As a foreign-funded enterprise, if it wants to enter the mainland market to carry out business activities, it can adopt modes of operation such as establishing a domestic office, brand licensing, and establishing a Sino-foreign joint venture in the mainland as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise. No matter which mode of operation, the applicant needs to apply for the overseas company's subject qualification certificate to be notarized by a Chinese-appointed notary and forwarded with a stamp so that the subject qualification certificate can be legally used in the mainland. The model for overseas companies to invest and operate in the mainland is as follows: Overseas company’s domestic office. If the overseas company’s business activities in the mainland are only business transactions, it only needs to set up a domestic office in the overseas company. According to relevant laws and regulations, overseas company representative offices are not allowed to conduct accounting and tax registration independently. However, domestic offices only serve as business liaisons and cannot engage in any business activities, nor can they form direct purchasing and sales relationships with customers alone. In other words, you can only spend money, not earn money. Therefore, this model is not suitable for overseas companies to conduct business in the mainland.
1. Brand licensing model. Overseas companies and mainland companies authorize mainland companies by signing licensing agreements. Mainland enterprises fully represent overseas enterprises in conducting business in the mainland, promote overseas enterprise brands, and operate with the help of Hong Kong enterprise brands. This method can effectively save costs, so it is also a common business model for overseas companies operating in mainland China.
2. Sino-foreign joint ventures (wholly foreign-owned enterprises) Sino-foreign joint ventures (wholly foreign-owned enterprises) are foreign-invested enterprises that invest in the mainland in the name of overseas companies. The operation process is more complicated than the above two methods. First, you need to go to the Foreign Economic and Trade Commission where the business place is located for approval, and then go through industrial and commercial registration and tax registration. The establishment of a foreign-invested enterprise (joint venture or sole proprietorship) requires capital verification. When investing in the mainland, funds need to be transferred from abroad in the form of foreign exchange. Foreign-funded enterprises engaging in business activities in China must abide by Chinese laws and regulations and must not harm China's social and public interests. The establishment of foreign-invested enterprises must be conducive to the development of our country's national economy and achieve significant economic benefits.
3. Before applying to establish a foreign-invested enterprise, foreign investors shall report the following matters to the local people's government at or above the county level where the foreign-invested enterprise is to be established. The report includes: the purpose of establishing a foreign-invested enterprise; business scope and scale; production of products; technical equipment used; land area and requirements; conditions and quantities of water, electricity, coal, gas or other energy required; company *** facilities and other requirements. The local people's government at or above the county level shall respond in writing to the foreign investor within 30 days from the date of receipt of the report submitted by the foreign investor. How does a foreign-invested enterprise apply for a subject qualification certificate? When establishing a foreign-invested enterprise, the subject qualification certificate is divided into the following categories: Foreign language subject qualification certificate. Natural person: If you are in China, you can provide the original and copy of the passport and visa of the person concerned; if you are not in China, you need to provide the original document issued by the national competent authority, notarized by a notary authority, and authenticated by the Chinese Embassy; legal person enterprise: provide the original document issued by the country's competent authority. The original document is notarized by the notary office of the country and certified by the Chinese Embassy. Qualification certificate of Hong Kong and Macao units: Natural person: local permanent resident ID card, SAR passport, residence permit issued by the Mainland Public Security Bureau (no notarization required) or mainland pass (no notarization required). Legal person enterprises: notarized documents issued by the local notary office and forwarded by the designated agency.