“If I want employees to access the company intranet securely from outside, should I choose ZeroTier, Tailscale, or the China-made sTrust?” — this is the selection question we get asked most often these days. All three can handle remote access and multi-site networking, but they differ considerably in positioning, compliance, and experience within China. Today we’ll explain how the three tools differ, who each one suits, and how Chinese enterprises should choose — after reading, you’ll know which one fits you.
The conclusion first: the differences in three sentences
- ZeroTier: a veteran virtual networking tool, suited to geeks and technical teams who like to tinker; its control plane is overseas, so access and stability inside China are a matter of luck.
- Tailscale: a foreign remote access tool with a well-crafted experience and a quick learning curve; but its control plane is also overseas, so speeds in China are unstable and enterprise compliance is a serious weakness.
- sTrust: a zero trust remote access SaaS built for Chinese enterprises — control plane in China, ICP-filed, able to support MLPS 2.0 (China’s Multi-Level Protection Scheme), per-account authorization, and stable direct connections within China.
Item-by-item comparison
| Comparison | ZeroTier | Tailscale | sTrust |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Virtual networking | Remote access | Enterprise zero trust |
| Control plane location | Overseas | Overseas | In China |
| Connection experience in China | Unstable | Unstable | Direct connections in China, stable |
| ICP filing / compliance | None | None | ICP-filed · meets MLPS 2.0 |
| Permission management | Technical | Fairly good | By account / department |
| Chinese-language support / service | Weak | Weak | Chinese-language · local service |
| Best for | Geeks / self-hosted | Small teams / overseas | Chinese SMEs |
Why Chinese enterprises often run into trouble with ZeroTier/Tailscale
Both are good tools in themselves, but in a Chinese enterprise context there are two realities you can’t get around:
① Control plane overseas: the account system and node coordination both rely on overseas servers, so access from China is fast at times and slow at others, sometimes fails to connect, and lets you down at the worst moment.
② Compliance is the real problem: with the data channel and control plane overseas, it’s hard to justify when seeking MLPS compliance or responding to regulatory inspections, and many companies can’t even get past their own internal audit.
That’s why more and more Chinese SMEs prioritize solutions with a control plane in China, ICP filing, and MLPS support, solving “does it work well” and “is it compliant” at the same time. This is exactly the positioning of sTrust Zero Trust.
So how should you choose?
Put simply: for personal tinkering or overseas teams, ZeroTier/Tailscale are enough; for Chinese enterprises that need employees to access the intranet reliably, securely, and compliantly (ERP, finance, file servers), a China-based zero trust SaaS is far less trouble — no hardware to buy, activation per account, one-click revocation when someone leaves, and it supports MLPS compliance. Beijing companies that want local implementation can also have Siwenlide bundle networking, security, and remote access into a single package.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can ZeroTier and Tailscale be used in China?
A: They install and they work, but the control plane is overseas, so connection speed and stability in China can’t be controlled and they tend to drop in enterprise production environments; they also have a hard time passing MLPS compliance.
Q: What’s the biggest difference between sTrust and those two?
A: sTrust is a zero trust SaaS built for Chinese enterprises — control plane in China, ICP-filed, able to support MLPS 2.0, stable direct connections within China, per-account authorization, and local Chinese-language service.
Q: Can an SME with no IT staff use sTrust?
A: Yes. It’s activated in software, with no hardware to buy and no networking knowledge required — grant an employee access in 5 minutes and revoke it with one click when they leave.
Q: We already use ZeroTier/Tailscale — is migration a hassle?
A: Not at all. Just switch employees to the new client and re-authorize their permissions; the intranet-side configuration is handled with help from the service provider.
Want a remote access solution that is compliant and reliably connected in China?
sTrust Zero Trust — control plane in China, ICP-filed, per-account authorization, stable direct connections within China, activated in 5 minutes with no hardware to buy. Visit strust.siwenlide.com for a free trial; Beijing companies wanting local implementation can call 400-686-2011 or visit siwenlide.com.
