- Impact
- 75
Recently, I was discussing with colleagues from our Chinese branch, and I mentioned that the .io extension is actively traded on many Western domain trading platforms, and many tech, NFT, and token-related companies use .io domain names. However, when I researched further, it seems that .io is not used by any companies in China.
They analyzed several reasons for this:
Furthermore, they mentioned that domain extensions such as .vip, .tv, .cc, .co, and .shop, which can be registered with an ICP license in China, have certain market demand. They also shared with me a document titled "China Internet Domain System," which provides detailed information on domain extensions that can be registered with an ICP license in China.
Attachment: [China Internet Domain System]
They analyzed several reasons for this:
- Low acceptance of non-.com domains by Chinese internet users
In the eyes of Chinese internet users, they still prefer the .com suffix. They believe that other suffixes may be associated with illegal websites, such as those related to pornography, gambling, pirated movies, and internet scams (which are all considered illegal in China). Therefore, internet users intentionally avoid using them. - China does not support .io for ICP (Internet Content Provider) registration
Since March 20, 2005, obtaining an ICP license is necessary to operate a website in China, and currently, many domain suffixes are supported. However, since January 1, 2018, .io and some other ccTLDs cannot obtain ICP licenses in China. Therefore, this domain extension holds little significance for Chinese companies. - Chinese domain investors prefer domain suffixes that meet business demands
They told me that Chinese domain investors aim to sell their domains to end users. Apart from specific types, Chinese domain investors prefer domain names that have a high chance of being purchased at a high price by end users. .io does not fit this criterion. - Does this mean that .io has no market in China?
Furthermore, they mentioned that domain extensions such as .vip, .tv, .cc, .co, and .shop, which can be registered with an ICP license in China, have certain market demand. They also shared with me a document titled "China Internet Domain System," which provides detailed information on domain extensions that can be registered with an ICP license in China.
Attachment: [China Internet Domain System]