Establish a Company in China

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Establish a Company in China

在中国设立公司

 

Introduction

前言

When a foreign investor decides to conduct business in China, there are several common forms of business presence in China:

当外商投资者决定在中国开展业务时，可以选择几种常见的商业存在形式：

– a Chinese company (Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise or Sino-Foreign Joint Venture)

– a Chinese representative office of a non-Chinese company

– a Chinese branch of a non-Chinese company

– 中国公司（外商独资企业或中外合资企业）

– 非中国公司的中国代表处

– 非中国公司的中国分公司

This article will focus on establishing a Chinese company and maintaining in good standing under the current Foreign Investment Law and Company Law and their relevant regulations.

本文将重点介绍根据现行《外商投资法》和《公司法》及其相关法规，如何成立一家中国公司并保持正常存续。

General Overview

概述 

Upon the effectiveness of the Foreign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Foreign Investment Law”) as of 1 January 2020, all the newly established foreign-invested enterprises (hereinafter referred to as “FIE” independently)[1] are no longer governed by the specific Law of the People’s Republic of China on Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures, Law of the People’s Republic of China on Wholly Foreign-owned Enterprises or the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Sino-Foreign Cooperative Joint Ventures, which were repealed by the Foreign Investment Law. As per the Foreign Investment Law, an FIE has the same legal status as all Chinese domestic entities and is regulated and governed by the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China (“Company Law”, with its relevant rules and regulations) for its establishment, changing, deregistration, filing and supervision.

自《中华人民共和国外商投资法》（“《外商投资法》”）2020年1月1日施行起，《中华人民共和国中外合资经营企业法》、《中华人民共和国外资企业法》、《中华人民共和国中外合作经营企业法》同时废止。此后新设立的所有外商投资企业不再受上述具体法律的监管，而是受《外商投资法》约束。根据《外商投资法》，外商投资企业与国内企业法律地位相同，其设立、变更、注销登记、备案及其监督管理都受《中华人民共和国公司法》（“《公司法》”）及相关规章制度的约束。

Registration and Business License

设立和营业执照

 To establish a company in China, it shall make a formal application at local Administration for Market Regulation (hereinafter referred to as “AMR”)[2], which is the national authority for registry and regulatory of companies in China. As per the common practice, several local AMR, such as AMRs in Beijing and Chengdu, may require online application for pre-review before submitting the hard copy of establishment application files to AMR.

在中国设立公司时，应向当地市场监督管理局递交正式申请。根据实践经验，在一些地区（如北京和成都），市场监督管理局可能要求先进行在线申请，预审通过后才能提交纸质版设立申请文件。

When the hard copies are formally accepted by AMR, the business license of company will usually be issued in 7 working days (subject to the practical proceeding of the local AMR). The Business License is the certificate of incorporation and operation of a company in China, which states the information of name, unified credit code (also the tax ID of company), registered office (domicile), registered capital, business scope, name of the legal representative and type of the company. The business license just presents essential information of a company for its daily operation [3], and other public information of this company about shareholders, senior management members will be published online at the official publicity system—National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System by AMR pursuant to laws and regulations.

市场监督管理局正式接收申请文件后，一般会在7个工作日内签发公司营业执照（视当地实际情况而定）。营业执照是公司在中国成立和经营的证书，上面载明公司的名称、统一社会信用代码（也是公司的纳税人识别号）、住所、注册资本、经营范围、法定代表人姓名和公司类型等事项。营业执照仅列示公司日常经营的基本信息，关于股东、高管等公司其他公开信息将依法在国家企业信用信息公示系统公布。

Name of Company

公司名称

 A company should have its own name firstly for its establishment, and the preview of the name by local AMR will be the first step of the establishment application. The name of a new company is usually under the format of “Tradename + industry + (area) + Limited (Limited Liability Companies or Companies Limited by Shares)”. For an FIE, neither the “area” part nor the English name is required for the establishment. However, the English name may be required for registration at other authorities, especially the customs and administrations of foreign exchange.

设立公司时首先要确定公司名称，并且需要经过当地市场监督管理局的预先核准。公司名称通常为“商号+行业+（地区）+有限公司（有限责任公司或股份有限公司）”，外商投资企业在设立时既不需要“地区”部分，也不需要英文名称，但其他机构可能要求提供英文名称进行注册，特别是海关和外汇管理局。

AMR will approve the name if it satisfies certain preliminary requirements. Sometimes, the AMR will require the authorization documents for the tradename from shareholder(s) if the tradename is authorized by its shareholder(s) jointly or independently (when the tradename is similar with even the same as the existing tradename (in Chinese)). Upon AMR’s approval for the new name, the application of incorporation with the name shall be submitted within 2 months.

如果满足初步要求，市场监督管理局会批准该名称。有时，如果商标名称是由其股东共同或独立授权的，市场监督管理局将要求股东提供商标名称的授权文件（当商标名称与现有商标名称（中文）相似甚至相同时）。一旦新名称获得市场监督管理局的批准，应在批准后的2个月内提出以该名称设立公司的申请。

For the name, it shall be noted that the registration of the tradename of the company does not mean the registration of the TRADEMARK or any other intellectual property rights in respect of the company name or any part thereof. If the Company wants to have the trademark or logo as its exclusive marks, it must apply for registration at the Trademark Office.

需要注意的是，以公司商号注册公司名称并不代表公司拥有该商标或与公司名称相关的任何知识产权。如果公司希望将该商标或标志作为其专有标识，必须向商标局申请注册。

Registered Office

注册地址/住所

The Company is required to have a principal location for business as registered domicile for official communication and notice (especially from authorities). The intended address shall be completed in the application forms (with required documents for the title of the address) for registration. It shall be obtaining all required documents of the intended office (purchasing or leasing) for registration. When leasing the office, it is suggested to confirm with the local AMR whether the intended address can be registered for commercial purposes as company’s domicile before proceeding with the lease.

公司需要有公司经营的主要场所作为其住所，用于接收官方联系和通知，尤其是来自政府机关的通知。在注册过程中，需要在申请表上填写预定的注册地址，并提供相关的产权证明文件。无论房屋是自有还是租赁，都需要提供所要求的全部证明文件。租赁公司办公地时，建议在租赁前向市场监督管理局确认该地址是否可用作商用办公场所注册为公司注册地址。

Capital Contribution and Total Investment

注册资本与投资总额

The registered capital presents the capacity of liabilities of the company for operation, which means that the company shall take the legal liabilities within the scope of registered capital contribution (the registered amount shown in the business license rather than the actual contribution). For the amount of registered capital, there is no limitation required at establishment. According to the Company Law and relevant regulations, the capital is not required to be paid up within a statutory time limit, which, however, does not mean that there is no limitation for the contribution period, and it shall be duly paid up within the stipulated period stated in Articles of Association.

注册资本体现公司经营的责任能力，即公司应在注册出资额（营业执照上显示的注册金额，而非实际出资额）范围内承担法律责任。在设立时，公司的注册资本数额不受限制。《公司法》及相关规定并不要求出资在法定期限内一次性缴清，但是，这并不意味着出资期限没有限制，注册资本应在公司章程规定的期限内缴清。

For the total investment, according to the Provisional Regulations of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce on the Ratio between the Registered Capital and Total Investment of Sino-foreign Joint Equity Enterprises (effective as of 1 March 1987), the amount shall conform to the ratio between the registered capital, generally, the amount of total investment shall be much higher than the registered capital to ensure the operation of the investment. And the balance between the total investment and registered capital will be the credit scope for FIE’s cross-border financing.

根据《关于中外合资经营企业注册资本与投资总额比例的暂行规定》（1987年3月1日生效），注册资本与投资总额应符合一定比例，通常而言，投资总额都会比注册资本高出许多以保证投资的运营。同时，企业注册资本与投资总额的差额将作为该企业进行境外融资的额度。

However, after the Notice of People’s Bank of China on Matters Concerning Macro-prudential Management on All-round Cross-border Financing issued by People’s Bank of China (also known as the No.9 Announcement, effective as of 12 July 2017), the FIE can choose the way of “all around” financing arrangement in respect to cross-border loans instead of using credit scope from the “balance between total investment and registered capital”.

然而，自中国人民银行发布《中国人民银行关于全口径跨境融资宏观审慎管理有关事宜的通知》（又称9号文，自2017年7月12日起施行）后，外商投资企业可以选择“全口径”的方式进行全方位融资安排，而不再受限于“投资总额与注册资本余额”的授信范围。

Also, upon the Foreign Investment Law coming into force, the “total investment” is not required in the Articles of Association according to the Company Law, and the Approval Certificate stating the “total investment” is no longer required for the establishment at AMR. Therefore, the “total investment” is no longer an important item as registered capital for an FIE’s establishment. However, most of the application forms of AMR still require the amount of “total investment” in CNY or USD, which is acceptable to fill in the same amount as registered capital.

此外，《外商投资法》施行后，根据公司法，公司章程中不再要求列明投资总额，在市场监督管理局设立公司时也不再要求明确“投资总额”的批准证书。因此，对于外商投资企业的设立，投资总额不再像注册资本那么重要。但是，大多数市场监督管理局的申请表仍要求填写以人民币或美元为单位的“投资总额”，此时，投资总额可以填写与注册资本相同的金额。

Shareholders and Authorized Representative

股东及授权代表

According to the Company Law, the sole shareholder (if) or the board of shareholders (shareholders’ meeting) shall be the highest authority of a company, who shall decide all major issues of a company in accordance with Company Law and its Articles of Association. For a liability limited company, the number of shareholder(s) shall not exceed 50 (it will be a one-person limited liability company when there is only one shareholder); and for a company limited by shares, the number shall be over 2 and no more than 200.

根据《公司法》的规定，（一人）股东或股东（大）会是公司的最高权力机构，根据《公司法》及其章程决定公司的所有重大事项。有限责任公司的股东不得超过50人（只有一名股东时为一人有限责任公司）；股份有限公司的股东应在2人以上，200人以下。

When applying for establishing a new FIE, the business certificates (for proving its incorporation and good-standing) for entity shareholder(s) or identification (passport) for individual shareholder(s) are required, which shall be notarized, legalized at its location of registry, and authenticated by the Chinese Embassy (Consulate) (also known as “double authentication”). It is important to point out that, the documents of investors from Hong Kong and Macau, are required to be notarized by local notary, and to be “authenticated” (reviewed and stamped the special seal) by China Legal Service (H.K.) LTD. or China Legal Service (MACAO) LTD., which are special agencies in charge of legalizing local documents with the approval of PRC the Ministry of Justice of PRC. For individual investors from Hong Kong and Macau, the identification can also be the original copy of their ID card or the “Exit-Entry Card” (Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao). In addition, some local AMRs may require bank reference letter as proof of good-standing of such foreign entity shareholder(s).

申请设立外商投资企业时，公司股东应提供主体资格证明（用于证明其设立和存续），自然人股东应提供身份证明（护照），上述文件应当经当地公证、认证，并经中国驻该国使（领）馆认证（又称“双认证”）。 需要指出的是，港澳投资者的文件应在当地公证后，应由中国法律服务（香港）有限公司或中国法律服务（澳门）有限公司完成“认证”（即审核并加盖专用章），这两家公司是经司法部批准成立的负责本地文件认证的专门机构。对于香港和澳门的自然人投资者，其身份证明也可以是当地永久性居民身份证或往来内地通行证的原件。此外，部分地区的市场监督管理局还可能要求提供银行资信证明，来证明外国企业股东的有效存续经营。

In order to assist the foreign investors in obtaining official files and documents from AMR and/or other authorities, they can designate a representative (an entity, which can be the newly established FIE or individual) in China as the recipient of such documents in accordance with Chinese laws. And to facilitate the signing and effecting of documents by shareholders to exercise their rights and authorities, foreign investors are usually required to appoint authorized representative(s) to sign and effect documents related to their invested companies in China on behalf of shareholder(s). And the appointment and replacement of such authorized representative(s) (Power of Attorney) of shareholder(s) are also required to be filed at local AMR.

为了便于外商投资者自市场监督管理局或其他政府机关接收官方文件，外商投资者可以根据中国法律指定一代表（一家公司，可以是新设的该外商投资企业，或某个个人）作为文件接收主体。同时，为了便于股东签发法律文件以行使其股东职权，外商投资者通常需要指定授权代表来代表股东签署与新设公司相关的文件。股东授权代表的任命和更换（股东授权书）也应向当地市场监督管理局备案。

It is important to note that the forms of identification of investors may be different from place to place, which will make differences for the required certificates, it is suggested consulting the latest requirements with the local AMR where the new company will be set up before preparing such shareholder(s) documents, including the authorization documents mentioned above. With respect to documents in foreign languages, a Chinese translation shall be attached for submission.

但需要注意，各地投资者身份证明形式可能会有所不同，将会影响所要求的证明文件，建议在准备相应股东文件（包括以上提及的授权文件）前，向公司拟设立地的当地市场监督管理局确认最新的要求。另外，所有外文文件在提交时均应附中文译本。

Directors and Supervisors

董事和监事

As per the Company Law, a company is required to set up a board of directors that comprises 3 to 13 personnel with a chairman (and a vice chairman), or appoint an executive director instead of establishing a board of directors. The board of directors/executive director shall be elected or appointed by the shareholder(s), and the term of appointment of each director shall not exceed 3 years.

根据《公司法》，公司设立董事会，由3至13人组成，并设董事长一人（可以设副董事长），或者设一名执行董事（不设董事会）。董事会或执行董事由股东选举或委任，每名董事的任期不超过3年。

A company is also required to set up a board of supervisors with over 3 personnel, or one or two supervisors instead of the board. The supervisors are also appointed by shareholders with the term of 3 years. The board of supervisors or a supervisor take responsibilities for inspecting financial status, supervising the duties performances by directors and senior management personnel and taking other actions for good orders of the company. Therefore, directors and senior executives shall not take the position of supervisor concurrently.

公司还应设立3人以上的监事会，或一到两名监事（不设监事会）。监事也由股东任命，任期3年。监事会或者监事负责检查公司财务、监督董事和高级管理人员的履职情况以及采取其他措施维持公司秩序。因此，董事、高级管理人员不得同时兼任监事。

Senior Management and Legal Representative

高级管理层和法定代表人 

A company shall appoint its senior executives to conduct actions for its daily operation. According to the Company Law, the persons of senior management (“senior executives”) will include manager (vice manager) as well as financial officer. Usually, the manager will be appointed by directors, while the vice manager and financial officer will be appointed by board of directors/executive director or the manager, however, the appointing rules shall be subject to the article of association of the company.

公司任命高管人员来负责其日常运营。根据《公司法》，高管人员包括公司的经理、副经理和财务负责人。通常而言，经理由董事任命，副经理和财务负责人则由董事会/执行董事或经理任命，但任命规则均根据公司章程的规定。

The “legal representative” of a company, rather than a position for management, shall be seen as the “representative” who is legally on behalf of the company when conducting all business activities or communicating against any third parties according to the Chinese law. Where the legal representative engages in business activities in the name of the company, the legal consequences incurred shall be undertaken by the company. The “legal representative” shall be taken by chairman of board, executive director or manager, subject to the stipulation of articles of association.

公司的“法定代表人”并非管理职位，而是根据中国法在公司日常经营或与任何第三人交往中法定对外代表公司的代表身份。当法定代表人以公司名义开展商业活动时，其法律后果应由公司承受。法定代表人根据公司章程由董事长、执行董事或者经理担任。

When submitting the registration application, all personnel shall have been appointed (it does not mean that such personnel must be present in China). And such resolutions or letters of appointment for the legal representative, directors, supervisors and senior executives, as well as their identity information/documents shall be provided to AMR as required.

在提交设立申请时，授权代表、法定代表人、董事、监事和高级管理人员均应有效任命（不一定必须身在中国境内），并应根据要求向市场监督管理局提供所有相关人员的决议或任命书及其身份信息或文件。 

Articles of Association

公司章程 

As the constitution document reflecting the agreement of shareholder(s), each company shall have its articles of association, which binds the company and shareholders, directors, supervisors and senior management (including executives who are not required to be filed at the AMR). The articles of association stipulate fundamental principles and rules for internal organization and relationship, as well as daily operation and business of a company. The Company Law sets the most basic standards and rules for a company permitted by laws, and the articles of association are allowed to stipulate tighter rules in accordance with Company Law. And they are also allowed to set rules for the matters which are not mentioned in the Company Law. The articles of association executed and enforced by all shareholders shall be submitted to the AMR for company establishment, and any amendment or revision made to the article of association shall be filed at the AMR. In addition to the AMR, the company may be required to submit the effective articles of association to other authorities or organization, such as the bank when opening a bank account.

作为体现股东意志的宪章性文件，每家公司均应制定章程以规范其经营和管理，公司章程对公司和股东、董事、监事和高管人员（包括不需要在市场监督管理局备案的高管）均具有约束力。公司章程规定公司内部组织和关系以及公司的日常经营和业务的基本原则和具体规则。《公司法》规定了法律所允许的最基本的标准和规则，而公司章程则可以根据《公司法》制定更严格的规则。对于《公司法》未规定的事项，公司可以自行制定规章制度。由全体公司股东签署并生效的章程，应在公司设立时报市场监督管理局备案，章程的修改和变更也应向市场监督管理局进行备案。除了市场监督管理局，公司还可能需要向其他的机构或组织提交公司有效章程，如在开立银行账户时向银行提交。 

Author 作者

徐咏冬 Mory Xu

yongdong.xu@dentons.cn

北京大成律师事务所 律师

Beijing Dentons Law Office Associate

投资并购 | 外商投资 | 公司业务 |争议解决

M&A | Foreign Investment | Corporate | Dispute Resolution

[1]According to the Implementation Regulations for the Foreign Investment Law, matters of the investments in the Chinese Mainland by investors from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macau Special Administrative Region shall be handled with reference to the Foreign Investment Law and regulations for implementation. And investment by investors from Taiwan, shall be complied with the provisions of Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Investment by Taiwanese Compatriots and its Implementation Regulations, and matters not stipulated in the above related law and regulations, shall be handled with reference to the Foreign Investment Law and regulations for implementation. For the avoidance of doubt, the term “foreign investment” in this article will include the investments by investors from Hong Kong and Macau, excluding Taiwan region.

根据《中华人民共和国外商投资法实施条例》，香港特别行政区、澳门特别行政区投资者在内地投资，参照外商投资法和该条例执行。台湾地区投资者在大陆投资，适用《中华人民共和国台湾同胞投资保护法》及其实施细则的规定，上述法律法规未规定的事项，参照外商投资法和本条例执行。为免疑义，本文中所涉及“外商投资”包括香港与澳门投资者进行的投资，但不包括台湾地区投资者进行的投资。

[2] AMR is a general administration authority managing and supervising business matters and affairs of all kinds of entities, undertaking position of markets managing, quality control, security supervision, anti-trust administration and all other related matters of keeping business and commercial environment in good orders. Each entity shall be under administration of its registered local AMR.

市场监督管理局是管理和监督各类法人的事项和事务的综合管理机构，承担市场管理、质量控制、安全监督、反垄断管理以及其他与保持良好营商环境有关事务的职能。每个法人都应受其注册的当地市场监督管理局的管理。

[3] It is noted that, according to the Notice on Adjusting the Presenting Information of Business Licenses issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation effective as of 25 July 2022, the business licenses which is issued after 1 September 2022, will no longer present “Term of Operation” of the company. And such item will be shown at the official publicity system.

根据2022年7月25日发布的《市场监管总局办公厅关于调整营业执照照面事项的通知》，2022年9月1日以后发放的营业执照将不再记载公司的“经营期限”。该信息项将在官方公示系统中显示。