Foreign-owned limited company
One or more foreign shareholders; commonly called a WFOE. Suitable only after activity, licence and negative-list checks.
FOREIGN INVESTOR REGISTRATION GUIDE
Understand the structure before you file.
Choose the entity, ownership, business scope, city and capital plan around the actual operating model—not around a generic label.
WFOE / FIE
What does WFOE mean today?
“WFOE” remains a widely used commercial term for a company wholly owned by foreign investors. Since the Foreign Investment Law took effect in 2020, the old standalone WFOE law is no longer the governing framework; the enterprise form and governance are generally handled under the Company Law and related registration rules.
Three structures to distinguish
Joint venture company
Foreign and Chinese shareholders. It may be commercially chosen or required for a restricted activity.
Representative office
Not a company and generally not a substitute for revenue-generating operations. Its permitted activities and staffing route are limited.
Four legal checks before registration
Foreign-investment access
China applies pre-establishment national treatment plus a foreign-investment negative list. Restricted and prohibited sectors require separate analysis.
Licensing and ordinary market access
Being outside the foreign-investment negative list does not remove industry licensing, general market-access, national-security or local implementation requirements.
Registered capital
For a newly established limited company, subscribed contributions are generally due within five years under Company Law Article 47, unless special rules apply.
Overseas documents
Apostille can replace consular legalisation for covered public documents between Convention parties. Non-party countries and documents outside the Convention require a different route.
What a properly established company can support
- Contracting in the registered company name
- Hiring and payroll within the lawful employment framework
- Chinese invoicing and tax registration where applicable
- A corporate bank-account application subject to bank review
- Import, export, licences or permits when separately eligible
- Ongoing accounting, reporting and corporate changes
Ready to map the right entity?
Send your activity, nationality, preferred city, shareholders and expected transactions. We will identify the checks before you choose a product.