Chinese companies are making substantial profits by illegally reselling API access and tokens for Claude and ChatGPT at discounts of up to 97% off official prices.
These proxy services, known as transfer stations, operate openly on platforms including Taobao, GitHub, and Telegram. They rely on stolen credentials, bulk-farmed accounts, and other workarounds to bypass restrictions in China.
Demand remains strong because leading US models deliver superior performance for developers, students, and businesses compared to major domestic alternatives.