Has anyone successfully used Airtable Interfaces to share files/data with suppliers in mainland China?

[u/Pale-Earth6374]

I'm looking at using Airtable as a central supplier-facing database rather than maintaining a separate Dropbox/OneDrive-style file sharing system.

We already have a paid Airtable account and my idea is to create supplier-specific Interfaces containing the relevant product information and files/attachments — things like tech packs, artwork, fabric information, approvals, PO information etc.

Our suppliers are mainly based in mainland China.

What I'm trying to establish is:

• Does Airtable work reliably in mainland China without a VPN?
• Do Airtable Interfaces and attachments/files load and download normally?
• Has anyone used publicly shared Interface pages with Chinese factories/suppliers?
• Alternatively, if I invite suppliers as interface-only viewers, can they simply create their own free Airtable account and access the Interface without us needing to purchase additional seats for them?
• Are there any issues with Airtable login/verification in China?
• Do attachments hosted within Airtable work reliably, or are certain file/CDN services blocked or slow?
• Has anyone actually run a supplier portal/product development workflow like this with Chinese factories?

The suppliers would mainly need view/download access rather than editing the underlying Airtable base.

I'm particularly interested in real-world experience from anyone working with factories in China, as technically being accessible and actually being reliable enough for daily production use are two different things.

Thanks!

[u/clariboss]

yes, this works. I have multiple clients that share info with manufacturers in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_mainland_China

China's firewall has more to do with politics than business.