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China cloud identity (CIAM/IDaaS)

China-based cloud identity providers can be a good fit when you run most of your infrastructure on a China cloud, need tighter regional latency/availability control, or want identity tooling that aligns with China market requirements.

When to choose China cloud identity​

  • You primarily serve users in Mainland China and want predictable latency/availability
  • Your stack is already centered on Alibaba Cloud or Tencent Cloud
  • You need a managed identity platform (CIAM/IDaaS) instead of building login + user directory from scratch
  • You may later need enterprise-style features (SSO, federation, policies, auditing) in a China-region footprint

Pros​

  • China-region alignment: easier to keep identity close to your Mainland user base
  • Good fit for China cloud stacks: integrates naturally with the provider’s networking, monitoring, and security services
  • Often includes CIAM capabilities beyond basic login (user directory, policies, risk controls)

Cons / gotchas​

  • Still requires internal identity: never tie critical data/entitlements to an external provider identifier directly
  • Account linking complexity: if you support multiple login methods (WeChat + phone/email + enterprise SSO), you need a linking strategy to avoid duplicate accounts
  • Architecture + compliance: confirm region selection, data residency, and any relevant compliance requirements with your legal/compliance team

Implementation notes​

  • Always map external identities to a stable internal userId.
  • Use the internal userId as your canonical identifier for account-bound data and entitlements.
  • Prefer OIDC/OAuth2 for app login flows; use SAML/OIDC federation where enterprise SSO is required.

Options (China-first cloud providers)​

Alibaba Cloud IDaaS (includes CIAM capabilities)​

Good fit when your infrastructure is centered on Alibaba Cloud and you want a managed identity platform with CIAM-style features.

  • Official product page: https://www.aliyun.com/product/idaa
  • Docs / help center (ZH): https://help.aliyun.com/zh/idaa
  • Docs entry (EN): https://www.alibabacloud.com/help/en/idaa

Tencent Cloud CIAM​

Good fit when your infrastructure is centered on Tencent Cloud and you want a managed CIAM platform for registration/login and identity access control.

  • Product documentation: https://cloud.tencent.com/document/product/1441
  • Console setup guide: https://cloud.tencent.com/document/product/1441/62405