A China plan should distinguish market testing, sales, distribution, local contracting, manufacturing, after-sales service and long-term investment. Each activity creates a different set of registration, licensing, tax, employment, foreign-exchange, data and intellectual-property questions.
The 2025 Foreign Investment Guide published by China’s Ministry of Commerce organises the process around market access, enterprise registration, tax, foreign exchange, customs, employment and intellectual property. Management still needs one integrated route that joins those workstreams to the commercial case.
01 / Decision map
Enter China with a verified route, accountable partners and local operating control.
Sector access and licence path
Confirm whether the activity is open to foreign investment, restricted, licensed or subject to sector approvals. Test the exact business scope and revenue model instead of relying on a broad industry label.
Entry route
Compare cross-border sales, distributor, agent, representative presence, foreign-invested company, joint venture, acquisition and staged models. Assess control, invoicing, hiring, import, data, capital and exit implications.
Partner and counterparty control
Verify ownership, authority, licences, litigation, sanctions exposure, customer access and the economic logic of each partner. Put deliverables, territories, data, intellectual property, reporting and termination into the operating design.
Local execution evidence
Create one bilingual decision file with the business scope, approvals, registration items, contracts, translations, IP actions, data map, foreign-exchange dependencies and a named owner for every open issue.
02 / Operating questions
- 01
What activity will generate revenue in China and which legal entity performs it?
- 02
Is the exact sector open, restricted or approval-based under current national and local rules?
- 03
Does the route require local invoicing, employees, imports, licences, data hosting or after-sales capacity?
- 04
Which partner claims have been independently verified and documented?
- 05
How are intellectual property, technical materials, customer data and termination controlled from day one?
03 / A controlled entry sequence
Define the revenue route
Describe the customer, offer, payment flow, delivery, data and after-sales responsibilities in operational terms.
Test market access
Check sector access, the negative-list position, licences, business scope and local implementation questions.
Compare structures
Score cross-border, distributor, local entity, joint venture and acquisition routes against control and dependency.
Verify counterparties
Complete ownership, authority, capability, licence, litigation and commercial-reference checks before exclusivity or material transfer.
Sequence establishment
Coordinate registration, tax, banking, foreign exchange, customs, employment, contracts, IP and data as one launch plan.
04 / Frequently asked questions
Does a European company need a Chinese entity to sell in China?
Not always. Cross-border, distributor and agent models may be possible for some offers. Local invoicing, employees, imports, licences, data or after-sales duties can make a local structure necessary. The exact activity determines the route.
Should we use a wholly foreign-owned company or a joint venture?
The choice depends on sector access, required local assets, customer route, partner contribution, governance control, technology exposure and exit rights. A joint venture should solve a defined operating dependency rather than serve as a default entry model.
How should a China distributor be checked?
Review corporate ownership, authority, business scope, licences, litigation, sanctions, channel access, service capacity and references. Contract terms should address territory, targets, reporting, data, IP, sub-distributors, compliance and termination.
What should be protected before sharing technical material?
Register relevant intellectual-property rights where appropriate, control disclosure, limit access, document recipients and use agreements adapted to the China context. Product and data flows should be mapped before extensive transfer.
05 / Primary sources