Ask-the-expert Updates from our October Business Enquiries

Do you have a question about doing business in China? Have you encountered any issues when dealing with Chinese partners? Would you like to discuss your case and options available with our experts, free-of-charge? You are in the right place.

China is a very complex market. At one stage or another, every company approaching for the first time or already operating in the Chinese market might encounter challenges or issues that require ad hoc professional assistance. EU SMEs often lack the resources to navigate through the myriad of regulations, rules and standards in China, their implementation in practice, and thus to understand the full picture. Through email or face-to-face / online meetings with its in-house or external experts, the EU SME Centre offers tailored and confidential technical assistance to any EU SMEs or business organisation in need, entirely for free.

Updates from October enquiries:

In October 2022, our expert team received 15 enquiries from EU SMEs and business organisations, covering the following sectors:

• Food & beverage: the most prominent issue still relates to GACC registration for imported F&B products. For instance, two companies encountered issues in updating their information on the CIFER system before the expiration in 2023; another company enquired about whether it is needed to obtain GACC registration before sending samples to China. Other enquiries involved HS and CIQ codes, and trade figures for hops.

• Software: one start-up enquired about sales channels, taxation, as well as licenses and certification required for selling design software to China. We received an enquiry from another software enterprise on options for ICP filing and invoicing.

• Healthcare: during a face-to-face meeting with the representative of a regional biomedical cluster, the EU SME Centre provided insights on China’s recent regulatory trends of the healthcare market, market structure, access to public procurement for imported products, pros and cons of localised production in China, as well as the business segments that present the best opportunities for foreign manufacturers.

• Purchasing from China: we helped a business organisation to conduct, for their member, a background check on a Chinese supplier of steel products; we also provided advices to another organisation about how to identify potential scams when buying form China.

How does Ask-the-expert work?

There are two main ways to contact us for technical assistance:

By submitting the dedicated form through our Ask-the-expert page, after you have registered for free and logged in on our website. For urgent matters only, you may contact us directly via email to info@eusmecentre.org.cn, while completing the free registration procedure.

Our experts generally will answer you within 3 business days. You may also request a one-to-one call, by sending us an overview of the problem in advance and questions to ask.

We also invite you to scroll through our FAQs page and to complete the Self-Diagnosis Tool – the answer to your questions, and/or additional insights, may already be there!

IMPORTANT: Please note that the EU SME Centre provides first-level technical assistance only, and nothing will ever be charged. We do not get directly involved in paperwork or ad hoc market reports for individual companies, but we might be able to recommend you to third-party service providers who offer such paid services.

More on the topics covered this month

Food & Beverage: You may be interested in our Guidelines on the Mandatory GACC Registration for F&B Establishments.

Due diligence when purchasing from China: Check our article on Simple Steps to Minimise Risks of Being Scammed.