China Field Notes · 在华实务笔记

An English-language WeChat column on doing business and living in China: editorial plan and Issues 01–30.

~50countries with 30-day unilateral visa-free entry, currently to 31 Dec 2026
57 · 65countries and ports under 240-hour visa-free transit (Aug 2026)
30 issuesfirst calendar, 27 Oct 2026 – 16 Feb 2027, every Tuesday and Friday
30 / 30issues written, 1,650–3,200 words each, each with a Chinese version

Key points

Collections

Start HereWelcome, first 72 hours, visa overview
Arrive & SettleSIM cards, registration, getting around, emergency numbers
Money MattersForeign-card payments, bank accounts, individual tax, remittances
Work LegallyVisas, work permits A/B/C, residence, family
Set Up ShopWFOE, JV or rep office, registered capital, chops
Run the BusinessFapiao, labour contracts, trademarks, data, profit repatriation
Deal TablePartner checks, contract language, etiquette, scams
Life in ChinaRenting, healthcare, schools, driving, Spring Festival
China as a BaseTrade fairs, sourcing routes to the Gulf, documents and payment

Plus a monthly Ask Daona reader Q&A.

Issues

EDITORIAL PLANEditorial Plan (in Chinese)Positioning and readers, account format, writing rules, collections, calendar, menu and conversion, distribution, compliance boundaries, metrics. START HERE · 01China Works, If You Know the RulesWelcome issue: what has changed since 2023, the rule–platform–people way of reading China, the collections, five writing promises, who Daona is. ARRIVE & SETTLE · 02Your First 72 Hours in ChinaLinking cards before you fly and the limits, getting a SIM at the airport, 24-hour accommodation registration (online since 2026), carrying your passport, emergency numbers. WORK LEGALLY · 03Visa-Free, Transit, M, Z or KFour doors: unilateral visa-free entry, mutual exemption, 240-hour transit and visas; where business ends and work begins; penalties; Z visa → work permit → residence permit. MONEY MATTERS · 04Alipay and WeChat Pay with a Foreign CardFour ways to pay, accepted cards and Alipay+ wallets, the 3% fee above ¥200, how limits really work, what still fails (transfers, red packets), cash and tax refunds. SET UP SHOP · 05WFOE, Joint Venture or Representative OfficeThe Foreign Investment Law and three layers of permission, the three entity types compared, five questions to decide, deemed-profit tax for rep offices, nine steps to a WFOE. SET UP SHOP · 06Company ChopsSix kinds of seal, carving and police recording, Civil Code Art. 490 and the courts' "look at the person, not the seal", how control is lost, custody and usage logs, checking the other side's seal. DEAL TABLE · 07Checking a Chinese Partner in 30 MinutesStart with the credit code; seven public sources; telling a factory from a trader; the red flags that matter. RUN THE BUSINESS · 08Fapiao: Why Everyone Keeps AskingDigital e-fapiao, special vs general fapiao, the 2026 VAT Law and rates, the cost of a missing fapiao (+41%), invoicing details, withholding and the US$50,000 filing on payments abroad, red lines. MONEY MATTERS · 09Tax Residency: 183-Day and Six-Year RulesTwo residence tests, counting full days, the six-year rule and the 30-day reset, tax-free allowances vs special deductions (to end-2027), 20% tax on foreign individuals' dividends from 1 Sept 2026. WORK LEGALLY · 10Work Permits A, B and CThree categories and the points system, salary floors of 6× and 4× the local average wage, strict enforcement in Beijing and Shanghai since February 2026, an offer that misses Category A by ¥4,604, renewals and changing employer. DEAL TABLE · 11Your Contract Is in Chinese TooOnly foreign-related contracts may choose foreign law, WFOE contracts usually follow PRC law, bilingual and prevailing-language clauses, the new Arbitration Law from 1 March 2026, Hong Kong interim measures, the 30% guideline on liquidated damages. LIFE IN CHINA · 12Renting an ApartmentThe Housing Rental Regulations in force since 15 Sept 2025, one-month deposit plus three months up front (about ¥60,000 illustrated), checking title and "second landlords", registration, rent fapiao. SET UP SHOP · 13Registered Capital: The Five-Year ClockPaid-in within five years under Company Law Art. 47, existing companies to adjust by 30 June 2027, acceleration, forfeiture, directors' calls and transferor liability, capital reduction, a ¥3 million plan in three tranches. DEAL TABLE · 14Dinners, Gifts and WeChat EtiquetteNames and cards, seating and toasts, the revised Anti-Unfair Competition Law from 15 Oct 2025 (recipients liable too), no alcohol at official meals, home-country bribery laws, a gift log, WeChat etiquette. RUN THE BUSINESS · 15Getting Profits OutThe eight-step order of distribution, the 10% statutory reserve, 10% withholding and the 5% treaty rate, the US$50,000 tax filing, the 2025–2028 reinvestment credit and Circular 102 deferral, a ¥7.5 million distribution worked through. LIFE IN CHINA · 16Healthcare for ForeignersPublic clinics, international departments and private international hospitals compared, how registration works, insured foreign employees reimbursed like locals (Shanghai's official example), bringing medication, 120 and the 12356 hotline. RUN THE BUSINESS · 17Hiring Chinese StaffA written contract within one month or double wages, probation limits, open-ended contracts, severance and double for unlawful dismissal, social insurance cannot be waived (Interpretation II, 1 Sept 2025), the cost of a ¥20,000 hire. RUN THE BUSINESS · 18Year-End in ChinaThe annual compliance calendar: December fapiao and intercompany charges, audit, 31 May corporate tax reconciliation, 30 June annual report (now including FX stock data) and individual tax, social insurance base, Spring Festival 2027 (6 Feb). RUN THE BUSINESS · 19Trademarks: Register Before Someone Else DoesFirst-to-file, Nice classes and Chinese sub-classes, registering a Chinese-character mark, bad-faith filings and oppositions, Madrid vs direct filing, customs recordal; key points of the new Trademark Law from 1 Jan 2027. ASK DAONA · 20Ask Daona, Vol. 1: The Ten Questions We Hear MostThe ten questions foreign clients ask most in meetings — working visa-free, foreign-card payments, choosing an entity, chops, partner checks, fapiao, tax, work permits, profits, hiring — each pointing to the issue in depth. RUN THE BUSINESS · 21Moving Data Across the BorderPIPL, the 2024 cross-border data provisions with their exemptions and thresholds (100,000 / 1 million / 10,000), standard-contract filing and security assessment, the 2025 Network Data Security Regulations and compliance audits. LIFE IN CHINA · 22Driving in China: Converting Your LicenceConversion after a three-month stay, a multilingual theory test, no road test for cars, temporary permits at airports, no recognition of International Driving Permits, the points system, drink-driving limits, the new e-bike standard. CHINA AS A BASE · 23Trade Fairs Worth the TripThe Canton Fair's three phases and buyer registration, CIIE, CIFTIS and the Hainan expo, sector shows (auto, bauma, CHINAPLAS, CIMT), preparing and verifying afterwards, an illustrative trip budget. WORK LEGALLY · 24Bringing Your Family: S1/S2 Visas, Schools and DependantsS1/S2 and Q1/Q2 visas, dependants' residence permits and apostilles, why dependants cannot work on that status, schools for foreign children and public schools, the education allowance, registration for every family member. CHINA AS A BASE · 25Sourcing in China for the GulfHormuz and Red Sea shipping in 2026 (as of 19 Oct) and ports outside the Strait, Incoterms, documents, Saudi SABER and UAE conformity, payment terms, export controls, an illustrative landed cost. LIFE IN CHINA · 26Spring Festival 2027: Planning Around the Long HolidaySpring Festival on Saturday 6 Feb 2027, no assumed dates before the official schedule, factory closures and return, a production timeline worked backwards, red packets and greetings, permit renewals. MONEY MATTERS · 27Opening a Bank Account in ChinaPersonal accounts for foreigners and Class I/II/III limits, a company's basic and capital accounts, the legal representative's interview, anti-fraud controls and limits on new accounts, an illustrative timeline. MONEY MATTERS · 28Sending Money HomeBuying foreign currency with income and tax documents, conflicting readings of the US$50,000 quota, identity checks on transfers above ¥5,000 from 2026, the 20% dividend rule, a monthly remittance plan. WORK LEGALLY · 29Permanent Residence in ChinaInvestment, employment, family and special-contribution routes, the salary route at 6× the local average wage, the "five-star card" since 2023, no work permit needed, residence requirements and cancellation, not citizenship. SET UP SHOP · 30Closing or Restructuring a China EntitySimplified deregistration with 20-day publicity, ordinary liquidation and creditor notices, tax and social insurance clearance, severance, remitting proceeds, the risks of selling or leaving a company dormant, the 2025 deregistration guidelines.

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