What are the specific rules and guidelines to deliver emails to the Chinese market?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 5 Aug 2025
Updated 18 Aug 2025
7 min read
Navigating email delivery to the Chinese market presents unique challenges compared to other regions. The digital landscape in China is highly regulated and culturally distinct, requiring a nuanced approach to ensure your emails reach their intended recipients. I've found that success here hinges on a deep understanding of local laws, technical requirements, and recipient behavior.
Regulatory compliance
One of the most critical aspects of sending emails to China is complying with its strict regulatory framework. The Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) is a comprehensive data protection law that governs how personal information is processed, similar to GDPR in Europe. Marketers must obtain explicit and verifiable consent from recipients before sending commercial electronic information, which is a foundational requirement to avoid being blacklisted (or blocklisted) by Chinese ISPs.
Beyond consent, specific content rules apply. For instance, all promotional emails must include the word 'AD' (or a Chinese equivalent like 广告) in the subject line. Failure to adhere to this rule can lead to immediate filtering or rejection. This particular requirement is often overlooked by international senders, but it's crucial for compliance and deliverability. For more on this, consider reading about if AD is still required in subject lines.
Chinese regulations also broadly prohibit content that is politically sensitive or violates local cultural norms, which can be a significant hurdle for foreign businesses. It's not just about spam; it's about adhering to a broader set of content restrictions enforced by the government and ISPs. The Email Marketing in China best practices provide valuable insights into navigating these content complexities.
Consent rules
Explicit Opt-in: Recipients must provide clear, unambiguous consent before receiving any commercial emails. Pre-checked boxes are not acceptable.
Verifiable Permission: Senders must be able to prove consent if requested by authorities or ISPs.
Unsubscribe Option: A clear and accessible unsubscribe mechanism must be provided in every email.
Technical and infrastructure requirements
Technical infrastructure and sending practices also differ significantly in China. Chinese ISPs, such as QQ.com and Sina.com, have stringent anti-spam policies and often impose lower sending rate limits compared to Western providers. A sudden surge in email volume can quickly trigger their spam filters, leading to blocklisting or throttling. Gradual warming of IP addresses is even more critical here than elsewhere.
Another major factor is data localization requirements. If you host your email server or process significant quantities of personal data of Chinese citizens, you may need to comply with specific data localization and cybersecurity regulations. This often means using local email service providers (ESPs) or having a physical presence in China to ensure data is stored within its borders. This can be a complex and costly undertaking, but it's often necessary for high deliverability. China's PIPL mandates rigorous data protection measures.
Implementing proper email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is also essential, but it's just the baseline. Chinese ISPs (internet service providers) may place a greater emphasis on sender reputation and engagement metrics, meaning even authenticated emails can land in the junk folder if recipients don't actively interact with them. For overall global sending, it's always good to review the best resources for global email sending requirements.
Finally, ensure your email sending platform (ESP) or Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) supports double-byte character sets (DBCS). This is crucial for correctly rendering Chinese characters in your emails, preventing content corruption and ensuring readability for your recipients.
Example subject line with 'AD'plain text
From: Your Brand <marketing@example.com>
To: recipient@qq.com
Subject: AD: Exciting New Products!
Content and cultural nuances
Beyond the technical and legalities, understanding the cultural context and preferred communication channels is vital. Email is not as dominant a communication tool in China as it is in many Western countries. Messaging apps like WeChat often serve as the primary platform for personal and business communication, including e-commerce interactions. This means your email marketing strategy should be part of a broader, multi-channel approach that prioritizes local platforms.
Content localization is also critical. Simply translating your emails from English to Chinese is often insufficient. Messages should be culturally relevant, using appropriate imagery, tone, and references. Direct, overly promotional language might be less effective than content that offers value, builds trust, and aligns with local customs. Your approach to emails with multiple languages needs to go beyond mere translation in China.
Engagement is paramount. Chinese ISPs pay close attention to user interaction, so emails that consistently receive opens, clicks, and replies are more likely to land in the inbox. Conversely, low engagement can quickly damage your sender reputation, leading to blocklisting (or blacklisting). Segmenting your audience and sending targeted content to highly engaged users can significantly improve your deliverability rates.
Avoid using politically sensitive keywords or references to banned websites or topics. China operates under strict internet censorship, often referred to as the Great Firewall. Any content detected as violating these guidelines, even subtly, can result in your emails being blocked or your domain being put on a blocklist. Regularly reviewing your content against current restrictions is a crucial practice.
General email marketing
Focus on high open and click rates. Low engagement is a key indicator for spam filters.
Rely heavily on email as a primary communication channel.
Email marketing in China
Beyond engagement, strict adherence to content rules, including subject line mandates and avoidance of sensitive topics, is critical.
Email is often secondary to popular local chat apps. Integrate email as part of a broader, localized strategy.
Strategies for success
Given the complexities, partnering with a local email service provider (ESP) or a provider with a strong presence and established infrastructure within China is often the most effective strategy. These providers are well-versed in the local regulations, have relationships with major ISPs, and can help navigate the technical and legal requirements, including data localization. Many international ESPs often have partnerships or specific offerings for the Chinese market.
Maintaining a clean and engaged subscriber list is even more crucial in China. Regularly remove inactive subscribers and implement double opt-in processes to ensure genuine consent. This practice not only helps with compliance but also improves your sender reputation, which is a key factor for deliverability to Chinese inboxes. Frequent monitoring of your sending reputation and blocklist status is paramount.
Finally, be prepared for slower sending speeds and higher bounce rates than you might experience elsewhere. Patience and continuous monitoring are key. Adapting your email marketing strategy to align with China's unique digital ecosystem, rather than simply replicating Western approaches, will be essential for success. This often requires ongoing testing and adjustments to your campaigns.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Ensure explicit and verifiable consent for all email recipients to comply with data privacy laws like PIPL.
Always include 'AD' or its Chinese equivalent in the subject line for promotional emails to avoid filtering.
Localize email content beyond simple translation, considering cultural nuances and current events.
Use email service providers or partners with infrastructure and expertise within China for better deliverability.
Maintain highly engaged subscriber lists and regularly remove inactive email addresses to improve sender reputation.
Common pitfalls
Ignoring data localization requirements, which can lead to legal issues and blocked emails.
Sending at high volumes or speeds, triggering ISP throttling and blocklisting (or blacklisting).
Failing to localize email content culturally, resulting in low engagement and poor inbox placement.
Using content with politically sensitive keywords, leading to emails being censored or rejected.
Not having double-byte character set (DBCS) support, which can corrupt Chinese characters in emails.
Expert tips
Prioritize list hygiene by continuously scrubbing inactive users to boost engagement signals.
Invest in local partnerships for infrastructure and expertise specific to the Chinese email ecosystem.
Monitor ISP feedback loops and bounce rates meticulously, as they provide critical insights into deliverability issues.
Integrate email marketing with local messaging apps for a holistic communication strategy.
Stay updated on evolving Chinese regulations, as the digital landscape is dynamic and requires constant adaptation.
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says that China presents incredibly complicated rules, often requiring local language fluency and a business presence within the country for email delivery.
2024-01-10 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says that legal requirements, filtering, and cultural differences make Chinese email delivery highly restricted.
2024-01-15 - Email Geeks
Final thoughts on China email deliverability
Email deliverability to China is undoubtedly one of the most challenging aspects of global email marketing. It demands a holistic strategy that encompasses strict regulatory compliance, technical adaptations, cultural sensitivity in content creation, and often, collaboration with local partners. By focusing on these key areas, you can significantly improve your chances of reaching the inbox and engaging effectively with recipients in this unique and vital market.
WeChat often serve as the primary platform for personal and business communication, including e-commerce interactions. This means your email marketing strategy should be part of a broader, multi-channel approach that prioritizes local platforms.
