Basic Facts about Chengdu
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, sits in the heart of Chengdu plain in southwestern China.

Chengdu, at 540 meters above the sea level, embracing the sub-tropical moist monsoon climate with distinctive four seasons, enjoys mild summer and winter. The annual average temperature stays between 15.2~16.6℃ with the annual average rainfall hovering around 945.6 MM and more than 337 days free from frost.

The population of 10.59 million people scattering on the total region of 12,400 square km makes out the density of 854 people per square km.

Endowed with a history longer than 2,300 years and abundant historical heritages, Chengdu is long being served as an important outpost in southwest China and the center of Gu Shu (Ancient Sichuan) culture showing its distinctive humanity, custom, and the culture of diet and leisure.

The coverage of afforestation and greenbelt are 32.9% and 30.4%; the urban noise all year around stays under 54.6 decibels; the pollution index of the urban air stays under API 100; and the water quality reaches the standard of EEC (98).

Forms of Investment

Sino-foreign Joint Venture Enterprises

Sino-foreign joint venture is also called a stock-style jointly-managed enterprise. It is an enterprise jointly invested and managed by foreign companies, enterprises and other businesses or individuals together with Chinese companies, enterprises or other businesses on China's territory. The special character of such enterprises is that the two sides make joint investment and practice joint management while they will together run the risk, and be responsible for the profits and losses in accordance with the proportion of the investment they make. Each side of the joint management can make its investment with currency or with buildings , machines, site usage right, industrial property right or exclusively-possessed technologies, whose values will be calculated. The proportion of foreign investment should not be lower than 25 per cent. The organizing form of a Sino-foreign joint venture is a limited-liability company with board of directors as its organ of supreme power.

Sino-foreign Co-operative Enterprises
Sino-foreign co-operatively managed enterprise is also called a contract-style jointly managed enterprise. It is an enterprise jointly invested or run according to co-operative contracts by oreign companies, enterprises and other businesses or individuals together with Chinese companies, enterprises or other businesses on the Chinese territory. The investment made by the Chinese and the foreign sides is generally not divided into investment proportions and profits are not distributed according to their investment proportions, either. The jointly signed contracts clearly stipulate the rights and commitments of both sides including investment or co-operative conditions, profits or distribution of products, responsibilities for risks or losses, the style of management and the ownership of properties when the contracts expire. Generally speaking, in a Sino-foreign co-operatively managed enterprise, foreign co-operators provide all or most of the capital while the Chinese side provides land, workshops, useful equipment and facilities and sometimes a certain amount of capital. If the contracts by the Chinese and foreign partners stipulate that all the assets and properties of the enterprise will belong to the Chinese side when the contracts expire, the foreign side can retrieve its investment during their co-operation.

Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises
A foreign enterprise is an enterprise with sole foreign capital. It is an enterprise established within the boundaries of China and in which all the capital is invested by foreign investors, who might be foreign companies, enterprises and other businesses or individuals.

Representative Office
A Chinese representative office (RO) is an office of the foreign enterprise established in China for liaison with Chinese businesses and customers on behalf of its parent company. A RO is not considered to be a separate legal entity. It must be emphasized that a representative office may not carry out direct revenue earning business activities. For example, it cannot enter into purchase/sales contracts and cannot receive payment for services, issue invoices. However, a RO can open bank accounts and employ staff to maintain liaison with customers and suppliers. Its headquarters can also enter into contracts with its supplier/customers in China in its own name, but not in the name of its RO. Therefore, before a foreign investor establishes its presence in China using wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) such as equity joint venture, cooperative joint venture or a wholly foreign- owned enterprise, it could first set up a representative office to test the Chinese market.