Why Foreign Developers Rush to China’s GLM Coding Plan While Claude Demands Face Verification

Anthropic has introduced a mandatory identity verification step for Claude users. To complete the check, users must provide a valid government‑issued photo ID (passport, driver’s license, state or national ID), a device with a camera, and a few minutes—typically under five minutes. The verification process rejects photocopies, scans, digital IDs, and any non‑government documents.

The move has drawn strong criticism from the community, with many calling the requirement overly harsh and a barrier to access.

At the same time, China’s GLM Coding Plan, especially after the release of GLM‑5.1, has surged in popularity abroad. Overseas pricing for the Max tier rose from $80 to $160 per month, while the same tier costs 469 CNY (≈$68) domestically, making the foreign version more than twice as expensive.

Foreign developers, seeking cost savings, are exploring ways to purchase the Chinese version, debating the need for a Chinese ID, Alipay binding, and whether overseas credit cards are accepted. This has spawned a secondary market where users offer “proxy purchase” services, akin to ticket scalping.

Victor Mustar, product lead at Hugging Face, highlighted GLM‑5.1’s capabilities by building a 531‑line Three.js racing game featuring realistic drift physics and four AI driver personalities, noting that the result surpasses Claude Code paired with Opus 4.6.

The article frames these developments as part of a broader AI industry shift: US firms like OpenAI and Anthropic are moving toward closed ecosystems and higher prices, while Chinese providers leverage lower costs and open‑source models to attract developers worldwide.

Domestically, GLM Coding Plan releases daily at 10 am, leading to intense “flash‑sale” traffic, page overloads, and a burgeoning reseller ecosystem that mirrors concert‑ticket scalping.