Choose the right vehicle
Review the investors, ownership, business scope, registered capital arrangements and governance. Identify the entity and location suited to your intended activities.
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Company registration for overseas businesses
Register a company in China.
Work directly with a China-qualified lawyer who understands the needs of overseas headquarters. Align company registration with ownership, governance and practical controls, with a defined scope and fee agreed before work begins.
Indicative setup legal fees: US$2,500–4,000 for a standard project. View the scope · See expected timelines
For overseas companies establishing or expanding business operations in China, including subsidiaries and joint ventures. Receive a written scope and fee proposal before deciding whether to engage us.
China-qualified lawyers · Beijing basedEnglish and Chinese working teamVerify the firm’s credentials →
Start with the right structure. Align ownership and entity type with your actual activity.
Check access before filing. Identify sector and location requirements early.
Plan for day one. Coordinate registration with the legal steps needed to operate.
Legal setup for operating in China
01 / STRUCTURE
02 / REGISTRATION
03 / LAUNCH
A legal setup plan, from structure to registration.
Start with what the company will actually do. The agreed work can cover the structure, formation documents and registration coordination, with additional operating requirements identified early.
Prepare and coordinate the filing
Prepare or review the agreed incorporation documents, including articles of association. Coordinate registration and relevant information reporting, and identify investor documents needed for the application.
Prepare to operate
Identify sector-specific licences, tax and banking steps, contracts and hiring needs. Agree which steps we will handle and which require separate providers or instructions.
Why work with Gaojin
01 / CORPORATE EXPERIENCE
02 / YOUR RESPONSIBLE LAWYER
03 / PRACTICAL CONTROL
Company setup with your headquarters in mind.
Your China entity needs to fit the way your business makes decisions. We connect the registration work with ownership, governance and the practical controls your overseas team will need.
Experience inside a multinational
Aaron Lv served as Legal Counsel at CEMEX from 2011 to 2014, supporting its China operations on corporate governance, commercial contracts, M&A and litigation. That experience informs how we approach the legal work behind a China subsidiary.
Direct discussion of the key decisions
Aaron Lv is the partner responsible for the legal advice on your setup. Discuss ownership, capital, governance and the proposed scope with him in English or Chinese, with responsibilities agreed at the outset.
Plan who controls what
Who will hold the company chops, access the bank accounts and sign contracts? We help you review these decisions and record the agreed arrangements in a control and authority checklist for your China company.
Aaron Lv · Partner, Beijing Gaojin Law Firm
China-qualified counsel, working in English and Chinese.
Legal support as the business develops. Our commercial and dispute practice can also support your contracts, employment arrangements, intellectual property and dispute prevention. Work beyond the setup scope is agreed and priced separately.
Fees & scope
A clear budget for your China company setup.
US$2,500–4,000
Indicative professional fees for a standard company setup.
A planning range for one company with a straightforward ownership structure and an ordinary consulting or trading activity. We confirm the work and a fixed fee in writing after reviewing your investors, business scope and intended location.
Complex ownership structures, negotiated joint ventures and regulated activities are quoted separately. The range excludes registered capital, premises or address services, authentication, translation, government and third-party charges, and any applicable taxes. Banking, tax setup, additional licences and ongoing accounting are separately scoped and priced.
- Structure and governance reviewA written review of the proposed ownership, business scope, market-access route, capital arrangements and governance for the planned company.
- Formation documents and filingPrepare or review the agreed incorporation documents and articles of association, and coordinate registration, relevant information reporting and company chops.
- Control and authority checklistRecord the agreed arrangements for chop custody, bank access and signing authority, with decisions and implementation steps identified for your team.
- Post-registration action planSet out the next banking, tax, licensing and hiring steps, the responsible parties and expected timing. Separately priced services and known additional costs are identified in your proposal.
Expected timelines
Plan registration and the steps that follow.
For a standard project, we expect to obtain the business licence within 20 working days once complete signed documents, acceptable address evidence and any necessary pre-registration approvals are ready.
Company registration
Within 20 working daysExpected time to the business licence after the complete file and prerequisites are ready. Overseas document preparation and authentication come before this stage.
Chops, initial tax & invoicing setup
About 1–2 weeksAfter the business licence is issued and required information is ready. Local appointments, identity checks and invoicing requirements may affect timing.
Corporate bank account
About 2–6 weeksAfter the licence, bank documents and required verification arrangements are ready. Bank checks, appointments and signatory availability can extend this.
Import & export registrations
About 2–4 weeksFor standard goods, after company documents and the trading scope are ready. Covers the expected customs and related setup route; product-specific approvals take additional time.
Work & residence permits
About 4–8 weeksFor an eligible employee once the employer and application documents are ready. Visa appointments, travel, medical checks and local processing can extend the route.
Other sector-specific licences
Allow 1–3 months or longerAn initial planning allowance only, where the activity is eligible. The actual route depends on the licence, premises, inspections and technical requirements; we estimate it separately after review.
These are planning estimates, not guaranteed completion dates. Each range starts when the requirements for that stage are met. Some steps can run in parallel, so the ranges should not simply be added together. Working days exclude weekends and public holidays in China; other ranges use calendar weeks or months. Additional steps are undertaken only within an agreed scope, and approval rests with the relevant authority or bank.
How to begin
Three steps to a defined plan.
1
Describe the business
Share your intended activities, investors, preferred location and target start date through the short form.
2
Discuss the scope
We clarify the commercial plan, key regulatory questions and information needed to scope the work.
3
Review the proposal
Consider a written work plan and fee proposal before deciding whether to engage the firm.
Common questions
Before you get started
What will company setup cost?
The indicative professional fee is US$2,500–4,000 for one standard company setup. We confirm a fixed fee and defined scope in writing after reviewing the project. The range is not a total first-year operating budget: capital, premises, third-party charges and applicable taxes are excluded, while banking, tax, licence and ongoing accounting services are separately scoped and priced. Complex structures and regulated activities require a separate quote.
Can we start from outside China?
We can discuss the project and coordinate much of the legal work remotely. We will identify any documents, signatures or in-person steps relevant to your proposed setup during scoping.
We have not chosen a city or entity type. Is it too early to contact you?
No. Those choices can affect the operating and approval route. Tell us what your company intends to do in China and which options you are considering.
Are licences, a bank account and ongoing tax services included?
They are not automatically included in company registration. The proposal sets out any licence, banking or tax coordination we will undertake, the role of separate providers and additional costs. Registration alone does not authorise every business activity or guarantee bank account approval.
How long will registration take?
For a standard project, we expect to obtain the business licence within 20 working days after complete signed documents, acceptable address evidence and any necessary pre-registration approvals are ready. Preparing or authenticating overseas documents takes additional time. Banking, tax setup and any operating permits have their own timelines; see the estimates above. Authority requests or project changes can extend the schedule.
Official guidance: Beijing’s bilingual foreign-invested company registration guide. The requirements applicable to your project need to be checked at the time of instruction.
Your next move into China
Tell us your plan. Understand the legal route and the fee.
Share your plans and we will assess the appropriate scope of assistance.
