A foreign dairy or beverage producer building a plant in China needs a locally incorporated entity that obtains a Food Production Licence (SC licence); for infant formula it must also obtain SAMR formula registration before production or import. 外资乳品或饮料企业在华建厂须设立本地实体并取得《食品生产许可证》（SC证）；婴幼儿配方乳粉还须取得SAMR配方注册方可生产或进口。 In 2026, several provinces grade SC licensing by product risk: health food, special medical, infant formula, infant supplements and salt are reviewed by the provincial bureau; dairy and other special diets by the municipal bureau; ordinary food by the county bureau, … Foreign dairy and beverage producers building plants and market access in China (2026)Read more
Supply-chain localisation and central-kitchen compliance for foreign chain restaurants in China
Scale in China pushes foreign chain restaurants from imported SKUs to localised supply chains: central kitchens, unified distribution and “one taste across a thousand stores” standardisation. 在中国做规模，外资连锁餐饮须从进口单品转向本地化供应链：中央厨房、统一配送与”千店一味”标准化。 The chain headquarters must hold a Food Business Licence with a “catering-chain management” item, run an independent food-safety unit, and appoint a food-safety director and officers; it may not contract away food-safety liability. 连锁总部须持含”餐饮服务连锁管理”项目的《食品经营许可》，设独立食品安全机构并配备总监与员，且不得通过合同转嫁食品安全责任。 Central kitchens must implement daily/weekly/monthly control, keep full cold-chain and distribution records, and enforce separate raw/cooked tools and temperature-controlled … Supply-chain localisation and central-kitchen compliance for foreign chain restaurants in ChinaRead more
Imported food and health-food registration, filing and labelling compliance in China (2026)
GACC Decree No. 280 (effective 1 June 2026) replaces Decree No. 248 (2021) and upgrades China’s overseas food-establishment registration into a dynamic, risk-graded, whole-chain system. 海关总署第280号令（2026年6月1日施行）取代248号令（2021），将进口食品境外生产企业注册升级为动态、风险分级、全链条管控体系。 Seventeen food categories require official recommended registration (e.g. meat, aquatic products, dairy, health food, special-diets); the “unroasted coffee beans and cocoa beans” category was removed, leaving 17 categories. 17类食品须官方推荐注册（如肉类、水产品、乳品、保健食品、特殊膳食）；”未烘焙咖啡豆与可可豆”被调出，现为17类。 Registration is valid for five years with a new mainly-automatic renewal; only meat and bird’s-nest products are on the non-auto-renewal list requiring re-review. 注册有效期5年并引入以自动延续为主的机制；仅肉与肉制品、燕窝与燕窝制品列入不予自动延续清单，须重新审核。 A … Imported food and health-food registration, filing and labelling compliance in China (2026)Read more
Foreign F&B brands entering China: franchising vs. wholly-owned paths and food-safety compliance
A foreign F&B brand entering China must hold a locally incorporated entity (WFOE or JV) that obtains the business licence with a catering scope and the Food Business Licence (食品经营许可); the licence is held by the China company, not the overseas brand. 外国餐饮品牌入华须由本地设立实体（WFOE或合资）取得含餐饮经营范围的营业执照及《食品经营许可》；许可证由中国公司持有，而非境外品牌。 Two mainstream ownership paths exist: a wholly foreign-owned (WFOE) company, or franchising (特许经营) under the Commercial Franchise Administration Regulation, which requires the franchisor to have two directly-operated stores operating for over one year (“two stores, one year”). … Foreign F&B brands entering China: franchising vs. wholly-owned paths and food-safety complianceRead more
Renewable energy & green investment incentives
There is no foreign-ownership cap on renewable power generation, and solar/wind equipment manufacturing is fully open to foreign investment. 可再生能源发电无外资股比上限，光伏与风电设备制造对外资完全开放。 The binding constraint is provincial planning and grid absorption, not ownership — the practical vehicle is a locally incorporated project company. 真正约束在于省级规划与电网消纳而非所有权——实务载体是本地设立的项目公司。 Since 2021, major wind and solar projects run under grid parity with no feed-in subsidy; revenue rests on power-purchase terms, green-power trading, and green certificates (绿证). 自2021年起主要风光项目在平价上网下运行、无度电补贴；收入取决于购电条款、绿电交易与绿证。 China operates a national ETS (administered by MEE) covering power-sector emissions … Renewable energy & green investment incentivesRead more
Foreign Firms’ Green Power Procurement and Carbon Market Compliance
China has built a unified national green-power trading framework and a nationwide Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) system; foreign-invested enterprises registered in China can open accounts and procure GECs like any domestic user. 中国已建立全国统一的绿色电力交易框架与覆盖全国的绿色电力证书（绿证）制度；在境内合法注册的外商投资企业与境内用户一样可开设账户并采购绿证。 The 2024 “Green Power Trading Chapter” folds green-power trading into the medium- and long-term electricity market, letting users buy renewable attributes together with the power they consume. 2024年《绿色电力交易专章》将绿色电力交易融入电力中长期交易，使用户可随所用电量一并购买可再生能源环境属性。 The 2026 “Implementation Rules for GEC Administration (Trial)” set a full-lifecycle regime — account opening, issuance, transfer and cancellation … Foreign Firms’ Green Power Procurement and Carbon Market ComplianceRead more
New-type storage — foreign participation pathways
Document 114 (发改价格〔2026〕114号, Jan 2026) is the first national-level rule to explicitly create a capacity-price mechanism for grid-side standalone new-type storage, treating it on a par with coal power as a capacity resource. 114号文（发改价格〔2026〕114号，2026年1月）是首个在国家层面明确建立电网侧独立新型储能容量电价机制的规则，将其与煤电同等视为容量资源。 New-type storage can now earn a “three-in-one” revenue: capacity price + energy arbitrage + ancillary services; the capacity price is benchmarked to local coal capacity price and scaled by peak-shifting ability. 新型储能如今可获得”三位一体”收入：容量电价+能量价差+辅助服务；容量电价以当地煤电容量价为基准，按顶峰能力折算。 Pumped hydro is refined under a “stock-stable, increment-active” principle: pre-633-file plants keep government pricing; … New-type storage — foreign participation pathwaysRead more
National carbon market expansion — impact on foreign-invested enterprises
In March 2025 the national ETS first expanded beyond power: steel, cement and aluminium smelting were added, lifting covered CO2 to over 60% of national emissions and adding about 1,500 entities and ~3 billion tonnes of new coverage. 2025年3月，全国碳市场首次扩围至电力之外：纳入钢铁、水泥、铝冶炼，覆盖二氧化碳占全国总量超60%，新增约1500家企业与约30亿吨新增覆盖。 The 2024, 2025 and 2026 compliance years are the “start-up phase”: 2024 allocations equalled verified emissions (no deficit), and 2025–2026 are balanced overall with capped surplus/deficit rates — no contractionary shock to foreign-invested plants. 2024、2025、2026履约年度为”启动实施阶段”：2024年配额等于经核查排放（无缺口），2025–2026整体盈亏平衡、盈缺率受限——对外资工厂无收缩性冲击。 Only direct process emissions are covered … National carbon market expansion — impact on foreign-invested enterprisesRead more
Green hydrogen — foreign investment opportunities and demonstration zones
Green hydrogen is a 2026 policy priority: the “15th Five-Year Plan” names hydrogen and green fuels as new growth points, and Inner Mongolia alone targets large-scale green-H2 clusters with costs of RMB 17–20/kg (about 60% of the national average). 绿氢是2026年政策重点：”十五五”规划将氢能、绿色燃料列为新增长点；仅内蒙古即瞄准规模化绿氢集群，成本17–20元/公斤（约全国均价的60%）。 Green-power direct connection (绿电直连, 发改能源〔2025〕650号 and 〔2026〕688号) is the key enabler — it gives electrolytic hydrogen 100% physical green-power traceability and removes the public-grid “middle leg,” cutting cost and certifying origin. 绿电直连（发改能源〔2025〕650号、〔2026〕688号）是关键赋能手段——为电解制氢提供100%物理绿电溯源，去掉公共电网”中转”，降本并认证来源。 By February 2026, 84 green-direct-connection projects had been … Green hydrogen — foreign investment opportunities and demonstration zonesRead more
Wind and solar — foreign project approval and grid-connection policy
Wind and solar power generation has no foreign-ownership cap; equipment manufacturing is fully open. The binding constraint is provincial planning and grid absorption, not nationality. 风电与光伏发电无外资股比上限，设备制造完全开放。真正约束在于省级规划与电网消纳，而非投资者国籍。 Document 136 (发改价格〔2025〕136号) ended the “guaranteed-offtake” era: from 2025, new wind/solar goes fully into the market, with a sustainable-price settlement mechanism smoothing the transition; 2026 is the first full year of “all-market + differential settlement.” 136号文（发改价格〔2025〕136号）终结”保障性收购”时代：2025年起新建风光全面入市，以可持续发展价格结算机制平滑过渡；2026年是”全量入市+差价结算”的首个完整年度。 The 2026 mechanism auction produced about 220 GW of bidding capacity; average on-grid prices fell, signalling a “revenue-downward … Wind and solar — foreign project approval and grid-connection policyRead more