Summer Special

U.S. Commercial Service Releases China Business Handbook
By far, the most popular single news item on our website in 2010 was the release of the China Business Handbook, a resource guide for doing business in China produced by the U.S> Commercial Service in association with Dezan Shira & Associates. The guidebook provides a general overview to doing business in China with chapters devoted to the Chinese market; Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta; business advisory including choosing a China structure, IPR issues, staffing, and managing supply chains; selling to China’s emerging middle class, sector opportunities; and industry case studies. It remains available for complimentary download on the Asia Briefing Bookstore.

China to Raise Minimum Wage Levels
The increasing coast of doing business was never far from our readers’ minds in the first half of the year, as seen by the popularity of this article which described plans by local governments in China to raise minimum wage levels from 10 to 12 percent as the economy recovered in China and inflation rose.

2010 Expatriate Income Tax Planning in China
Taken from our January/February 2010 issue of China Briefing, this piece looked at the income tax rules and regulations that affect expatriates living and working in China. China’s multi-tiered tax system for foreigners can often lead to confusion, and this article, which dealt with several issues including the so-called 90 or 183 days rule, China tax resident status, and annual self-declarations, proved to be very popular.

Expo Shanghai (Iran, North Korea and Myanmar, India, Spain, US, UK, Taiwan Australia, Sweden, China, Norway, Canada)
Our ongoing series looking at country pavilions in the 2010 Expo Shanghai proved extremely popular.  The 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai lasts 184 days, providing China an opportunity to show off its remarkable economic growth. Officially known as “Expo Shanghai 2010,” it is giving foreign nations and companies a chance to further develop business partnerships with China and Chinese companies. Our ongoing series has been examining the expo, from the construction of country pavilions to trade development between China and the rest of the world.

Preparing for Annual Audits in China
Annual audit season in China is a good time to review any outstanding issues that may affect the coming year. It is also a good time to review the company business license; something that all China-based businesses must do every year. This January/February issue of China Briefing Magazine looked into the more pertinent aspects of China’s audit regulations, examined some corporate tax considerations to take into account when filing CIT returns, and reviewed the preparation procedure for an annual business license review.

China Joint Ventures as Strategic Investment
The debate over joint ventures has been going on since China opened up to the West. For some companies, JVs are a cheap way of entering the China market, others see a useful potential in the partner’s production facilities and workforce. While there is a measure of truth in all arguments, the sensible application of due diligence and an understanding of what a Chinese partner brings to a JV are paramount. This series of highly popular series of articles examines these issues to determine how joint ventures in China can be strategic investments.

New Regulations for Establishing Representative Offices Released
Early in 2010, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce released new incorporation regulations for foreign investors establishing representative offices in China. The new regulations limited the number of foreigners an RO could employ, set requirements for the parent companies of ROs and limited the registration certificate period.

Triggering Permanent Establishment in China Representative Offices
The Chinese government’s ruling regarding the taxable income of representative offices in China highlighted an important status position in the activities of the RO – and the question of whether an RO is in fact operating as a permanent establishment or not. The issue is one with wide reaching implications, as it could bring many ROs into PE status and signals a clampdown by the SAT on certain activities by them. The popularity of this article, in addition to the announcement regarding the new RO regulations and the increasing in China’s minimum wage rates shows the concern foreign investors were developing for operating in the China market.

Representative Office Regulations Limit Foreign Employees
The changing tax structuring for representative offices continued to draw interest from our readers even in June, when we summarized the changes to ROs.  The new regulations will continue to affect foreign investors setting up representative offices in China, as well as ROs already established on the mainland as they touch on the establishment, management and staffing of ROs and we expect this issue to continue to draw interest through the rest of 2010.

The Communist China Price
A late entry but one that gained popularity quickly, struck a chord with many foreign investors, this op-ed from publisher Chris Devonshire-Ellis took a look at the “real” price of doing business in today’s China.  Some of the events he highlights that have directly impacted foreign investors in China include a dissolution of tax holidays, a increase in profits tax, the introduction of dividend tax, an increase in employment costs, a rise in sovereignty protection, a lack of audit integrity, domestic protection of industry, and local manufacturing content requirements.