In the event of establishment of resident representative offices, foreign traders, manufactures, shipping agents, economic bodies and organizations shall apply, according to the nature of their business, to the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation(MOFTEC) or other relevant ministries, committees or bureaus in charge for approval. Agents with proxy from MOFTEC and Tianjin Municipal Commission of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade shall go through examination and approval procedures for the above mentioned parties. When established, the activities of these offices can only be confined to business contracts, product introduction, market research, technology exchange and consulting services. Direct business operations are prohibited.

Documents Required

• Form for Examination and Approval of Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprise bearing the signature of the legal person and official seal of the undertaker.
• Application bearing signature of the legal person and official seal of the foreign enterprise.
• Legal certificate for opening business issued by the relative authorities of the country or region where the foreign enterprise located.
• Certificate showing capital creditability of the foreign enterprise issued by a bank having business relation with it.
• Completed "Form for the Establishment of Resident Representative office of Foreign Enterprise" and "Declaration Form of Working Personnel of Resident Representative Office of Foreign Enterprises".
• House lease agreement.

Documents Required for Extension and Changes in the Documents for Submission of Resident Representative Office of Foreign Enterprises in Tianjin in Case of Applications.

• Form for examination and approval of establishment of resident representative office of foreign enterprise.
• Application for extension or amendments.
• Legal certificate for opening business. Copies of letter of appointment, resume and passport shall be required for change of the chief representative.
• Certificate showing its capital creditability.
• Summery of business of the said resident representative office in the previous 3 years.
• Completed "Application Form for Extension and Changes of Resident Representative Office of Foreign Enterprise".
• Copies of house lease and other valid documents of approval in the connection.

Points for Attention

• The foreign enterprise applying for establishment of its resident representative office in Tianjin must appoint a local foreign trade and economic organization approved by Municipal Commission of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade to be its undertaker for submission of various required documents to the authorities of approval and for carrying out the necessary formalities.
• Name of the resident representative office of a foreign enterprise should be composed of "nationality + name of the enterprise + Tianjin representative office".
• After approval of establishment, extension, change of the chief representative and increase of the number of permanent representatives of the foreign enterprise's resident office in Tianjin, the chief representative of the office shall obtain a certificate of approval from the relative authorities of approval.
• All documents concerning the application for the establishment of resident representative offices in Tianjin must be typewritten in Chinese. In addition, name of the chief representative office must be available in English. If they are in other languages, a Chinese version will be required. All documents should be typewritten