- The first strategic decision is the trade model (domestic stock vs. CBEC bonded vs. CBEC direct mail), not the platform, because the model determines the licence, label, and tax path.
首要战略决策是贸易模式（国内现货 vs. 保税跨境 vs. 直邮跨境），而非平台，因为模式决定许可证、标签与税务路径。- China had approved 165 cross-border e-commerce pilot zones across 31 provincial-level regions by end-2022, with more (including Hainan island-wide and 15 cities) added in 2025.
截至2022年底中国已批复165个跨境电商综试区，覆盖31个省级行政区，2025年又新增海南全岛及15个城市地区。- CBEC retail imports are limited to a positive list and, within per-transaction and annual caps, enjoy duty-free treatment with reduced VAT and consumption tax.
跨境电商零售进口受正面清单限制，在单笔与年度限额内免征关税并适用优惠的增值税与消费税税率。- A foreign-invested website reachable from China needs an ICP filing, and paid/commercial services require an ICP licence subject to the negative list and MIIT approval.
在华可访问的外资网站须完成ICP备案，提供有偿/商业服务须取得ICP许可证，并受负面清单与工信部审批约束。- The practical bottleneck is product-level compliance (cosmetics notification, food business licence) rather than opening the store itself.
实务瓶颈在于产品级合规（化妆品备案、食品经营许可），而非开店本身。- Consumer-data handling must satisfy PIPL and CAC cross-border data rules, and the brand should register Chinese trademarks early for platform brand protection.
消费者数据处理须满足《个人信息保护法》与网信办跨境数据规则，且品牌应尽早注册中国商标以启用平台品牌保护。
E-commerce market entry for foreign brands | 外国品牌的电商入华
Overview
China is the world’s largest e-commerce market, and foreign brands can reach Chinese consumers through several distinct routes: selling via domestic platforms such as Tmall and JD flagship stores, using cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) models that treat imports differently from general trade, or operating their own online storefront. Each route carries a different mix of licensing, customs, tax, and compliance obligations. For a foreign brand, the first strategic decision is not “which platform?” but “which trade model?” — because the model determines the licence you need, the label you must print, and the tax you will pay.
This article maps the principal entry routes, the licences and filings they require, and the customs and tax treatment of online sales. It is written for foreign brand owners, distributors, and their advisers. Figures and policies change frequently; where a number is time-sensitive we phrase it as “as of” rather than assert a fixed value.
Route A — Domestic-platform flagship stores (Tmall
The most common route for an established foreign brand is to open a flagship store on a domestic platform (Tmall Global is a distinct cross-border channel; Tmall/Tmall Mall is the domestic channel). To sell goods already imported into China and held in mainland warehouses, the selling entity must be a properly licensed Chinese company — typically a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) or a local distributor acting as the merchant of record.
A domestic e-commerce merchant generally needs a business licence with the appropriate scope and, for food, cosmetics, or medical-related products, the relevant product and operational licences (see the food & beverage and healthcare articles in this series). Platforms also require the merchant to hold a valid ICP filing or ICP licence for its own website if it operates a branded site, and to comply with platform-specific brand authorisation and product-compliance checks. The practical bottleneck is usually product registration or filing (e.g., cosmetics notification, food business licence) rather than the store itself.
Route B — Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC)
Cross-border e-commerce lets overseas sellers ship directly to Chinese consumers (B2C) or to bonded warehouses, with goods cleared under CBEC rules rather than general-trade import rules. China has built a national network of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones — as of the end of 2022 the State Council had approved 165 such zones across 31 provincial-level regions, and further zones (including Hainan island-wide and 15 additional cities) were added in 2025. Goods that enter through these zones under the retail-import CBEC model benefit from a simplified customs regime and, within set per-transaction and annual caps, a reduced and deferred tax treatment.
There are two main CBEC sub-models: (1) bonded (BSB / “保税”) — goods are imported in bulk into a bonded warehouse inside a pilot zone and dispatched to consumers order-by-order after sale; and (2) direct mail (BC / “直邮”) — goods are posted from overseas after each order. Both require the overseas seller (or its appointed mainland responsible entity) to register in the customs cross-border e-commerce system and to submit electronic order, payment, and logistics data. CBEC retail imports are limited to a positive list of eligible products; goods outside the list must enter as general trade.
Licensing & filing: ICP, business licence, and platform rules
Foreign-invested enterprises operating a website reachable from within China must complete an ICP filing (备案) with the provincial communications administration; if the site provides paid/commercial services such as an online marketplace or value-added telecoms services, an ICP licence (经营许可证) is required instead. An ICP licence for value-added telecoms (e.g., online data and transaction processing) is generally open to foreign investment but is subject to the telecoms foreign-investment restrictions in the negative list and to MIIT approval, and in many cases is best held by a compliant mainland entity. Separately, the brand should secure its Chinese trademarks early, because platform brand protection and anti-counterfeit programmes depend on them.
Customs, tax, and consumer-protection compliance
Under CBEC, customs duties are generally exempt within the policy caps, and the imported-goods value-added tax and consumption tax are levied at a reduced rate with a per-transaction limit; amounts above the caps are taxed as general trade. The merchant must transmit true, traceable transaction data; false declarations trigger suspension. Consumer protection is stringent: CBEC imports are deemed to have met origin standards only for customs purposes, the platform and the responsible entity share recall and after-sales obligations, and personal-information handling must satisfy the PIPL (Personal Information Protection Law) and the data-export rules administered by the CAC (Cyberspace Administration of China). Cosmetic, food, and device products still need their China-specific registration/filing before they can be lawfully sold.
What to do next
- Decide the trade model first (domestic stock vs. CBEC bonded vs. CBEC direct mail) before choosing a platform, because each changes the licence and tax path.
- Incorporate or appoint a compliant mainland entity to hold the ICP filing/licence and to act as the CBEC responsible party or merchant of record.
- Register in the customs cross-border e-commerce system and prepare order/payment/logistics data feeds to a single, consistent standard.
- Complete product-level compliance early: cosmetics notification, food business licence, health-food registration, or device registration as applicable.
- File Chinese trademarks for the brand and key sub-brands before launch to enable platform brand protection.
- Brief your data and logistics teams on PIPL and CAC cross-border data rules before any consumer data is collected or transferred.
Sources
- Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) — press conference on expanding cross-border e-commerce exports and overseas warehouses: https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/News/PressConference/art/2024/art_f2bd0621f8354841893548c14aa61d54.html
- State Council (English) — China’s cross-border e-commerce pilot zones cover 31 provincial-level regions: https://english.www.gov.cn/statecouncil/ministries/202302/24/content_WS63f808cfc6d0a757729e7275.html
- Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) — policy release portal: https://wms.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/index.html
- State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) — market regulation and business licensing (official portal): https://www.samr.gov.cn/
- General Administration of Customs (GACC) — customs clearance and CBEC imports (official portal): https://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/index/index.html
Related reading
- see also: Food & beverage market entry & licensing (48-fnb-market-entry-licensing)
- see also: Healthcare & pharma market access (45-healthcare-pharma-market-access)
- see also: Import-export licensing & customs clearance (50-import-export-customs-clearance)
外国品牌的电商入华
概述
中国是全球最大的电商市场，外国品牌触达中国消费者主要有几条路径：通过天猫、京东等国内平台开设旗舰店；采用跨境电商（CBEC）模式，其进口监管与一般贸易不同；或自行运营独立网店。每条路径对应的许可、海关、税务与合规义务组合各不相同。对外国品牌而言，首要战略决策不是”选哪个平台”，而是”选哪种贸易模式”——因为模式决定了你需要什么许可证、必须印制什么标签，以及你将缴纳何种税。
本文梳理主要入华路径、各自所需的许可与备案，以及在线销售的海关与税务处理，面向外国品牌方、经销商及其顾问。政策与数据变动频繁，对时效敏感的数字，本文以”截至某时”的方式表述，而非给出固定数值。
路径 A — 国内平台旗舰店（天猫
成熟外国品牌最常见的路径，是在国内平台开设旗舰店（天猫国际属跨境渠道，天猫/天猫商城属国内渠道，二者不同）。若要销售已进口到中国、存放于内地仓库的现货，销售主体必须是持牌的中国公司——通常是外商独资企业（WFOE）或作为商户的本地经销商。
国内电商商户一般需有含相应经营范围的营业执照；若经营食品、化妆品或医疗相关产品，还需相应的产品与经营许可（详见本系列的食品餐饮、医疗医药文章）。平台还要求商户若自营品牌网站须持有有效的 ICP 备案或 ICP 许可证，并满足平台特定的品牌授权与产品合规审查。实务瓶颈通常在于产品注册或备案（如化妆品备案、食品经营许可），而非店铺本身。
路径 B — 跨境电商（CBEC）
跨境电商让境外卖家直接向中国消费者发货（B2C）或发往保税仓，货物按跨境电商规则而非一般贸易进口规则清关。中国已建成全国性的跨境电商综合试验区网络——截至 2022 年底，国务院已批复 165 个综试区，覆盖 31 个省级行政区，2025 年又新增海南全岛及 15 个城市地区。通过综试区以零售进口跨境电商模式进境的货物，适用简化海关监管，并在单笔与年度限额内享受减免且递延的税收待遇。
跨境电商主要有两种子模式：（1）保税模式（BSB）——货物整批进口至综试区内保税仓，售出后逐单发给消费者；（2）直邮模式（BC）——每笔订单产生后从境外寄出。二者都要求境外卖家（或其指定的内地责任主体）在海关跨境电商系统注册，并报送电子订单、支付与物流数据。跨境电商零售进口受正面清单限制，清单外商品须按一般贸易进口。
许可与备案：ICP、营业执照与平台规则
外资企业在华运营可境内访问的网站，须向省级通信管理局完成 ICP 备案；若网站提供有偿/商业服务（如网络交易类增值电信业务），则须取得 ICP 经营许可证。涉及增值电信业务（如在线数据处理与交易处理）的 ICP 许可证原则上对外资开放，但受负面清单中电信外资限制约束，并需工信部审批，实践中常由合规的内地主体持有。此外，品牌应尽早注册中国商标，因为平台的品牌保护与打假机制均依赖于此。
海关、税务与消费者保护合规
跨境电商进口在政策限额内通常免征关税，进口环节增值税与消费税按优惠税率征收并设单笔上限，超出限额部分按一般贸易征税。商户须传输真实、可溯源的交易数据，虚假申报将导致暂停。消费者保护十分严格：跨境电商进口仅在海关意义上视为已符合原产标准，平台与责任主体共担召回与售后义务，个人信息处理须满足《个人信息保护法》（PIPL）及网信办（CAC）的数据出境规则。化妆品、食品、器械类产品仍须先完成其中国特有的注册/备案方可合法销售。
下一步建议
- 在选平台之前先定贸易模式（国内现货 vs. 保税跨境 vs. 直邮跨境），因为每种模式改变许可与税务路径。
- 设立或指定合规的内地主体，持有 ICP 备案/许可证，并担任跨境电商责任主体或商户。
- 在海关跨境电商系统注册，并将订单/支付/物流数据按统一标准准备数据接口。
- 尽早完成产品级合规：化妆品备案、食品经营许可、保健食品注册或器械注册（视情况而定）。
- 上市前注册品牌及关键子品牌的中国商标，以启用平台品牌保护。
- 在收集或传输任何消费者数据前，让数据与物流团队了解 PIPL 与 CAC 跨境数据规则。
来源
- 商务部（MOFCOM）——关于扩大跨境电商出口、发展海外仓的例行发布会：https://english.mofcom.gov.cn/News/PressConference/art/2024/art_f2bd0621f8354841893548c14aa61d54.html
- 国务院（英文）——中国跨境电商综试区覆盖 31 个省级行政区：https://english.www.gov.cn/statecouncil/ministries/202302/24/content_WS63f808cfc6d0a757729e7275.html
- 商务部（MOFCOM）——政策发布门户：https://wms.mofcom.gov.cn/zcfb/index.html
- 国家市场监督管理总局（SAMR）——市场监管与经营许可（官方门户）：https://www.samr.gov.cn/
- 海关总署（GACC）——清关与跨境电商进口（官方门户）：https://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/index/index.html
相关阅读
- 参见：餐饮食品入华与许可（48-fnb-market-entry-licensing）
- 参见：医疗医药准入（45-healthcare-pharma-market-access）
- 参见：进出口许可与海关清关（50-import-export-customs-clearance）