# Can I get a virtual/voip number in China?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 25, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174 "2016-01-25T14:01:15Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/1 "2016-01-25T14:01:15Z")

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I have business associates in China (mostly Shenzhen). I’m in the USA. Can I set up a local Chinese number that they can call, and have it redirect to me in the USA? I know it’s possible to do that for numbers in the USA and other countries via SkypeIn or one of the various VoIP providers, but I can’t parse through all the spam ads on Google to see if there’s a reasonable way to do the same in China.

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**Author:** ![Nefario](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/59ef9b/32.png) [@Nefario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefario)\
**Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/2 "2016-01-25T17:11:10Z")

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Not the answer you’re looking for but for what it’s worth I’ve used Skype from company and hotel internet connections in China to the US. I would think anyone participating in international business from China would have their local internet angle figured out.

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**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/4 "2016-01-26T03:26:24Z")

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We use iTalkBB and have for probably 5 years. It is a local Shanghai number and rings in our place here in Seattle. Works well.

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [January 26, 2016, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/5 "2016-01-26T04:03:31Z")

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I thought Chinese people just used WeChat for internet voice calls.

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**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/6 "2016-01-30T04:38:27Z")

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WeChat is huge and we have that but having a local phone number is great. We have a bundle with a slew of Chinese TV programs and movies. And I use it to call numbers in China/HK/Taiwan for a paltry amount.

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-get-a-virtual-voip-number-in-china/744174/7 "2016-01-30T18:44:54Z")

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We do use WeChat all the time for texting and for short voice bursts, but we’ve experienced lousy sound quality when people call us using WeChat’s phone-call feature from China to the USA. It drops calls within a few minutes 9 times out of 10.

Thanks for the recs–I’ll check out iTalkBB and Localphone!