Published · France

China Company Registration: Documents, Steps and Timeline for French Founders

A practical guide for French founders on registering a company in China: the documents you need, the steps involved, realistic timelines, and where French-specific requirements such as notarisation and consular legalisation fit in. General information only, not legal or tax advice.

Setting up a company in China is a well-trodden path for French founders, but the paperwork has a rhythm of its own. The process is more centralised than it was a decade ago, yet the practical burden often falls on document preparation, translation and authentication rather than on the registration itself. This guide walks you through what is generally required, the sequence of steps, and how long each stage tends to take. It is general information, not legal or tax advice — your specific structure, sector and city will shape the details, so confirm them with a qualified local adviser.

First, choose the vehicle and the city

Most French founders setting up a substantive presence in China choose a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE), typically structured as a limited liability company. A WFOE lets you invoice Chinese customers, hire staff directly and control operations. Alternatives include a joint venture with a Chinese partner (required in some restricted sectors) or a representative office, which is limited to liaison activities and cannot generate revenue.

The city matters as much as the vehicle. Registration is handled by the local branch of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), and local practice varies. Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have the deepest ecosystems of bilingual advisers and English-speaking staff at the registration windows; smaller cities may be slower and less used to foreign-invested paperwork. If your customers or suppliers cluster in one region, start there rather than defaulting to the largest city.

Check the Negative List for Foreign Investment before committing. It sets out sectors where foreign ownership is restricted or prohibited. Most manufacturing, trading, consulting and technology services are open, but the list is revised periodically, so verify the current version for your activity.

The documents you will need

Document requirements are where French founders most often lose time. The core package for a WFOE generally includes:

• Passport copies of the legal representative, directors, supervisors and shareholders (or the corporate shareholder's registry documents).
• Proof of address for the proposed registered office — usually a lease agreement and the landlord's property certificate. Many founders use a serviced office or an incubator that provides a compliant registered address.
• Articles of association, drafted to reflect your governance and shareholding.
• Name reservation documents for the Chinese company name, submitted through the local SAMR system.
• Business scope wording, drawn from the standard catalogue and aligned with your actual activities.
• Capital and shareholder information, including the subscribed registered capital and contribution schedule.
• Legal representative appointment documents and board or shareholder resolutions.

For French founders, two extra layers usually apply. First, translation: foreign-language documents must be translated into Chinese, and the translation is often required to be stamped by a recognised translation agency. Second, authentication: documents executed in France — such as a parent company's certificate of incorporation, board resolutions or a power of attorney — generally need notarisation by a French notaire and then legalisation. Since China joined the Apostille Convention, many French public documents can be apostilled rather than consular-legalised, but acceptance varies by locality and by document type, so confirm with the registration authority or your adviser before you send originals abroad.

If your shareholder is a French company rather than an individual, expect the corporate documents to be scrutinised more closely, and allow extra time for the chain of notarisation and translation.

The registration sequence

In practice, the work runs in stages, some of which overlap:

1. Name reservation

Submit proposed Chinese names (with an English or French equivalent) through the local SAMR online system. Names must be unique and must follow Chinese naming conventions. This usually takes a few working days, though popular words can cause rejections and resubmissions.

2. Prepare and authenticate documents

Draft the articles and resolutions, translate everything, and complete notarisation and apostille or legalisation in France. This is the longest lead-time item and should start early — often weeks rather than days, depending on notaire availability and courier time.

3. Submit the establishment application

File the WFOE application with SAMR, including the business licence application, articles, address proof and investor documents. Once approved, you receive the business licence, which is the company's legal birth certificate.

4. Post-licence registrations

The business licence is not the end. You will typically need to:

• Carve the company seal set (official seal, financial seal, legal representative seal, contract seal) at a licensed seal-maker, registered with the police.
• Open a bank account — both a basic RMB account and, if needed, a foreign currency capital account. Bank onboarding has become more thorough and can take one to three weeks.
• Register for tax with the local tax authority and confirm your invoicing setup.
• Register with the social insurance and housing fund authorities if you will employ staff.
• Complete foreign exchange registration so capital can be remitted in and profits remitted out.
• Register with customs if you will import or export goods.

5. Capital contribution

Inject the subscribed capital according to the schedule in your articles. Under current rules, the contribution period must be stated and is generally expected to be within five years, though the exact treatment depends on the entity and timing. Keep clean records of the remittance, as banks and tax authorities will ask for them.

Realistic timeline

Assuming your documents are in order, a straightforward WFOE in a major city often takes four to eight weeks from name reservation to an operating bank account. The breakdown tends to look like this:

• Name reservation: a few working days to two weeks, depending on rejections.
• Document preparation, notarisation and apostille/legalisation in France: two to six weeks, sometimes longer.
• SAMR review and business licence: roughly one to three weeks once a complete application is filed.
• Seals, bank account, tax and social insurance registration: two to four weeks, with bank onboarding often the bottleneck.

Sector-specific approvals — for example in education, healthcare, food or financial services — can add months. Restricted sectors, joint ventures and complex corporate shareholders all extend the timeline. If you need to move quickly, consider whether a representative office or a service arrangement with a local partner can bridge the gap while the WFOE is being set up.

Practical tips for French founders

Start the French-side authentication early; it is the item most outside your control. Budget for professional translation and keep digital copies of every document. Choose a registered address that is genuinely compliant — virtual addresses that fail inspection can cause problems later. Appoint a legal representative who understands they carry personal responsibilities under Chinese company law. And build a relationship with a local accountant before you open the bank account, because tax registration and monthly filing obligations begin immediately after establishment.

Finally, treat this article as a map rather than a contract. Rules, local practice and documentation requirements change, and your adviser in China and your French notaire are the right people to confirm the specifics for your project.