SHORT ANSWER
WFOE registration takes 6-10 weeks end to end: apostilled parent documents, SAMR filing, chops, tax registration, SAFE/FDI report and bank account. Fixed-fee packages from $1,400; the choke point is banking, so start it in week one.
Entry routes are chosen by sector: WFOE where the negative list is clear (manufacturing now fully open, 29 items remain nationally), JV in restricted segments, Representative Office for non-revenue liaison. The registration spine is the same: name pre-approval → SAMR licence + FDI information report → chops (PSB-registered) → tax registration → SAFE capital account → corporate bank account → social insurance/housing fund. Banking is the real bottleneck (2-8 weeks, in-person KYC, branch-level discretion at the big four), so we open the banking conversation in week one and pre-wire KYC while SAMR runs. Registered capital under the 2024 Company Law must be paid in within 5 years — size it to 12-24 months of real costs (service WFOEs: RMB 100k-500k; trading: 500k-3m; manufacturing: 1m+). City choice is a tax decision: Shanghai (Lingang) / Shenzhen (Qianhai) / Hainan offer 15% CIT for qualifying sectors. Zhonghui runs all of it fixed-fee, with bilingual docs your HQ can read.
General information only — not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change; verify with official sources (SAMR, STA, SAFE, MOFCOM, NIA) and licensed advisors before acting.