MEKONG PARTNERS / COUNTRY GUIDE / CHINA
Doing Business in China
Connect the market opportunity with the activities, relationships and operating responsibilities needed to pursue it. Plan for the specific business, not a generic idea of the Chinese market.
The country report
Explore the latest October 2026 edition alongside this practical orientation. The complete 59-page handbook brings together market entry, funding, tax, people and operating controls.
A practical first-week workplan
Days 1–2 · Define the commercial test
Choose one initial objective: customers, a supplier base or an operating investment. Specify the product, buyer or manufacturing requirement, the target region and the evidence that would justify the next commitment. A distributor introduction or an attractive quotation is a starting point, not validation.
Days 3–4 · Map the operating responsibilities
Put the actual workflow on paper: who contracts, manufactures, imports, invoices, receives payment and handles after-sales or quality exceptions? Identify the legal entity, site and decision-maker behind each partner. Compare the total cost and control implications of the possible routes.
Day 5 · Set a conditional next step
Create an evidence register with an owner, cost assumption and next check for each unresolved issue. Set explicit conditions for a pilot order, distributor agreement, lease or investment. Commission activity-specific specialist review before treating the plan as ready to execute.
START WITH THE BUSINESS QUESTION
Three objectives. Different evidence requirements.
China can be a customer market, a supply base or an operating location. Each role changes the commercial test, partner dependencies and management responsibilities. Define the role first; then compare the routes and the resources required to make it work.
Market development
Define the target customers, buying process, competitive alternatives and route to market. Test channel incentives and the economics of serving the segment.
Sourcing & supply
Specify the product, process capability, quality requirements and delivery expectations. Qualification needs to cover the actual manufacturing site and any subcontracting.
Investment & operations
Assess the operating footprint, resources, governance and commercial assumptions. Identify the activity-specific requirements needing local professional review.
Choose the China workstream first
Selling into China
Sourcing from China
Investing or establishing an operation
DESIGN THE OPERATING ROUTE
Build the route around the activity and the evidence.
- Describe the local activities precisely.Separate customer development, sales, services, procurement, manufacturing and management. Make the intended scope clear enough for advisers to assess it.
- Test customers and partners.Check commercial fit, incentives, ownership, capability and decision-making authority. Identify who controls the assets and relationships on which the plan depends.
- Obtain activity-specific review.Confirm current market-access requirements and the relevant registration, licensing, employment, tax and data considerations with qualified local specialists.
- Put control into the operating model.Define contracting responsibility, reporting, payment terms, quality acceptance, intellectual-property handling and escalation routes before launch.
- Use a pilot or launch decision gate.Review the commercial test, total cost, unresolved specialist questions and management ownership. Agree acceptance criteria, a review date and the conditions for increasing the commitment or stopping the pilot.
BEFORE YOU COMMIT
The operating risks belong in the decision.
| Area | Question to resolve | Useful evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial access | Who actually makes the buying decision, and who controls the channel? | Customer interviews, channel terms and sales-cycle assumptions. |
| Partner accountability | Which entity, team and site will perform the work? | Ownership checks, capability review and a responsibility map. |
| Quality & delivery | What constitutes acceptance and how will exceptions be handled? | Specifications, samples, acceptance criteria and contingency arrangements. |
| Information & rights | What information, tooling and intellectual property will be shared? | Specialist-reviewed contracts and operational controls. |
| Management visibility | How will leadership know when the plan is off track? | Reporting cadence, decision gates and escalation triggers. |
FROM THE COUNTRY GUIDE
From entry to daily operations.
Use these China-specific topics to turn a market opportunity into an operating plan. Open each section for practical priorities and the corresponding chapters in our October 2026 handbook.
Choose the platform for its job
Guide pp. 10–16Compare a foreign-owned local company, joint venture, representative presence, independent distributor or acquisition against customer delivery and cash collection. Decide which party will employ staff, hold stock, sign, invoice and provide after-sales support. If a partner-led pilot may become a local-company operation, plan the transition of contracts, customers, trademarks and stock early.
Prepare: one operating-flow diagram and monthly cash forecast for all routes. Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macao require separate jurisdictional analysis.
Screen the complete activity
Guide pp. 11–15The handbook distinguishes foreign-investment access, general market access, sector or product permissions, geographic pilots and transaction reviews. Break the proposition into the work actually performed: import, storage, installation, consulting, online sales and remote support. An opening-policy headline does not by itself settle the route for a particular entity, service or district.
Prepare: a dated access and permit register. Map registration, premises, authority, banking, invoice capability, staff and systems before promising the first delivery.
Location and total cost to serve
Guide pp. 7–8 and 21–22Investigate Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta for regional management, services, trade and industrial networks; Beijing and northern China for headquarters buyers and research; Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area for technology, products and supply networks; inland hubs such as Chengdu and Chongqing for regional demand and delivery. These are orientation hypotheses, not investment rankings.
Compare: named customers, hiring, travel, installation, support, stock and premises costs. Check district-specific implementation and mainland/Hong Kong flows where relevant.
Local authority, partners and treasury
Guide pp. 17–18 and 24–26An ownership percentage is not a complete control model. Define reserved decisions, manager authority, company-seal custody, bank rights and access to accounts and contracts. Validate the capability a partner contributes, including which entity owns a licence or asset. Review capital receipts, operating payments and cross-border flows with the chosen bank before relying on their timing.
Prepare: a delegation and payment matrix, contribution evidence, related-party controls, information rights and a workable escalation or exit process.
People, invoices and information flows
Guide pp. 30–44Make local employment contracts, the handbook and actual management practices consistent. Budget city-specific employment costs rather than applying one national payroll assumption. Coordinate foreign-personnel sponsorship, work authority, residence, payroll and travel. Connect customer contracts, invoices, cash receipts and local accounting; map overseas access to CRM, HR, cloud and support systems.
Prepare: a locally reviewed staffing and finance setup, company-controlled administrator rights and a data-flow inventory. Reassess when the employer, duties, recipient, system or data purpose changes.
Sourcing, cross-border delivery and the launch test
Guide pp. 45–54Specify the actual manufacturer, production site, approved materials, tooling ownership and acceptance criteria before comparing quotations. A landed-cost sheet should include duties, taxes, freight, inspection, storage, financing, defects and returns. Check both origin and destination requirements and consider technology or technical support alongside physical goods.
Before launch: rehearse a customer order from contract to collection and an expense from approval to bank payment. Keep one evidence pack covering authority, invoices, treasury, staff and systems before increasing the commitment.
Adapted from the Mekong Partners October 2026 country guide. The handbook contains the detailed examples and dated references. Confirm activity-specific legal, tax and technical requirements with qualified specialists before committing.
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
Doing business in China: frequently asked questions
What is the first step to doing business in China?
Define whether China is a customer market, supply base or operating location for your project. Map the exact activities, contracting entity, invoice route, payment flows and partner dependencies before selecting a local structure.
Should we use a local company or a distributor in China?
Compare both against control of customers, pricing, staff, stock, contracting, invoicing and after-sales support. A partner-led pilot can test demand, but plan how contracts, trademarks, stock and customer relationships would transfer if the operating model changes.
How should we assess a supplier in China?
Qualification should cover the entity and actual production site, capability, specifications, subcontracting, acceptance criteria and exception handling. Compare delivered cost and operating reliability rather than selecting from the quotation alone.
Which operating controls should be designed before launch?
Define local authority, company seals, bank signatories, payment limits, reporting, invoice workflows, people responsibilities and data access. Align contracts, quality acceptance and escalation routes with what the business will actually do.
Where can I download the Doing Business in China report?
Use the Download button on this page to open the latest October 2026 edition. The 59-page guide expands the market-entry, treasury, tax, staffing, data, sourcing and implementation topics presented here.
USE THE RIGHT RESOURCE
Continue with the decision you are facing.
October 2026 · Original Mekong Partners planning framework. Further reading: MOFCOM: 2025 foreign-investment action plan . Project-specific legal, tax, customs and technical requirements should be confirmed with the relevant qualified specialists before commitment.
Shanghai skyline photographed on 17 April 2026 by DvTor8303 · CC0. Resized for the web.
Discuss the decision behind your project
Bring your objective, current evidence and next commitment into a focused conversation.