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Google Workspace in a China Office: Gmail, Drive, Meet, Calendar

Google is blocked in mainland China, Workspace included. How a team keeps Gmail, Drive, Meet and Calendar working, and what to send Chinese partners.

Updated October 2026.

The short answer

Google's services, including Gmail, Drive, Meet and Calendar, are blocked in mainland China, so a team on Google Workspace needs a route out of China for every Google address. A router covers every office device at once, and apps cover phones on the move. Plan big Drive uploads around your data allowance, and send Chinese partners details they can open.

Table of contents

Is Google Workspace blocked in China?

Yes. The block is on the network, not on your Workspace account. When we checked GreatFire's test results on 23 October 2026, www.google.com was blocked in 16 of the last 17 tests from mainland China, and mail.google.com in 6 of the last 7. Microsoft's own documentation for its China service puts it bluntly: "Google services (including Play Store) are not accessible inside China" (Microsoft Learn).

Google's own page on where Workspace is available names places where it restricts business services, such as Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria. Mainland China is not on that list (Google Workspace Admin Help, updated 20 October 2026). The obstacle is reaching Google over an ordinary Chinese connection.

That means every Google address your team uses needs a route out of China: Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet, Calendar, Chat, the admin console, the sign-in pages, and the many background addresses Google's apps call. On a Throughwire router, and in our apps, all of Google goes through Throughwire (Search, Gmail and Workspace, YouTube). Chinese services such as WeChat, WeCom, DingTalk, Alipay and Baidu stay on your normal line and use none of your Throughwire data. You can check any service in our routing directory.

Laptops and phones: what works where

In the office, on the router's network: everything with a Google account works, on every device. Laptops, phones, tablets and meeting-room screens join the router's Wi-Fi or plug in by cable, with nothing to install. This is the simplest setup for a team, because nobody has to remember an app, and printers or shared screens that can't run one are covered too.

Away from the office: phones and laptops need the Throughwire app (Hiddify, free on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows and Linux). A Team plan includes 50 team seats on one bill, so staff can use the apps at home, in hotels and on mobile data.

Android phones bought in mainland China may not have Google Play or Google's background services, which the Gmail, Drive and Calendar apps rely on. If an app won't install or sync, use Gmail, Drive and Calendar in the phone's browser while connected through Throughwire.

Gmail from China

Gmail works normally through Throughwire, in the browser and in the Gmail apps. If you read Gmail in Outlook, Apple Mail or another mail app, that connection also goes through Throughwire, because it talks to Google's servers.

One habit helps: for messages to partners in China, attach files directly rather than sending Drive links, for reasons explained below. Large attachments count towards your data each time someone on your team downloads them, so keep an eye on usage if your inbox is attachment-heavy.

Google Drive, big uploads and your data allowance

Drive traffic counts towards your Throughwire data, and uploads count as well as downloads. On High Speed, a 2 GB video uploaded to Drive uses about 2 GB of your allowance. On Ultra it counts 2.5 times, so about 5 GB. Big uploads are a High Speed job.

Google Drive for desktop has two modes. Streaming keeps files mainly in the cloud and downloads them when you open them. Mirroring stores every file on your computer and in the cloud (Google Drive Help). On a new laptop, mirroring a large shared drive downloads all of it at once. Streaming is usually the better choice in China. Drive for desktop also lets you pause and resume syncing at any time (Google Drive Help), which is useful before an important call.

Practical rules for a team:

  • Set up new laptops in streaming mode, then mirror only the folders people work in offline.
  • Schedule very large uploads (video archives, design files) for the evening after calls, or overnight.
  • Watch your usage in your Throughwire account. If a project pushes you over, extra data can be added mid-month.

Google Meet calls from China

Meet needs a steady path more than a fast one. Google's guidance for small organisations lists up to 1.7 Mbps each way for 720p video, up to 3.6 Mbps each way for 1080p, and about 100 Kbps for audio only (Google Workspace Admin Help). By our arithmetic, an hour of 720p Meet uses up to about 1.5 GB of data.

What breaks Meet calls from China is delay, jitter and lost packets on busy international links, especially between 8 pm and midnight. A network cable instead of Wi-Fi, no big uploads during the call, and the right route all help. Our app shows typical round trips from Shanghai of about 90 ms to Los Angeles (High Speed) and about 30 to 55 ms to Osaka (Ultra); we have not published measured latency yet. Most Meet calls are fine on High Speed. Our guide to evening video calls covers calls in more depth.

Calendar invites and partners in China

Google Calendar sends guests an email invitation with Yes, No and Maybe links. Google also notes that a guest outside your organisation who hasn't interacted with you before may need to respond through that email before the event appears in their calendar (Google Calendar Help). Those links, the Google Meet link and any Drive links in the invite open Google pages, which a partner on an ordinary Chinese connection may not be able to load.

So when you invite people who are in mainland China:

  • Write the essentials in the invitation text: date, time with time zone (China Standard Time, UTC+8), agenda and how to join.
  • Remember China has no daylight saving time. When Europe or North America change their clocks, the China time of a recurring meeting moves by an hour.
  • Attach documents instead of linking to Drive.
  • Ask them to confirm by email or WeChat, rather than relying on the RSVP buttons.
  • Ask which meeting tool they can open. DingTalk, WeCom and Tencent Meeting are widely used in China, and on our router they stay on your local line, so your team can join their calls without using Throughwire data.

Is Gemini available in China?

Google's page "Where you can use the Gemini web app" lists "Mainland China (Workspace only)" among the places where Gemini is available (checked 23 October 2026, Gemini Apps Help). The page does not explain the label further, so if your team relies on Gemini, check with your Workspace admin or Google what it covers for your accounts.

Google's list is about where Gemini is offered, not about the network. gemini.google.com is a Google address, so in mainland China it needs the same route as Gmail, and on our router it goes through Throughwire with the rest of Google. We can't change any provider's rules. Our guide to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in China covers each provider's official position.

Google services at a glance

Google serviceOn an ordinary China connectionWith ThroughwireWatch out for
GmailBlockedWorks in the browser, the apps and other mail appsAndroid phones without Google Play
Drive, Docs, Sheets, SlidesBlockedWorksBig uploads use data; prefer streaming in Drive for desktop
Google MeetBlockedWorksNeeds a steady path; use a cable for important calls
Google CalendarBlockedWorksPartners in China may not open RSVP, Meet or Drive links
Google ChatBlockedWorksSame as Gmail
GeminiGoogle lists "Mainland China (Workspace only)"; the network is still blockedGoes through Throughwire with the rest of GoogleGoogle's rules and your admin's settings apply
Admin console and sign-inBlockedWorksIP-based sign-in rules (see the IT section)
YouTubeBlockedWorksVideo uses a lot of data

When Throughwire isn't the right choice

  • Most of your work is with people in China. If clients and suppliers live in WeCom, DingTalk or Feishu, moving that collaboration onto one of them may serve you better than pulling partners into Google. Those apps stay on your local line on our router.
  • Your email and files must be hosted inside China. Choose a China-hosted service. Microsoft 365 operated by 21Vianet is one example; our Microsoft 365 guide explains how it differs.
  • You need a contract that guarantees performance. We don't guarantee speed or uptime. A cross-border leased line from a licensed carrier is the formal option; our guide to office internet options compares them.
  • Your connection is a foreign eSIM or a Hong Kong network. Those route through Hong Kong and are slower with any service. A China Telecom, China Mobile or China Unicom line works best.

Common questions

Can I use Gmail in China?

Not on an ordinary Chinese connection: Gmail is blocked in mainland China. With Throughwire, Gmail works in the browser, in the Gmail app and in other mail apps such as Outlook or Apple Mail.

Does Google Meet work in China?

Only with a route out of China. Meet needs a steady few Mbps (Google lists up to 1.7 Mbps each way for 720p) rather than raw speed, so a cable, no large uploads during calls, and testing at 8 pm make the biggest difference. Ultra helps when low delay matters, at 2.5 times the data.

Why can't my partner in China open my Calendar invite?

The email arrives, but its RSVP buttons, the Meet link and any Drive links open Google pages, which are blocked in mainland China. Put the time, time zone and agenda in the text, attach files, and ask for confirmation by email or WeChat.

Does Drive sync use a lot of data?

It can. Every file synced across the border counts towards your allowance, and mirroring a whole shared drive on a new laptop can use many gigabytes. Use streaming mode and schedule large uploads outside meeting hours.

Do we need a router, or are the apps enough?

For one or two people, the apps are enough: a Personal plan covers up to 3 devices. For an office, a router covers every device, including meeting-room screens and visitors, with nothing to install. Team plans include office router setup.

Can we use Google Workspace and Chinese apps at the same time?

Yes. On a Throughwire router, Google goes through Throughwire while WeChat, WeCom, DingTalk, Alipay and other Chinese services stay on your normal connection. Nobody switches anything, and the Chinese apps use none of your Throughwire data.

Details for your IT team

  • Routing (catalog version 2026.10): google.com, googleapis.com, gstatic.com, gmail.com, googleusercontent.com, googlevideo.com and youtube.com go through Throughwire. Google's China-specific google.cn sites go direct. Anything not identified as China-local goes through Throughwire by default.
  • Meet media: Meet prefers UDP for audio and video. On the router, UDP from apps, including Meet media, is carried inside the tunnel (VLESS-REALITY, running on sing-box) to the exit and continues to Google as UDP. QUIC (HTTP/3) to international sites is blocked on the router, so Chrome uses HTTPS over TCP for Google's web apps.
  • IP-based access rules: if your Workspace admin limits sign-ins to known IP addresses, the dedicated IP add-on ($9 a month) gives your office its own static address to allow.
  • Zero-Trust Relay: you can run your own WireGuard, Tailscale, SSH or Cloudflare Tunnel inside Throughwire; we carry it without access to its private contents.