I need more information about the usage of "Steam's Global version" in China

[Compelete_Hawk]

Several months from now, I will be moving to China (Henan Province/Zhengzhou City) for the next 6 years (for studying purposes); consequently, I've started to do some research before moving there which has prompted many questions.

Firstly, I found out about an alternative version of steam known as "SteamChina" which is a requirement for players in Mainland China to play on this platform (I've searched a little about it and people said Chinese players mostly ignore this version, so it made me a little confused); therefore, I've been wondering is it really necessary or no, I also been said that I can use VPNs and stuff at my own risk because it follows enormous risks of being restricted and ... which I doubt it.

Secondly, I wanted to make sure If I can even play on different countries' servers since all of my mates are on EU servers. Also how much my ping time will be on online games depending on how far I am from the server, and how good or bad the service is, or anything between my connection & the game servers? (Considering I have to use a VPN; however, having said that, since I'm using it to access censored content, I'd rather not use a VPN and play it safe if it's possible.)

I'd appreciate any comments.
Thank you^^

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

You can still use the international version.

[WhiteKnight]

China hasn't blocked Steam completely. So u can use the international ver.