Foreign investment registration is now filing-based for most sectors: entity registration with SAMR (market regulator), then FDI information report, tax registration, bank account, and social insurance enrollment — 4-8 weeks end-to-end.
Steps: (1) Name pre-approval and scope definition (check negative list first). (2) Register with SAMR: articles of association, investor documents (apostilled/notarized since Hague convention applies to China from Nov 2023 — apostille now replaces consular legalization for member states!), legal representative appointment. (3) Obtain business license (typically 1-2 weeks). (4) FDI information report via the MOFCOM system (filing-based for non-restricted sectors). (5) Carve company chops (official seal — legally essential). (6) Open corporate RMB/USD bank accounts. (7) Tax registration, fapiao system enrollment, general VAT taxpayer status if needed. (8) Social insurance and housing fund accounts for hires. Timeline: 4-8 weeks total with clean documents.
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Zhonghui Consulting handles FDI registration, WFOE setup, banking, accounting, and foreign-staff compliance end-to-end — fixed fees, English-speaking team, ICPA-licensed delivery.
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