We are currently deploying IFS to our entity in China, we have a TEST environment running from the same hosted server where our PROD database sits. The Shanghai office has been able to use PROD for querying order status and part status from our US and European manufacturing sites for years without problems other than a bit of speed reduction due to latency.  The deployment will be for full finance, inventory, logistics, and some service process (no mobile) use.  TEST has been reasonably usable even though it runs on lesser hardware than PROD.  We have ran into more issues with local user PCs not being up to current standard and significant bandwidth issues (esp wireless) on their WAN, more so than we have with the Great Firewall.  We expected the latter to be an issue, but it really hasn’t been.  We did upgrade numerous pieces of in house hardware and about 30-40 PCs, but that really has been the extent of the technical issues.  I’ve been there and ran IFS direct to the server (Arizona) as well as through our VPN in Boston without issues.  Large queries are noticeably slower, but not impossible.  Day to day activities are mostly at their normal speed even if that is a bit slower than I would see just 3 hrs (timezone) from the server.  

Oh...I should add, when working there, I was pleasantly surprised how well I could work compared to my expectation of how bad it would be….