How to access Chinese LLMs (GLM, Qwen, DeepSeek) without a Chinese phone number

Description and use

Developers outside China cannot register for Chinese LLM APIs due to phone, payment, ID, and documentation barriers. The solution is to use an OpenAI‑compatible gateway that hides these hurdles, enabling a simple base URL swap.

Problem

Developers outside mainland China cannot sign up for Chinese LLM APIs because the registration process requires a Chinese phone number, payment via Alipay/WeChat, real‑name verification, and Chinese‑first documentation.

Outcome

Using an OpenAI‑compatible gateway like TideLink removes the phone‑number, payment, ID, and documentation barriers, enabling developers to call Chinese LLMs with minimal code changes and a free tier for testing.

Workflow

• 1. Identify a gateway that offers email‑only signup, USD billing, and OpenAI‑compatible endpoints.
• 2. Sign up for the gateway, obtaining an API key and free tier access to a model such as glm‑4.7‑flash.
• 3. Replace the OpenAI base_url in your client code with the gateway URL and use the gateway API key.
• 4. Test the free tier to evaluate latency, output quality, and billing granularity.
• 5. If satisfied, commit to the gateway; otherwise consider alternative workarounds (virtual numbers or international cloud portals).

Evidence

The blocker for Chinese LLMs outside mainland China is registration and identity, not price or model quality.

Source

TideLink offers email‑only signup, USD billing, and OpenAI‑compatible endpoints.

Source