Written in China and read by professionals
in over 160 countries worldwide





China Briefing is a monthly magazine and daily news service about doing business in China. We cover topics relating to the Chinese economy, the market in China, foreign direct investment and Chinese law and tax. It is written in-house by the foreign investment professionals at Dezan Shira & Associates




Market Indexes

Shanghai

Shenzhen

Business

Huizhou Launches Enterprise Registration and Examination Reform

May 23 – The Huizhou government held a mobilization conference on May 17 to officially launch its enterprise registration and examination trial reform, which aims to “simplify what can be simplified; permit what can be permitted; accelerate what can be accelerated; and optimize what needs to be optimized.”

It is the first time that the Guangdong provincial government has approved the enterprise registration and examination reform to be trialed at the city-level. As a result, the Guangdong government has ordered the related departments at the provincial level to fully support and guide the trial reform in Huizhou. Continue reading

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update, South China | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Burdens Chinese Solar Panel Manufacturers with Anti-Dumping Tariffs

By Sofia Liska

May 22 – The U.S. Commerce Department has imposed tariffs of 31 percent to 250 percent on Chinese solar panels, upsetting American solar panel installers, Chinese solar panel manufacturers, and Chinese officials. In doing so, the U.S. government effectively sided with solar panel manufacturer SolarWorld Industries America, who claimed that Chinese companies were dumping their under-priced and illegally subsidized solar panels onto the U.S. market.

The United States had already imposed a tariff in March of between 2.9 percent and 4.73 percent in order to offset the illegal government subsidies received by Chinese solar panel manufacturers, but American solar panel manufacturers were not satisfied. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Science and Tech, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why ASEAN Matters For Your China Business

The 2015 Free Trade Agreement will soon kick in. Is your China business ready?

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

May 22 – The term “ASEAN” is cropping up more often these days, yet still many businesses in China are unaware of what it is and why it is gaining in importance. The basic answer is fairly simple – free trade across Asia. That means reduced or zero customs duties across a space that includes the 10 ASEAN nations in Southeast Asia, and includes China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Featured | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

China’s Exploding Wine Consumption

U.S., Chile, Australia as well as old world wines all generating increasing market shares as China develops new tastes

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

May 21 – China is a country that continues to surprise, even 20 years after I first established my business there. Back in 1992, drinking coffee was limited to the few hotels that even had such a thing as a Nescafe sachet. Last October, Starbucks opened its 500th store, not bad going for a nation once considered purely tea drinkers. The same story, that of changing consumer tastes, has filtered across many F&B markets, not least with wine. In 1992, red wine would be drunk as a highball with coke, and white wine with 7Up. While that may be understandable given the general quality of wine in China at the time, that is not the case today, and rather like the coffee phenomena, wine consumption has sky rocketed and continues to do so. Continue reading

Posted in Business, FDI and Foreign Trade, Markets, Retail | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Severance Pay Subject to Individual Income Tax in China

May 18 – On May 14, officials from China’s State Administration of Taxation answered questions on several hot issues regarding ambiguities in tax payments, clarifying that individual income tax should be paid when an employee receives compensation for termination of their contract.

According to the government officials, if the one-time compensation offered to an employee after the termination of the contract does not exceed three times the local average annual salary of the previous year, the compensation is tax exempt. However, if the amount exceeds this threshold, then the exceeding part of the compensation is subject to individual income tax payment. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Obtaining a Z Visa, Work Permit and Residence Permit in China

By Xiaolei Gu

May 17 – The Beijing Public Security Bureau announced the commencement of a three-month campaign beginning May 15 to “clean up” illegally entered/stayed/employed foreigners through its Sina Weibo account in an effort to establish a comprehensive mechanism for managing foreigners in China.

According to the Sina Weibo announcement, the Beijing Public Security Bureau will check key neighborhoods, carry out regular crackdowns in certain areas, and review visa applications more strictly and more carefully. Moreover, the Bureau also encourages public reporting of suspicious cases in the city. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Legal and Regulatory | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chinese Outward Foreign Investments in Europe

Opinion: Daniela Gorza

May 16 – While developing economies account for only roughly 17 percent of global outward direct investment (ODI), this segment is beginning to gain ground. Within this group, China is among the most active outward investors, along with other emerging economies such as India and Brazil.

Although China’s ODI into Europe remains modest, it is growing rapidly with major acquisitions and investments making global headlines. The country’s Greenfield investments, for example, have increased by 500 percent since 2000, but are still considered modest. China accounted for a mere 1.2 percent of Greenfield investments into Europe from 2004-2006, on a par with South Korea, but behind India (1.9 percent). Continue reading

Posted in Business | Leave a comment

China Orders ‘Big Four’ Auditors to Restructure

China requires 60 percent majority Chinese partners upon JV term expiry, 80 percent by 2017.

Devonshire-Ellis: “This is a retrograde step”

May 15 – China’s Ministry of Finance, Administration for Industry and Commerce, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission jointly issued the “Scheme for Localized Transformation of Sino-foreign Cooperative Accounting Firms (hereinafter referred as the “Scheme”)” last Thursday. The Scheme requires the “Big Four” auditing companies of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers to “localize” their staff in line with Chinese laws that specify the qualifications, age and experience of their management. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Finance, Tax and Accounting, Legal and Regulatory, Regulatory Update | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment




Dezan Shira & Associates provide a range of services for companies looking to undertake foreign direct investment into Asia, These include corporate establishment, accounting, tax, payroll, audit and due diligence. To learn more about the firm, please contact one of our specialists at china@dezshira.com, download our corporate brochure or visit at us www.dezshira.com


Dezan Shira & Associates, Twenty years of Excellence

The Asia Briefing Bookstore

Our best selling legal, financial, tax and regional guides to Asia business, industry reports and more…
Click here to view all titles now

China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store China Briefing Book Store

NOW AVAILABLE IN PDF