My firm is constantly getting asked about what it takes to set up a branch office in another city in China. In other words, you already have your WFOE in place in, let's say, Shanghai, and you decide you want to open another office in Qingdao. Or it could be the reverse. What do you do and how easy is it to do it?
I thought of this today because a client wrote me on this and I figured I might as well put my response up here for everyone, so here goes:
Setting up a branch office is really pretty easy. You apply to the local office that handles business licenses and the like. The process for a WFOE seeking to open a branch office is pretty much the same as it is for a Chinese company seeking to open a branch office.
It usually takes only a month or so to complete but can go a bit faster if you want to pay for someone in the particular city to try to speed it up for you.
The exact details vary from city to city, but in general they are going to want to make sure that you have a proper physical office in both cities, that you have a local bank account, and that you are set up to pay local taxes.
That's it.