With China’s continuous expansion of high-level opening-up and the implementation of the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, more and more foreign travelers are turning their attention to the Chinese market, hoping to start their business journey here. However, doing business in China is not “pack and go”. Grasping the core premises in advance, clarifying the access principles, identity requirements and language adaptation skills, can help avoid compliance risks and make the business journey smoother. This article will focus on these 3 basic cognitions, combined with the latest policy details, to provide a comprehensive and practical guide for foreign travelers planning to do business in China, helping them quickly adapt to the Chinese business environment and start their entrepreneurial or business journey in compliance with regulations.
The first core cognition: Access Principles — Clarify “what you can do and how to get started” and seize policy dividends. China implements the core principle of “non-prohibited is permitted” for foreigners doing business in China, specifically based on the “Special Administrative Measures for Foreign Investment Access (Negative List) (2025 Edition)” and the “Market Access Negative List (2025 Edition)”, which is also the key opening-up principle emphasized in the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment. Simply put, for all industries outside the negative list, foreigners enjoy the same rights as Chinese local investors, without additional approval, and can carry out business only by completing the normal registration process; industries within the negative list need to be approved by relevant departments before they can enter.
It is worth noting that the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment has further expanded the scope of opening-up, fully canceling restrictions on foreign investment access in the manufacturing sector, while expanding pilot opening-up in fields such as telecommunications, medical care and education, promoting the orderly opening-up of the biomedical field, and encouraging foreign investors to carry out equity investment and mergers and acquisitions in China. This means that foreigners can freely enter the manufacturing sector without any additional access approval; in pilot fields such as telecommunications and medical care, they can enjoy “special team” tracking services to promote the rapid landing of projects. In addition, special regions such as free trade zones and economic and technological development zones can also increase stress tests in the field of foreign investment access, providing more convenience for foreigners to do business. It is recommended that foreign travelers planning to do business in China pay priority to the relevant policies of these regions and leverage policy dividends to reduce the entry threshold.
It should be specially reminded that regardless of whether they are in the negative list or not, special industries need to apply for relevant qualifications and licenses in advance. For example, tobacco monopoly and dangerous goods operation require prior approval, and food operation and medical device operation require subsequent approval. This is the basis for compliant business operations and must not be ignored.
The second core cognition: Identity Requirements — “Settle down” legally and compliantly, and clarify the connection between visas and qualifications. For foreigners to do business in China, they must first have a legal identity, which is the premise for carrying out all business activities and the key to protecting their own rights and interests. Identity requirements are mainly divided into two levels: one is the entry identity (visa), and the other is the business and residence identity in China (work permit, residence permit). Both are indispensable and must strictly match the business activities.
In terms of entry visas, foreign travelers planning to do business in China for a long time (more than 90 days) need to apply for a Z-visa (work visa), which is the only legal visa that can be used for business and work. Tourist visas (L-visa), visitor visas (F-visa), etc., cannot be used for business activities. Illegal use will face administrative penalties. When applying for a Z-visa, you need to provide foreign entity certificates, notarized and authenticated documents, employment certificates from the employer (if any) and other materials. For details, you can consult and apply through Chinese embassies and consulates abroad.
After entry, you need to apply for the “Foreigners’ Work Permit” and work-related residence permit within the specified time, which are legal documents for long-term business and residence in China. According to the classification standards for foreigners working in China, foreigners coming to China to do business are mainly divided into three categories: Class A (high-end foreign talents, such as international entrepreneurs and innovative and entrepreneurial talents), who can enjoy convenience such as full online processing, commitment system for no-criminal-record certificates, and work permits with a maximum validity of 5 years; Class B (professional foreign talents), who need to have a bachelor’s degree or above and more than 2 years of relevant work experience; Class C (other foreign personnel), applicable to temporary and short-term business activities.
In addition, if a foreigner serves as the legal representative of an enterprise in China and does not directly participate in the enterprise’s operation and management, he/she does not need to apply for the “Foreigners’ Work Permit”, but still needs to apply for a work-related residence permit; in terms of age, there is no age limit for Class A talents, enterprise investors and legal representatives; Class B and C talents are generally not more than 60 years old, and those over 60 years old need to meet the point-based score requirements. It should be noted that all materials must be true and valid, and notarized and authenticated documents must comply with relevant Chinese regulations to avoid affecting identity processing due to material problems.
The third core cognition: Language Adaptation — Break communication barriers and improve operational efficiency. Language barrier is a major obstacle for many foreign travelers to do business in China. It not only affects communication with government departments and partners, but also restricts the development of business activities. Therefore, language adaptation is an important premise for doing business in China. There is no need to pursue proficiency, but it is necessary to master basic communication skills and practical tools.
In terms of official communication, Chinese government service centers at all levels, tax departments, market supervision departments, etc., are equipped with bilingual service personnel (Chinese + English), and some pilot areas also provide multilingual services. At the same time, online platforms such as the National Government Service Platform and the Electronic Taxation Bureau all have English versions, which can meet the needs of foreigners for handling basic businesses such as registration, tax declaration and qualification approval. When handling business, if there are difficulties in language communication, you can directly put forward bilingual service needs to the staff, or prepare translated texts in advance to avoid misunderstandings affecting business processing efficiency.
In terms of business communication, English is the common foreign language in China’s business field. Most enterprise partners and suppliers can communicate in basic English, especially in first-tier cities and free trade zones, where English communication is more common. It is recommended that foreign travelers master basic business Chinese vocabulary in advance (such as “registration”, “qualification”, “contract”, “payment”, etc.) to facilitate daily communication; at the same time, they can use practical translation tools, such as Baidu Translate and Youdao Translate, for real-time text translation and voice communication to solve immediate communication needs.
If carrying out long-term business activities, it is recommended to hire professional translators or cooperate with translation agencies, especially when signing contracts, negotiating cooperation and handling compliance issues. Professional translation can avoid disputes caused by language ambiguity; in addition, you can join the local Foreign Investment Enterprise Association, which regularly organizes language exchange activities to help foreign travelers quickly adapt to the language environment and connect with relevant resources.
In addition to language tools, it is also important to understand Chinese business communication etiquette, such as respecting each other’s communication habits, avoiding the use of blunt and offensive language, and focusing on efficiency and honest communication during business negotiations. These details can help foreign travelers better integrate into the Chinese business environment and establish good cooperative relations.
In summary, access principles, identity requirements and language adaptation are the three core premises for foreigners to do business in China, which are interrelated and indispensable. Grasping the access principles can help avoid compliance risks and leverage policy dividends; clarifying the identity requirements can protect their own legal rights and interests and carry out business smoothly; doing a good job in language adaptation can break communication barriers and improve operational efficiency. With the continuous optimization of China’s business environment and the gradual implementation of various measures in the 2025 Action Plan for Stabilizing Foreign Investment, the threshold for foreigners to do business in China is constantly decreasing and the convenience is constantly improving. As long as you master these basic cognitions in advance and make full preparations, you can smoothly start your business journey in China and seize the broad opportunities of the Chinese market.
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