Can you use Shopify if your business is in mainland China?

Which payment route can a mainland China business use?

Shopify's pages disagree on Shopify Payments for China: Setting up payments for merchants in China lists it as not available for mainland China, while Shopify Payments for China describes early access by invitation (both read October 21, 2026). The Shopify Payments for China pages we read don't describe how to request an invitation, so build the store on a third-party provider.

For Shopify Payments through Hong Kong SAR, Shopify's China setup page bars mainland China residents from registering as an individual or sole proprietorship, while the Hong Kong SAR requirements allow a sole proprietorship with a Hong Kong business registration number (BRN). Both pages accept a corporation, partnership or non-profit.

What does the third-party route cost?

When a third-party provider takes the payment, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on each order: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of the provider's own fees.

If your store currency is CNY, PayPal won't appear at checkout.

What else changes when you sell from mainland China?

Shopify's servers aren't located in mainland China, so connection speeds might vary, and a .cn domain might bring additional ICP filing requirements. Shopify's delivery estimates for the four fulfillment models most merchants from China use:

• Self-fulfillment: 10–30 days
• Dropshipping: 15–40 days
• Virtual overseas warehouse: 7–10 days
• Overseas warehouse: 2–5 days

Collecting duties at checkout? Products without an HS code won't have them calculated.