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Censorship Monitor · China Last test

Does Netflix work in China?

No. Netflix has never offered its service in mainland China. The site isn’t blocked by the Great Firewall: Netflix itself turns visitors from China away.

Today’s test · www.netflix.com

Turned away by the site

Netflix itself turns away visitors from China: the site answers “forbidden” (HTTP 403). That’s the company’s choice, not a block by China.

Last confirmed
Seen in our tests since
29 Sep 2026 (may be older)
How it fails
The site answers “forbidden” (HTTP 403)
Tested on
China Unicom and China Mobile
Test Netflix yourself › Everything we test in China

The official status

Netflix in China

Netflix left China out when it launched in 130 more countries in January 2016, and later that year it dropped its plan to launch there directly. Its help centre still lists China among the places where Netflix isn’t available, along with Crimea, North Korea, Russia and Syria.

Instead, Netflix licensed some of its shows to Chinese platforms, starting with a 2017 deal with iQIYI.

Hong Kong and Macau aren’t on Netflix’s list of places where it isn’t available.

What our daily test shows

Our test machines in China reach netflix.com, and Netflix answers them with “forbidden” (HTTP 403). That’s Netflix refusing visitors from China, not a block by China’s censors.

What people use instead

Chinese streaming services such as iQIYI and Tencent Video. iQIYI licensed some Netflix shows in 2017.

Get past a block

Watching your Netflix from China

Netflix decides what to show by where your connection appears to come from. A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so you can reach the Netflix library you already pay for. In China you need one that can get past the Great Firewall, set up before you travel.

Only government-approved VPNs are legal in China, and most foreign VPNs are blocked.

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Around the world

Where else is Netflix blocked?

Netflix is blocked in 1 other country we test.

Netflix itself turns away visitors from Russia.

It opens in 21 of the 23 other countries with a current result.

Netflix in every country we test ›

China

What else is blocked in China?

53 of the other 66 sites and apps we test are blocked in China.

All 67 results for China ›

History

Changes for Netflix in China

No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.

Method

How we test

  • Every day, test machines on China Unicom and China Mobile home connections open www.netflix.com.
  • A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
  • A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
  • Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
  • We test the website over home broadband. The app, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.

Full method ›

Questions

Netflix in China: questions

Is Netflix Banned in China?

Not by China. Netflix has simply never offered its service in mainland China, and it turns visitors from there away itself. Its help centre lists China among the places where Netflix isn’t available.

Can I Watch Netflix Shows in China?

Only titles licensed to Chinese platforms. In April 2017 Netflix signed a licensing deal with iQIYI, a Baidu-owned streaming service.

Is Netflix Available in Hong Kong?

Yes. Netflix’s list of places where it isn’t available names China, Crimea, North Korea, Russia and Syria, but not Hong Kong or Macau.

Free to use

Cite this result

Quote or republish today’s result with a link to this page: the monitor’s data is under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0).

Source: vpnAlert Censorship Monitor, https://vpnalert.com/tools/censorship-monitor/china/netflix/

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