- Remote setup
- Visit needed
- Visit, notary or lawyer
- Depends
- Local director
- Not stated
- Registered address
- Domicile in China
- Minimum capital
- Paid in within 5 years
- Yearly upkeep
- Annual report (NECIPS)
- EU member
- No
- IWG business address
- 161 centresfrom $47/mo
What the registry requires
| Company type | Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (limited liability company under the Company Law) |
|---|---|
| Registry | State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) and local Administrations for Market Regulation |
| Government filing fee | Varies — No registration fee amount is stated on the official pages consulted (MOFCOM investment guide, gov.cn, Company Law). |
| Registration time | MOFCOM's 2025 guide gives the sequence (business licence, then seals, tax, social insurance, foreign-exchange registration and bank account) but no processing time; Company Law Art. 30 obliges the registry to list any missing documents in one notice. |
| Resident director | A registered legal representative is mandatory and must be a director or manager who executes company affairs (Company Law Art. 10); no residency rule is stated on the official pages consulted. |
| Visit, notary or lawyer | Registration and the foreign-investment information report go through the online enterprise registration system; the official pages consulted do not state whether the foreign investor's identity documents must be notarised or legalised. |
| Registered address | Domicile (location of the main office) is a mandatory registration item published on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (Company Law Arts. 8 and 32). |
| Minimum capital | Paid in within 5 years |
| Corporate tax | Enterprise Income Tax Law Art. 4: 25% standard rate (20% on non-resident enterprises' China-source income). |
| Every year | From the second year the foreign-invested enterprise files an annual foreign-investment information report through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, covering operations, assets, liabilities and licences. |
What it costs
- Government filing fee
- Varies
No registration fee amount is stated on the official pages consulted (MOFCOM investment guide, gov.cn, Company Law).
- Every year
- Annual report (NECIPS)
From the second year the foreign-invested enterprise files an annual foreign-investment information report through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, covering operations, assets, liabilities and licences.
- Not included
- Provider fees
Registered agent or address, notary fees, accounting and bank onboarding vary by provider — ask for a quote in the request form.
How to register a company in China, step by step
- Check the business scope against the negative list for foreign investment; restricted fields need licences before registration.
- Settle the name, domicile, registered capital (subscribed, to be paid within five years), business scope and legal representative.
- File the establishment application and articles with the Administration for Market Regulation and obtain the business licence.
- Submit the initial foreign-investment information report through the enterprise registration system.
- Carve official seals with the public-security department and register with the tax authority.
- Complete foreign-exchange registration, open the bank account and register for social insurance and housing fund.
Corporate tax in China
25%. Enterprise Income Tax Law Art. 4: 25% standard rate (20% on non-resident enterprises' China-source income).
Rates are the headline figures published by the tax authority; your effective rate depends on residence, activity and treaties. This is not tax advice.
Common mistakes
- Treating registration as approval: a business scope that touches the negative list still needs the sector licence first.
- Naming a legal representative without understanding that the role must be held by a director or manager who actually runs the company.
- Subscribing a large registered capital and forgetting it must be fully paid within five years of establishment.
Compare China with alternatives
| Yearly upkeep | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ChinaWFOE | Varies | Not stated | 25% | Not stated | Depends | Domicile in China | Annual report (NECIPS) |
 BangladeshPvt Ltd | BDT 4,700 | Not stated | 27.5% | Not stated | Depends | Registered office | BDT 200 per filing |
 GeorgiaLLC | GEL 200 | 1 working day | 15% on distribution | No | Notary or NAPR | Actual GE address | Not stated |
 IndonesiaPT PMA | Varies | Not stated | 22% CIT | No | Notary deed | Domicile required | LKPM reports |
4 of 4 · official sources, checked September 27, 2026. Government fees only; agent and address costs are extra.≈ USD at ECB reference rates of September 25, 2026.
Nearest by region and government fee. All 83 jurisdictions in one table · take the quiz.
Sources
- Foreign Investment Law: organisational form per Company Law (Art. 31), negative list (Art. 28), information reporting (Art. 34) — english.www.gov.cn, checked September 27, 2026
- Incorporation flow: business licence from the Administration for Market Regulation, information report, seals, tax, social insurance, FX registration, bank account; annual report content — fdi.mofcom.gov.cn, checked September 27, 2026
- Company Law (2023 revision): Art. 8 domicile, Art. 10 legal representative, Art. 30 registry notice, Art. 32 registration items, Art. 47 capital paid within five years — npc.gov.cn, checked September 27, 2026
- Enterprise income tax rate 25% — chinatax.gov.cn, checked September 27, 2026 (search extract)
- Registration of market entities: items registered include domicile, registered capital and legal representative — english.www.gov.cn, checked September 27, 2026