforms like Taobao and Xianyu, many sellers advertise access to “native Claude Opus,” unlimited Claude Code subscriptions, and “1:1 official models.”
- Many services promise no reduction in model capability compared to the original versions from Anthropic or Google.
- Relay sellers also promote the ability to support context windows of up to 1 million tokens.
- Some services allow direct access within China’s domestic network without the need for a VPN.
- API relays are advertised as compatible with Cursor, VSCode, and OpenClaw — popular AI coding tools today.
- One high-volume seller on Xianyu has completed over 2,200 orders, advertising “low latency, no VPN required” for the entire Claude 3.5 suite.
- Listings selling access to Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini now appear publicly alongside electronics and gaming hardware on e-commerce sites.
- This trend is occurring as US AI companies increase access controls and tighten rules against unauthorized use from China.
📌 The “shadow APIs” market is becoming a bridge for the Chinese developer community to access advanced US AI models despite geographical barriers and policies. The fact that relay services support Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT with up to 1 million tokens of context, without a VPN, and integrate directly with Cursor or VSCode shows that AI coding demand in China is massive. This also reflects the increasingly tense technological competition as global AI access restrictions become harder to fully control.
