Setting Up a Business in Mainland China

An in-depth guide for foreign entrepreneurs and companies looking to enter the Mainland Chinese market — the world’s second-largest economy, where foreign investment rules genuinely vary by sector, city, and free-trade zone status.
This guide covers legal structures (the WFOE, governed by MOFCOM’s negative list), business taxation, company formation, the cost of labor, and immigration routes for executives, investors, and entrepreneurs, alongside an honest account of the country’s regulatory volatility and capital controls, including the cross-border data transfer certification regime in force since January 2026. Includes a dedicated comparison of three major free-trade zones — Hainan, Shanghai/Lingang, and Shenzhen/Qianhai — each mapped and profiled, with a clear decision framework on which zone fits which activity, and an explicit note that all three share the same 15% preferential corporate tax rate, so that alone is never the deciding factor. An operational checklist and useful contacts round out the guide.
Available in English.