How to Use the Library
Foreign investors need a controlled set of primary sources for market, access, registration, tax, trade, data, employment and local implementation questions. The twelve resources below are starting points maintained by Chinese authorities. They reduce reliance on unsourced summaries, but they do not eliminate the need to identify the exact rule, effective date and competent authority for a project.
For every material conclusion, the project file records the source title, issuing body, publication date, relevant clause, access date and business implication. An English translation can support internal review, while the controlling Chinese text and local implementation are confirmed for execution.
1. National Bureau of Statistics
The National Data platform provides monthly, quarterly, annual and regional statistics. It supports market context, location comparison and industry analysis. Users retain the indicator definition, unit, geography and period so results are not presented outside their statistical scope.
2. General Administration of Customs
Customs statistics and policy notices support analysis of trade flows, tariff classification and import or export procedures. Product-level analysis begins with the correct HS code. Published trade value does not prove sales for a specific company or addressable segment.
3. MOFCOM Foreign Investment Guide
The Ministry of Commerce guide brings together explanations of investment access, enterprise registration, tax, foreign exchange, employment and regional conditions. It is useful for navigation and identifying responsible authorities. Underlying laws, regulations and local requirements remain the execution sources.
4. Foreign Investment Negative List
The national negative list identifies prohibited and restricted foreign-investment activities, including applicable equity or management conditions. Activities outside the list follow national treatment for foreign-investment access while remaining subject to the general market-access list and sector regulation.
5. Market Access Negative List
This list helps identify prohibited or permission-based activities applying to market participants. It is reviewed with the foreign-investment list, not instead of it. The team maps the actual revenue-generating activity and any planned expansion.
6. State Administration for Market Regulation
SAMR publishes company-registration standards, competition, advertising, product, consumer, certification and market-regulation materials. The 2026 registration document standards are relevant to establishment, change and filing work. Sector responsibilities are confirmed rather than inferred from the agency name alone.
7. National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System
The official enterprise publicity system supports verification of Chinese market entities and disclosed regulatory information. Search uses the exact Chinese legal name or unified social credit code. Public records are reconciled with licenses, contracts, bank details and shareholder documents in a diligence process.
8. Credit China
Credit China provides public credit information and policy materials. It can reveal disclosed administrative and trustworthiness records. A clean search does not establish financial health, beneficial ownership, litigation status or operational capability.
9. State Taxation Administration
STA publishes tax laws, announcements, guidance and service information. Tax analysis follows the actual transaction, invoicing, customs, employment and related-party model. Promotional summaries or national headline rates are not treated as a calculation for a particular investor.
10. Cyberspace Administration of China
CAC publishes national rules and implementation materials for cybersecurity, personal information and data. The company maps data collection, storage, access, transfer and processing roles before selecting systems or vendors. Sector data requirements may apply in addition to the national framework.
11. National Intellectual Property Administration
CNIPA resources support trademark, patent and other intellectual-property searches and procedures. Brand and technology protection begins before launch or partner disclosure. A company name or domain registration does not replace trademark and patent analysis.
12. Provincial and Municipal Government Portals
Local portals publish implementation notices, licensing procedures, service contacts and incentive applications. The issuing authority, eligibility, period, budget, evidence and clawback are recorded. A local promotional page is not treated as an unconditional entitlement.
Source Hierarchy
- Law, administrative regulation or binding rule.
- Official measure, notice, standard or authority decision.
- Official policy interpretation or service guide.
- Official statistical database or disclosed public record.
- Professional interpretation, interview and commercial evidence.
Lower levels can explain or supplement higher levels but do not override them. The team identifies whether a document is binding law, guidance, an application notice or a statistical release.
Maintenance Standard
The library has an owner and quarterly review. High-risk items such as negative lists, company law, registration forms, data transfer, product approvals and tax are checked again before commitment. Dead links are replaced with the issuing authority’s current page; archived copies retain document identity and date.
A decision memo includes an “open confirmation” section for questions that official sources do not resolve. Those items are assigned to qualified counsel, tax advisers, customs specialists, banks or the competent authority. This prevents uncertainty from being hidden inside an apparently complete resource list.
Superseded documents remain in the archive but are marked clearly and excluded from current advice. When a newer edition appears, the owner compares changed clauses and records which active projects require reassessment.
