https://www.yimichina.com/ Business consultancy for international companies working across China: market entry and corporate setup, commercial advice on contracts and deals, and representation at exhibitions and negotiations. en-GB https://www.yimichina.com/insights/do-you-need-a-chinese-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/do-you-need-a-chinese-company/ Contracting from abroad, a consulting company, or a WFOE: when a foreign business genuinely needs a Chinese legal entity, and when it does not. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-directors-and-officers-must-a-chinese-company-have/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-directors-and-officers-must-a-chinese-company-have/ The posts a Chinese limited liability company must fill under the 2023 Company Law: legal representative, directors, supervisor, manager, and the FIE deadline. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-close-a-company-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-close-a-company-in-china/ Closing a Chinese company means liquidating, clearing tax, then deregistering. The steps in order, the simplified route, unpaid capital, and what walking away costs. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-annual-filings-must-a-chinese-company-make/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-annual-filings-must-a-chinese-company-make/ 31 May for corporate income tax, 30 June for the annual report, nil returns in between, and fines from RMB 100,000 for a foreign investment report left uncorrected. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-does-a-negotiation-interpreter-do-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-does-a-negotiation-interpreter-do-in-china/ An interpreter conveys what each side says. Negotiation support puts your positions, on your brief. The two roles, the modes, and how to brief either. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-to-check-in-a-china-contract-before-signing/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-to-check-in-a-china-contract-before-signing/ Seven commercial checks before you sign a China contract: the registered Chinese name and chop, price, payment, acceptance, exit terms, language and forum. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/which-language-version-of-a-bilingual-china-contract-prevails/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/which-language-version-of-a-bilingual-china-contract-prevails/ Bilingual China contracts often differ, and the clause deciding which version governs sits in the half you cannot read. What Article 466 does, and how to check. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/is-a-certified-translation-from-abroad-accepted-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/is-a-certified-translation-from-abroad-accepted-in-china/ Chinese authorities check what a translation carries, including proof of who made it, not a sworn status. The 2026 registry rule, courts, and when to notarise. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/which-documents-need-notarisation-and-apostille-for-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/which-documents-need-notarisation-and-apostille-for-china/ SAMR’s 2026 specification names the one document each foreign investor must notarise and apostille. What registries and banks add, the exemptions, and the order. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-1210-cross-border-ecommerce-bonded-import/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-1210-cross-border-ecommerce-bonded-import/ How China’s 1210 bonded import route works for a foreign brand: the tax, the RMB 5,000 and 26,000 limits, the registration it skips, and what it cannot supply. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-pay-registered-capital-into-a-chinese-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-pay-registered-capital-into-a-chinese-company/ How a foreign shareholder funds a Chinese company: the capital account, the bank registration, why the wire must come from the shareholder, and the filing after. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/does-the-2027-registered-capital-deadline-apply-to-my-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/does-the-2027-registered-capital-deadline-apply-to-my-company/ The 30 June 2027 registered capital deadline is a date for amending your articles of association, not for paying the money in. Run the test on your own clause. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-fapiao/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-fapiao/ China’s state-issued tax invoice: what makes one valid, why only the special VAT form carries a credit, and four cases where an expense is deductible without one. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/can-a-foreigner-own-100-percent-of-a-chinese-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/can-a-foreigner-own-100-percent-of-a-chinese-company/ Yes, outside the negative list, and a foreign individual can too. The 2024 list carries 29 measures and no manufacturing chapter. Three lists that get confused. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-documents-do-i-need-to-register-a-wfoe/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-documents-do-i-need-to-register-a-wfoe/ The five categories Article 16 requires, what the registry registers as against what it merely files, and which of your home-country documents need an apostille. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-long-does-it-take-to-register-a-company-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-long-does-it-take-to-register-a-company-in-china/ Same day for a complete file, six working days at the outside (Article 19). The months go somewhere else: document legalisation, premises and the bank account. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/wfoe-vs-rep-office-vs-no-entity/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/wfoe-vs-rep-office-vs-no-entity/ What each can actually do, with the articles. A rep office cannot trade, cannot employ directly, and pays tax on a deemed profit of at least 15% of its spending. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-get-a-document-apostilled-for-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-get-a-document-apostilled-for-china/ China joined the Apostille Convention on 7 November 2023. The sequence in each direction, who issues the certificate, the one country it does not cover, and why. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-long-can-goods-stay-in-a-chinese-bonded-warehouse/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-long-can-goods-stay-in-a-chinese-bonded-warehouse/ One year in a bonded warehouse, one in an A-type centre, two in a B-type, none in a comprehensive bonded zone, and what customs does when the clock runs out. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/do-i-need-a-chinese-company-to-sell-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/do-i-need-a-chinese-company-to-sell-in-china/ Why most foreign sellers do not need one, the four routes in, and what a Chinese customer does when the invoice comes from abroad. Mon, 21 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-company-chop-and-why-does-it-outrank-a-signature/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-company-chop-and-why-does-it-outrank-a-signature/ The Civil Code treats a chop and a signature as alternatives, and since December 2023 a signature alone binds the company. What the chop actually buys is control. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-legal-representative-in-a-chinese-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-legal-representative-in-a-chinese-company/ Who may hold the role under Company Law Article 10, what Article 11 makes the company carry, the two court orders that reach the person, and how to get out. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/can-i-register-a-company-in-china-without-visiting/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/can-i-register-a-company-in-china-without-visiting/ National law has allowed the whole filing online since 2022. What it does not waive is real-name verification, and an ordinary foreign passport cannot enrol in it. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-china-first-to-file-trademark/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-china-first-to-file-trademark/ Article 31 gives the mark to whoever filed first. The three provisions that qualify it, what the revised Trademark Law changes on 1 January 2027, and how to respond. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-registered-capital-in-a-chinese-company/ https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-registered-capital-in-a-chinese-company/ Subscribed versus paid-in capital, the five-year rule since July 2024, the 2027 adjustment deadline for older companies, and how to set a figure you can fund. Sun, 20 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/wenzhou-factories-going-smart/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/wenzhou-factories-going-smart/ We walked the September 2026 innovation exhibition in Wenzhou. Eyewear, lock and auto-parts makers now show AI glasses, smart locks and robotics, and the city’s plan points the same way. Tue, 15 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-bonded-zones-foreign-brands/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-bonded-zones-foreign-brands/ A bonded warehouse changes when you pay China’s import tax, not what your product must register, and since June 2025 it is no way round a retaliatory tariff. Sun, 13 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/what-a-china-company-registration-quote-leaves-out/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/what-a-china-company-registration-quote-leaves-out/ A registration quote covers the filing. The bank account, the export filings, the licensed accountant and the five-year clock on registered capital all sit outside it — and one of those steps was abolished in 2022. Wed, 02 Sep 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/guides/apostille-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/guides/apostille-china/ Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-trademark-first-to-file/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-trademark-first-to-file/ China gives the mark to whoever files first. How squatting happens, the subclass gaps in a registration you thought was complete, and why your Chinese-character name is separate. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-foreign-investment-2026-outlook/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-foreign-investment-2026-outlook/ Inbound investment fell 9.5% for a third year while foreign company formations rose 19.1%. Both are true, and together they describe a market that changed shape. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/tax-residency-remote-founders/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/tax-residency-remote-founders/ The 183-day line, where a company is “managed and controlled”, and the CFC rules that catch founders running a Chinese company from abroad. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/getting-money-out-of-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/getting-money-out-of-china/ The four lawful routes out of a Chinese company (dividends, service fees, intercompany loans and liquidation) and the tax and FX gate on each. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/cost-of-doing-business-in-china/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/cost-of-doing-business-in-china/ Registration costs, the annual compliance floor you pay even at zero revenue, and the three variables that decide everything above it. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-negative-list-explained/ https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-negative-list-explained/ China runs two negative lists and most advice merges them. What each one restricts, and why clearing both still is not permission to trade. Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:00:00 GMT