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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Chinaforce, China data residency, and working with us.
About Chinaforce
No. Chinaforce deploys as an overlay on your existing Salesforce environment. Your global Salesforce org remains completely unchanged — same workflows, same dashboards, same user experience. China customer data is routed onshore through Chinaforce's compliance layer while your global teams continue working as before. At the Autonomous tier, a dedicated China org can be added — but this is optional, not required.
Only Chinese customer personal information (PII) is stored onshore to satisfy PIPL and CAC data residency requirements. This includes names, contact details, purchase history, and any data classified as personal information under China's Personal Information Protection Law. Your global data, operational configurations, and non-China customer records are not affected. Chinaforce creates a clean separation while maintaining unified reporting and dashboards.
The Compliant tier deploys in 8 weeks. This includes the full Assess, Overlay, and Certify process — from initial Salesforce configuration review to live CAC data residency claim with audit trail. The Connected tier (adding WeChat, WeCom, and Mini Program integration) takes 10–12 weeks. The Autonomous tier (dedicated China Salesforce org) takes 4–6 months.
Chinaforce pricing is modular and based on your specific configuration — data volume, number of channels, DSAR volume, and disaster recovery requirements. For a typical mid-market deployment (500K data subjects, 3 channels), the starting cost is approximately $2,500/month. You can get an exact estimate using our interactive pricing calculator.
Compliance and regulation
It depends on your deployment configuration. Chinaforce advises on ICP requirements during the Assess phase based on your specific setup. In many overlay configurations, an ICP license is not required because Chinaforce uses approved cloud infrastructure that already holds the necessary licenses. If your deployment requires an ICP filing, Chinaforce can guide you through the process.
Chinaforce supports all three PIPL cross-border data transfer pathways: Security Assessment (required for critical infrastructure or large-scale processors), Standard Contract Filing (most common for mid-market companies), and Personal Information Protection Certification (third-party certification). Your engagement includes guidance on which pathway is most appropriate for your organization.
Penalties include fines up to ¥50 million or 5% of annual revenue, personal liability for directors up to ¥1 million, business suspension, and social credit blacklisting. In 2025, Dior was penalized for illegal cross-border data transfer, Louis Vuitton suffered a breach exposing 419,000 records, and Cartier had customer data stolen. The amended Cybersecurity Law (January 2026) removed the 'warning first' requirement — regulators can now penalize immediately.
Working with Chinaforce
Salesforce offers its own China solution through Alibaba Cloud, but it requires multi-org architecture — effectively a rebuild. Chinaforce is the complementary overlay alternative. Salesforce on Alibaba Cloud requires a new China org (6–12 months, full rebuild). Chinaforce overlays on your existing org (8 weeks, no rebuild). Many clients start with Chinaforce for immediate compliance and later evaluate whether a dedicated China org is needed as operations scale.
Chinaforce connects your Salesforce to WeChat (messaging and engagement), WeCom (enterprise communication and clienteling), Mini Programs (commerce with WeChat Pay and Alipay), JD.com and Tmall (marketplace integrations), and Douyin (social commerce). All channel data flows back into your global Salesforce for unified visibility.
During deployment: Salesforce configuration assessment, Chinaforce compliance layer deployment, China data residency partition on approved infrastructure, CAC audit trail and compliance dashboard, cross-border transfer pathway filing, and global-to-China data sync. Ongoing: regulatory monitoring and updates (included), compliance audit support, technical support, and upgrade path to Connected and Autonomous tiers.
Your subscription renews annually with rates locked for the contract duration (annual increases capped at CPI + 3%). Most clients expand from Compliant to Connected within the first year as China operations grow. Each tier builds on the previous one — nothing is rebuilt. Regulatory updates are included throughout your contract at no additional cost.
Industries
Chinaforce works with global brands across Luxury (clienteling, WeChat engagement, compliant customer data), Gaming (player data residency, cross-border compliance), Hospitality (guest data, loyalty programs), Financial Services (regulatory-grade data residency, audit compliance), Retail & FMCG (omnichannel China commerce, marketplace integration), and Technology (SaaS compliance, API-driven integrations). If your industry isn't listed, contact us to discuss your specific needs.