[2] Of the 47 AFC member associations, a total of 40 teams entered the competition.

[3] The draw was held on 17 March 2017, 15:00 MYT (UTC+8), at the AFC House in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The following restrictions were also applied:[5] Players born on or after 1 January 1995 were eligible to compete in the tournament.

The ten group winners and the five best runners-up qualified for the final tournament.

If the final tournament hosts China PR won their group or were among the five best runners-up, the sixth best runner-up also qualified for the final tournament.