Insights

China business, decoded

Insight for companies buying from China and selling into it — the decisions behind the forms. Every piece is plain-language, tied to the official rule, and dated.

Doing business in and with China comes down to a handful of decisions — how to vet a supplier before you pay, whether you need a Chinese company at all, what it really costs to run one, how to protect your brand before someone else registers it, how to stay onside on tax residency, and how to move documents across a border. Everything below explains one of them in plain language, tied to the official rule.

In-depth reads

The full library, grouped by the decision it helps you make. Anything marked Guide is a step-by-step procedure; the rest is analysis.

17 articles·newest 31 August 2026

Latest Five documents China stopped issuing The organisation code and tax registration certificates went in 2015, social insurance and statistics in 2016, the bank account permit in 2019, foreign trade registration in 2022 — and every one of them is still on English checklists. Sourcing 31 Aug 2026 ·7 min read

Sourcing & supplier risk9

Work with us Supplier verification Product sourcing & interpreting

Company & structure3

Work with us Company setup & compliance

Money & tax2

Market & brand2

Work with us Market entry advisory

Documents across borders1

The China Apostille for business documentsGuide 6 Aug 2026

Work with us Notarisation, Apostille & legalisation Certified translation

Every piece links to the government or primary source it is based on, with the date we last checked it. General information — not legal or tax advice.

Shorter than an article? The answers library takes one question per page. Chinese terms used across this site are defined in the glossary, and the procedures also have their own hub at guides.

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