Why this page exists. Most China corporate-services firms sell you a company, because that is what they sell. The registration is the easy part — a licence you did not need, with a scope that does not cover what you invoice for, in a city that costs you money, is the expensive part.
The four routes, honestly compared
| Route | Right when | RMB invoicing | Employ | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No entity | You export to a Chinese buyer or platform and are paid offshore | No | No | Nil |
| Employer of record | You want 1–10 people on the ground while testing the market | No | Via the EOR | ≈US$800–1,500 pp/month |
| Rep office | Liaison, research, quality oversight — no selling | No — cannot trade | Dispatch only | Low, taxed on expenses |
| WFOE | You must invoice in RMB, hire directly or hold a licence | Yes, with fapiao | Directly | US$2,300–12,000 setup |
Cost bands are current market ranges, not our quote — they exist so you can sanity-check anyone’s proposal, including ours. Verified July 2026.
What the review covers
Entry case
Demand, competition and route to customer in your category — and whether the China revenue justifies a China entity at all.
Vehicle & city
Which structure fits, and where to register it: free-trade zone, development-zone incentives, or simply where your people are.
Business scope wording
The narrowest Chinese scope that still covers everything you will invoice for. Getting this wrong is the most common and most annoying rework.
Negative list & licensing
Whether your sector is open, restricted or prohibited to foreign investors, and what post-registration licences or filings it triggers.
Registered capital
A figure the authority will accept and you can actually pay in — the 2024 Company Law requires subscribed capital to be paid within five years.
People on the ground
The four legal routes to having someone working for you in China, costed against your headcount plan, with the break-even point where an entity starts to win. See below.
Three-year running cost
Accounting, audit, tax, address, payroll burden and our fees, modelled out — so the decision is made on the full number, not the setup fee.
Getting people on the ground
Most entry decisions turn into a headcount question within a month, so the review costs it out. There are four legal ways to have someone working for you in China, they differ enormously in cost and consequence, and only one of them fits a given headcount plan.
| Route | Right when | Legal consequence to watch | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer of record (EOR) | 1–10 people, testing the market, someone onboarded in 2–4 weeks | Provider quality varies enormously; cheap providers under-declare social insurance and you inherit the problem | ≈US$800–1,500 pp/month above salary |
| Labour dispatch (劳务派遣) | Genuinely temporary, auxiliary or substitute roles | Capped by law at 10% of the workforce and limited to non-core roles — not a general hiring workaround | Agency fee + statutory burden |
| Independent contractor | A genuinely independent specialist with their own clients and hours | If they work your hours under your direction, a labour arbitration commission will find employment regardless of the label — back social insurance, potentially double wages for the period with no written contract, severance | Fee, plus the risk above |
| Your own entity | 10+ people, an RMB revenue line, or a role that must sign for you | Employer social insurance and housing fund add roughly 25–40% of gross salary depending on city | ≈US$18,000–30,000/yr compliance for a ten-person entity |
Market ranges, verified July 2026 — so you can price-check any proposal, including one we bring you.
This is advisory. We do not recruit, employ, dispatch or payroll anyone. Where an employer-of-record is the answer, we compare providers, check whether they declare social insurance on the full salary or the local minimum base, and introduce a licensed one — and you contract with them directly. Employment terms, dismissals and disputes need a qualified Chinese employment lawyer, and we will say so plainly when you are at that point.
How it runs
- Consult (45 min). Your product, your buyer, your timeline. Often enough to rule out one or two routes on the spot.
- Research (1–2 weeks). Sector rules, negative list, licensing, city comparison, cost modelling, and calls in Mandarin where a question needs a real answer from a real bureau.
- Written recommendation. One document, in English, with the reasoning shown and every rule cited to its source. Yours to take to your board, your accountant, or another provider.
- Execution, if you want it. If the answer is “register,” we run it — see Company setup & compliance coordination. If it is “put two people on the ground first,” we compare the routes above and introduce a licensed provider.
Indicative pricing
| Item | Typical basis |
|---|---|
| Entry & structure review (written, incl. headcount routes) | from US$900, fixed fee agreed before we start |
| Sector deep-dive (licensing, competitor or pricing research) | Quoted as an add-on |
| EOR provider comparison & introduction | Quoted; the provider’s own fees are theirs and billed by them |
| Ongoing advisory retainer | Monthly, for companies mid-entry |
| Consult credit | The consult fee is credited in full against the review |
Fixed fee, and it is fine to stop after it. The review is a standalone product. Plenty of clients take the recommendation, decide not to enter this year, and come back in eighteen months. That is a good outcome, not a lost sale.
