Business Setup

How a Singapore Fintech Startup Joined China’s Regulatory Sandbox: Case Study

How a Singapore Fintech Startup Joined China's Regulatory Sandbox: A Case Study In Q3 2023, PaySprint Pte. Ltd. , a Singapore-based fintech startup sp

Indian IT Firm Opens a Shanghai Bank Account with a 62-Document Package: Case Study

How an Indian IT Firm Prepared a 62-Document Package for Shanghai Bank Account Opening In 2024, TekInnovate Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a mid-size Bangal

News: Fourth National Agricultural Census — Contracting, Registering and Paying the Temporary Enumerators That County Governments Will Hire

Information date: 24 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025, People's Daily reported that the State Council issued a notice launching the Fourth National Agricultural Census; the census establishes a national survey organisation

FAQ: China’s Year-End Statutory Audit for Foreign-Invested Companies — Which Entities Must Appoint a CPA Firm, What the Report Covers and the Filing Deadlines

Information date: 24 October 2026 — Under China's Company Law and accounting rules, foreign-invested companies, joint-stock companies and most companies limited by shares must have annual financial statements audited by

China Employment Contract Type Selector: Find Your Optimal Hiring Structure

China Employment Contract Type Selector: Find Your Optimal Hiring Structure China Employment Contract Type Selector: Find Your Optimal Hiring Structur

China Severance Pay Calculator: Estimate Termination Costs

```html China Severance Pay Calculator: Estimate Termination Costs China's severance pay formula, defined under Article 47 of the Labor Contract Law (

Compliance

Industry Intelligence

Investment

News: Han Zheng Meets the US Second-Track Delegation — Which Free-Trade-Zone Pilot Openings a Thaw Would Actually Unlock for US Investors

Information date: 24 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025, People's Daily reported that Vice-President Han Zheng met a US high-level second-track dialogue delegation in Beijing, the latest in a series of 2025 contacts following

News: Green-Bond Use-of-Proceeds Checks Tighten After the Top-Level Ecological Push — The Evidence Foreign-Invested Issuers Must Hold in China’s Interbank Market

Information date: 23 October 2026 — Following the ecological emphasis carried in the 5 June 2025 top-level communications reported by People's Daily, green-bond scrutiny in the mainland interbank market continues to cent

Hong Kong vs Singapore Holding Company for China Investment: Treaty Withholding Rates, Substance Tests and Filing Differences

Information date: 23 October 2026 — Both Hong Kong and Singapore maintain double-taxation arrangements with the mainland, but the dividends, interest and royalties rates that a holding company can actually claim depend o

Case: A Foreign Apparel Brand Uses a Shanghai Free-Trade Zone Warehouse to Defer Import Duty and VAT

Information date: 21 October 2026 — A European apparel brand ships seasonal stock into a bonded warehouse inside a Shanghai free-trade zone. Goods are stored without import duty or import VAT being paid; tax falls due on

FAQ: Repatriating Dividends and Royalties from China — Documents, Withholding Rates and Bank Questions Foreign Parents Ask

Information date: 16 October 2026 — A foreign parent can repatriate dividends and royalties from China after the subsidiary has paid corporate income tax, made up losses and set aside statutory reserves. Dividends genera

Tax Incentives Resources: China’s Integrated-Circuit and Industrial Software CIT Holidays — List Conditions, Filing Pack and Renewal Checks

Information date: 16 October 2026 — China offers corporate income tax holidays for integrated-circuit and industrial-software enterprises that enter the official list jointly managed by NDRC, MIIT, MOF and STA. Depending

Buying a Chinese Company: Share Deal vs Asset Deal — Comparing Tax, Approval and Employee Transfer Steps

Information date: 15 October 2026 — In a share deal the buyer acquires equity of the target and inherits its liabilities, historic tax exposure and labour contracts; in an asset deal the buyer purchases specified assets,

FAQ: Local Government Investment Agreements in China — Clawback Triggers, Milestone Terms and Disclosure Duties for Foreign Investors

Information date: 14 October 2026 — Chinese local governments commonly sign investment agreements granting land, cash subsidies, rent-free premises or tax-related support in return for committed investment, output, tax r

Case: Using Hainan’s 30% Value-Added Processing Rule to Move Goods Into the Mainland Duty-Free

Information date: 13 October 2026 — Under Hainan Free Trade Port policy, goods produced in Hainan from imported materials or parts can enter the mainland duty-free on the import duty component when value added in Hainan

General News

News: After the Han Zheng–US Second-Track Talks, US-Linked Shareholders Face a Longer Bank File — The Beneficial-Ownership Dossier Required Before a Capital Account Opens

Information date: 22 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025 People's Daily reported that Vice-Premier Han Zheng met a US high-level second-track dialogue delegation in Beijing. No banking rule was announced with the meeting. What

Gaokao Integrity Push: Business-Licence Scrutiny for Exam-Prep and Education-Consulting Firms

Information date: 21 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025 Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang inspected Shanxi and called for guarding the fairness of the college entrance examination and delivering a safe gaokao, with more than 13 mill

News: Summer Grain Procurement Push — VAT Registration and Farm-Produce Purchase Invoice Rules for Grain Traders

Information date: 15 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025 state media reported Vice Premier Liu Guozhong's inspection in Anhui stressing that efforts must be concentrated on securing a bumper summer grain harvest and laying a s

News: ‘Environment Is Livelihood’ Push Reaches Workplace Air — Formaldehyde and VOC Testing at Office Fit-Out Handover

Information date: 14 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025 People's Daily published a study note titled 'Environment Is Livelihood' under the ecological-civilisation theme. For office fit-out handovers, the practical consequence

Market Entry

Resources: Where to Pull Standardised Business-Scope Wording for a New WFOE — SAMR Catalogue Entries, Negative-List Look-Ups and Amendment Filings

Information date: 24 October 2026 — Since the 2019 revision of the Business Scope Registration Catalogue, SAMR publishes standardised business-scope items with matched catalogue codes, and registration systems in most pr

Tool: Screening a Proposed Company Name Before Registration — Structure Rules, Restricted Words and Common Rejection Reasons for Foreign Investors

Information date: 22 October 2026 — China runs a self-declaration regime for company names: the applicant submits the proposed name through the national enterprise name declaration system, the system checks it against th

Case: A WFOE Relocates Its Registered Address Across Provinces — Tax Clearance, Social-Insurance Transfer and Licence Reissue Sequence

Information date: 20 October 2026 — A cross-province move of a WFOE's registered address is handled as a deregistration-and-reregistration of the registration particulars rather than a simple amendment: the company must

Tool: Screening a Product Against China’s CCC Catalogue — Catalogue Look-Up, Exemption Routes and Filing Documents

Information date: 19 October 2026 — China Compulsory Certification (CCC) applies only to products listed in the catalogue issued and updated by the State Administration for Market Regulation and administered by the CNCA.

Case: A UK Testing Lab Wins a Chinese Public Tender Without a Local Entity — Bid Bond, Notarised Documents and Treaty Relief

Information date: 16 October 2026 — A UK testing laboratory can bid for Chinese government procurement without incorporating in China if the tender documents permit foreign suppliers and the procurement falls within an e

Resources

Checklist: Closing a WFOE in China — Liquidator Filing, Tax Deregistration, Customs and Bank-Account Closure, Traced Through One Company’s Exit

Information date: 24 October 2026 — A standard WFOE exit runs through a liquidation group filed with SAMR within 10 days of the dissolution decision, a newspaper or national system liquidation notice with a 45-day credit

Calculator: Military-Installation Proximity Screening — Setback Checks, Survey-Permit Steps and Added Weeks Before a Factory Construction Permit

Information date: 22 October 2026 — On 5 June 2025 People's Daily reported that the CMC Chairman signed an order promulgating the Regulation on the Construction of Military Installations. For factory siting the operative

FAQ: Apostille vs Consular Legalisation for Documents Used in the PRC — Which Papers Qualify, Which Banks Still Reject Them

Information date: 22 October 2026 — China became an Apostille Convention state on 7 November 2023. Public documents issued in another contracting state need only an apostille from that state's competent authority; docume

Review: China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System — What Foreign Buyers Can Verify and What Stays Unpublished

Information date: 21 October 2026 — The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn), run by the State Administration for Market Regulation, publishes the unified social credit code, registration

FAQ: China’s 240-Hour Visa-Free Transit — Eligible Ports, Movement Rules and Permitted Business Activities

Information date: 21 October 2026 — Since 17 December 2024 China extends visa-free transit from 72/144 hours to 240 hours (10 days) for citizens of 54 countries, arriving at 60 open ports across 24 provinces and exiting

Trade & Supply Chain

Tool: Fire-Safety Acceptance and Building-Occupancy Screening in a Factory Audit — Documents to Request, On-Site Checks and Stop-Work Red Flags

Information date: 24 October 2026 — A completed factory building in China should hold a fire-safety acceptance filing or acceptance opinion issued under the Fire Protection Law and the construction project fire design re

News: Green Push Reaches Export Factories — Verified Emissions Data EU Buyers Now Demand Under CBAM

Information date: 23 October 2026 — Under the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, importers of covered goods — including iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen and, from 2026, certain do

Comparison: China General Trade vs Cross-Border E-Commerce Retail Import — Licences, Tax Caps and Label Rules

Information date: 21 October 2026 — General trade imports pay full MFN duty, import VAT and consumption tax, and require the importer to hold the relevant registrations, permits and a compliant Chinese label. Cross-borde

News: Environmental Enforcement Records Become a Sourcing Filter — Checking a Chinese Supplier’s Discharge Permit, Penalty History and Monitoring Data Before Award

Information date: 20 October 2026 — People's Daily's 5 June 2025 commentary on 'lucid waters and green mountains' signals continued weight on environmental performance in local evaluation; for buyers this means a supplie

Case: Claiming RCEP Tariff Cuts on a First Shipment From China — Back-to-Back Proof of Origin and Direct-Consignment Evidence

Information date: 19 October 2026 — RCEP has applied since 1 January 2022. A back-to-back proof of origin lets an intermediate RCEP party issue its own origin document based on an original proof of origin, without re-tes

Latest Articles

EU CBAM 2026: 5 Steps for China-Based Manufacturers Before February 2027

CBAM certificate purchases begin February 2027. China-based steel and aluminum exporters face US$72-83 per tonne in carbon costs. Here is your 7-month compliance action plan.

Hong Kong and Shanghai Race to Expand Offshore Yuan Services

Hong Kong readies new offshore yuan initiatives as Shanghai unveils its offshore finance action plan. What foreign businesses need to know about China's dual-hub RMB strategy.

Remote China Entry Playbook: 10 Controls Before Launch

A practical operating control list for overseas teams launching in China through setup coordination, supplier checks, sourcing control, and local execution support.

China Business Setup Due Diligence: 11 Checks Before Registration

A due diligence framework for overseas founders reviewing China registration routes, document readiness, local provider roles, tax path, and operating handoff.

China Sales Channel Readiness: 9 Checks Before Local Launch

A readiness checklist for overseas teams preparing a China launch through local messaging, channel fit, fulfillment planning, support ownership, and documentation.

China Inventory and Fulfillment: 10 Cost Questions Before Stocking Goods

A cost review for overseas teams comparing China storage, handling, inspection, packaging, domestic delivery, reporting, and local responsibility.

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