Beijing flagged Claude Code as a back door, and Chinese coding tools are lining up to take its place

China’s Coding Tools Gain as Claude Code is Flagged

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China’s National Vulnerability Database has flagged multiple versions of Anthropic’s Claude Code as containing a security “back door,” which could send user locations and identifiers to remote servers without consent. (Image by: Anthropic)

TL;DR

China’s National Vulnerability Database has identified security vulnerabilities in Anthropic’s Claude Code, prompting a shift towards domestic coding tools among Chinese developers.

Beijing flagged Claude Code as a back door, and Chinese coding tools are lining up to take its place

ByteDance’s Trae, Alibaba’s Qoder, Tencent’s CodeBuddy, and Zhipu’s ZCode all stand to gain from this development as Chinese developers seek alternative options to American software.

• July 12, 2026 – 1:48 pm

Analysts Expect Shift to Domestic Tools

Chinese developers are already moving towards domestic coding tools, with the recent cybersecurity warning against Anthropic accelerating this trend.

China’s National Vulnerability Database Alert

The database, overseen by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, issued an alert regarding the security vulnerabilities in Claude Code.

Anthropic’s Response

Anthropic has acknowledged embedding a tracking mechanism, intended to prevent illicit "distillation" of its models, but disputes its use as a back door. The company notes that its usage policy bars China-based users from accessing its services.

A Longer Dispute

This incident follows Anthropic’s previous accusation against Alibaba for trying to extract its AI capabilities and Alibaba’s subsequent ban on staff using Claude Code due to security concerns.

Trae, Qoder, and Other Platform Plays

• ByteDance’s Trae offers AI-native development with natural-language prompts and autonomous agents, supporting local models like Doubao and DeepSeek.
• Alibaba’s Qoder provides a full development workspace with code generation, project analysis, and autonomous task execution, allowing custom API integration of user models.
• Tencent and Zhipu also offer competing coding tools in the market.

Conclusion

The row is expected to push Chinese developers towards adopting domestic coding solutions, emphasizing security concerns and the country’s goal for tech self-reliance.