10 Best Ways to Make Money Online in China in 2025

The world has been transformed forever by the digital revolution, and China is at the forefront. China is leading the Internet evolution, so if you are in China or from China, there are many ways to make money on the Internet.

If you are a student, a stay-at-home parent or even a full-time worker searching for some extra income then the internet is full of opportunities. In this article, we will highlight the best ways to make money online in China and focus on realistic, low to medium-risk methods. Each section will begin with a clear explanation of what the method is and how it works, and then follow with actionable tips and platforms.

1. Investing and Trading Cryptocurrency

What It Is: Cryptocurrency is a digital currency that uses blockchain technology to secure it and allows P2P transfers without the need for a bank. It is the buying and selling of coins, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum for a profit from the price fluctuations.

How It Works: You can buy crypto and hold it, when the price goes up, you sell. You can also take advantage of copytrading nd future trading. There are also crypto bots that help you make money automatically.

There is strict regulation of crypto in China, but still, Chinese are among those making the most investment and income from crypto. Some traders can still use VPN to access global exchanges. It is possible to trade 24/7, to speculate on price swings, or to “HODL” (that is, to hold long-term for gradual growth).

Top Platform:

Binance: The world’s biggest crypto exchange has 500+ coins, futures trading (a form of betting on price directions with high levels of leverage), and copy trading (which copies trades from expert traders). It has low fees of 0.1% per trade and strong security policies, thus suitable for both new and experienced users.

• Advantages of crypto trading:
• High potential returns from the volatile markets.
• You can diversify with spot trading, staking (which is earning interest on the coins that you hold), or futures.
• No geographical barriers: You can trade from your phone.

Pro Tips:

• Binance has a lot of tutorials to help you succeed.
• Copy trading is also available in Binance; you can copy the trades of professional traders and learn from them.

2. Forex Trading

What It Is: Forex or Foreign exchange is the market for buying and selling currencies, for example, USD/CNY or EUR/JPY and investors make money from the price difference of these currencies.

How It Works: All you have to do is invest in a currency to appreciate or depreciate. When it goes the way you want, you sell and make a profit. Leverage is provided by the platforms to increase the returns (or losses) that are offered. There are many tools to help you make money.

Best platforms to start forex trading:

• Exness: It has narrow spreads and instant withdrawal, and the user interface is in Chinese. They provide a free VPS to enable your trading to continue without interruption during market volatility.
• Deriv: Ideal for new users with synthetic indices and a $10,000 practice trade account.

Advantages of forex trading:

• There is a lot of liquidity and you can trade 24/5.
• Have up to 1:1000 leverage (Exness) to open large positions.
• You can learn through the company’s courses and webinars that are free.

Tip: Most Chinese Forex traders trade USD/CNH when the US market is active due to price movements.

3. E-commerce and Dropshipping

What it is: It is selling products online without having to keep an inventory of stock. The suppliers directly ship the products to the customers, and you keep the profit made on the sales of the product.

How it works: E-commerce in China has been dominated by Taobao but cross-border dropshipping for instance, selling Korean skincare products to Chinese consumers is now lucrative too. You can use Shopify to create your store, get your products from AliExpress, and advertise on Douyin (TikTok).

Advantages:

• It has a low entry point; there is no need to lease warehouses.
• You are tapping into China’s $2.1 trillion e-commerce market.
• Live stream selling for instant engagement.

4. Freelancing

What It Is: Providing services to clients online, like translation, coding, or design, anywhere in the world.

How It Works: Freelancing websites connect freelancers to companies in need of workers on a short-term basis. Chinese freelancers are in high demand for their bilingual abilities and technical skills.

Top platforms for freelancers:

• Upwork or Fiverr: This one is for freelance looking for international opportunities.
• Zbj or Epwk: For local freelancing opportunities.

Did You Know? Python developers in China receive 30% more than the global average because of the high-tech demand.

5. Affiliate Marketing

What It Is: It is simply about promoting products or services online. You earn a commission when someone buys through your referral link.

How It Works: You can blog about or share product reviews on social media (Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Douyin). You get a commission every time your followers buy through your link.

Top Programs:

• Taobao Affiliate: To earn up to 10% commission, promote Taobao products.
• Alibaba Affiliate: Earn good commission.
• Amazon Associates: Recommend global products to Chinese shoppers through Amazon.

Advantages:

• Passive income—earn while you sleep.
• You never have to worry about inventory or shipping.

Pro Tip: Trending items like Xiaomi tech or baby products will result in higher conversion rates.

6. Online Tutoring

What It Is: Teaching students virtually via video calls, focusing on languages, STEM, or test prep.

How It Works: Platforms match tutors with students. Demand for English teachers and coding instructors is soaring in China.

Top Platforms:

• VIPKid: Teach English to Chinese kids aged 4–12.
• Yuanfudao: Focus on math, science, and coding for K–12 students.

Advantages:

• Earn 15–15–40/hour.
• Set your own schedule—teach mornings or evenings.

7. Content Creation

What It Is: Making videos, blogs or social media posts to make people laugh or learn and then making money from it by advertising, sponsorship or fan contributions.

How It Works: Websites like Bilibili an Douyin pay the content creators based on the number of views and how people like their content. Content like tech unboxing or cooking tutorials will keep the audience engaged.

Advantages:

• Viral potential – you can make a lot of money from one video.
• You can earn from brand deals, affiliate links and virtual tips.

Pro Tip: Douyin loves short, catchy posts and you should aim to post once a day to quickly grow your following.

8. Stock Trading

What It Is: The buying and selling of company shares on the stock exchanges, including Shanghai Stock Exchange or Nasdaq.

How It Works: Chinese investors buy and sell local shares or U.S. stocks through apps like Futu. Long-term investors earn from dividends, while day traders work off daily price movements.

Advantages:

• Create long-term wealth through compound growth.
• Get IPOs (initial public offerings) for early investment chances.

9. Selling Handmade Goods

What It Is: This one is about creating and selling custom like crafts, art, or apparel online.

How It Works: Some social media platforms, like Xiaohongshu and Etsy, help to connect artisans and those people who are looking for unique products. Some of the most trending niches are Chinese traditional crafts or modern DIY kits.

Advantages:

• Profit margins are quite high, you can sell the items 3-5 times the material cost.
• You can turn hobbies like calligraphy or embroidery into income.

10. Online Surveys and Online Tasks

What It Is: This one is about completing small online tasks like surveys, app testing, or data entry for money.

How It Works: There are apps like Ysense and Swagbucks that pay people to complete surveys and other tasks. They give you points and can convert these points to money.

Advantages:

• Earn some money in your free time.
• No skills are required, perfect for beginners.

Conclusion

There are many things you can do in China to make money online, be it crypto trading, or crafting. Start with one method, learn it and expand to others later. Note: Patience and consistency are key. Use VPNs to be able to use global platforms like Binance if you face any issues.

Balance high-risk (crypto) and stable (freelancing) income streams. Video content (e.g. Douyin) is what drives sales in e-commerce and affiliate marketing. Are you all set? Then choose a method, learn the first step and see your online income increase!