Why Akamai Is Pulling Its CDN Out of China and What It Means for Users

Akamai Announces End of CDN Services in China

According to recent reports, Akamai will cease its CDN operations in China on June 30, 2026, directing any remaining content requests to neighboring countries.

To help customers keep data within China, Akamai has partnered with Tencent Cloud and Wangsu Technology; Tencent's migration service is already available, while Wangsu's is “coming soon”.

What Is a CDN and Why It Matters in China

A CDN (Content Delivery Network) distributes content across a network of edge servers to bring data closer to end‑users, improving speed and security.

Because China’s three major ISPs (China Unicom, China Telecom, China Mobile) have distinct peering arrangements, latency can be high without locally distributed edge points, making a CDN essential for fast, reliable delivery.

International CDNs rely on local partners to operate in China; Akamai uses Wangsu Technology, which runs over 500 PoPs and supports many Chinese cloud providers.

Who Uses Akamai’s CDN?

Regulated industries such as banking and insurance prefer Akamai’s CDN to meet compliance requirements for domestic data hosting, while less regulated sectors may opt for alternatives like Chinafy.

Why Is Akamai Pulling Out?

Founded in 1998 to solve web congestion, Akamai has grown from a CDN to a platform offering security and cloud services, now generating two‑thirds of its revenue from those areas.

CEO Dr. Tom Leighton cited macro‑economic and geopolitical pressures as challenges to the CDN business, leading to the decision to end Chinese operations.

Community Reaction

“Akamai is more than a CDN; it includes certificate management, WAF, API protection, IAM, edge DNS, edge workers, complex routing rules, analytics, and more. Migrating away can take a year or more because of the extensive technical dependencies.”

“We are an Akamai customer. Because our China business is indirect, we are not directly affected, but a forced migration would require rebuilding the entire technical stack, testing, and a year‑long transition.”

Official Letter (Translated)

Dear Akamai partners,

We are notifying you that all Akamai CDN services in China will be discontinued as of June 30, 2026. After that date, content requests will be served from neighboring regions unless a partner solution is activated.

We have partnered with Tencent Cloud and Wangsu Technology to provide high‑performance content delivery and enhanced security in mainland China.

What this means for you:

Seamless delivery and security – Our partners will maintain the high‑quality experience you expect from Akamai.

Akamai as a reseller – You can purchase the partner solutions directly through Akamai.

Available now – Tencent migration services and support.

Coming soon – Wangsu migration services and support.

Next steps – Existing Chinese CDN customers must complete migration to a partner solution before June 30, 2026 to avoid service interruption.

We understand change can be challenging and are committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.