Hold off on Chinese IDNs until it gets MIIT approval — Donuts to

Final dates not set for for Chinese internationalized domain names.

Top level domain name firm Donuts is right now running sunrise for four Chinese IDN domain names, but it has yet to set general availability dates for the four domains.

Some registrars had planned to offer the domains in general availability by the end of this year. But Donuts, in response to an inquiry from Reglike, stated that it will hold off on general availability until it gets approved by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). This approval is necessary for Chinese residents to buy and subsequently host the domain names in China.

MIIT approved three Western top level domain name firms’ domains (.Club, .VIP and .XYZ) this stretch. Fresh top level domain name firms hope that this opens up the floodgates for more approvals.

Donuts’ decision to hold off on general availability makes sense given the target market for its domains. Unlike some other domains targeted to China, Donuts will likely maintain relatively high prices. Its target is end users in China, and they will want to host their domains locally.

The four Donuts domain names are:

.游戏 xn--unup4y (games)
.企业 xn--vhquv (enterprises)
.娱乐 xn--fjq720a (entertainment)
.商店 xn--czrs0t (shop/store)