You don't need a credit card to create a US Apple account, and you don't need a VPN either. I don't live in China, I live in Europe, but I have a US account bec

You don't need a credit card to create a US Apple account, and you don't need a VPN either. I don't live in China, I live in Europe, but I have a US account because everything is better about Apple US accounts. You can use it for free (you get 5GB of iCloud space, IIRC), but to be able to pay for services I buy US iTunes gift cards from ebay (mark-up about 1%). I can pay all Apple services with this, including iCloud storage and apps and music and movies. It's a hassle, but it's totally worth it for me.