1-Day Beijing Business: Market Entry and a Retail Walkthrough

Most China business tours are a factory visit and a banquet. This one is aimed at the decision a delegation actually has to take: whether and how to set up in Beijing, and what the market looks like from the shop floor. A local advisor opens with a briefing on the practical mechanics, the difference between a wholly foreign-owned enterprise and a joint venture, the sectors still restricted on the national negative list, and the registration sequence that ends with a business licence. The afternoon is spent in a commercial district doing store audits to a simple template, counting facings, noting price points and channel mix, and comparing what the brand owner says with what the shelf says. The day closes with a working dinner, which is where the useful questions usually surface.

• Sit through a structured briefing on entity set-up in Beijing: the wholly foreign-owned enterprise route, the joint venture route, capital requirements and the registration sequence to a business licence.
• Work through the national negative list of restricted sectors and find out which ones affect your own industry rather than the whole economy.
• Hear how sector licensing actually runs in practice, including the parts that are decided at municipal rather than national level.
• Run store audits to a one-page template in a commercial district, counting facings, recording price points and mapping which channels a competitor actually sells through.
• Compare the brand story with the shelf reality, which is the fastest way to see where a market entry plan is optimistic.
• Close over a working dinner with the advisor present, with the day's questions written down rather than remembered.
• Keep the day in a private car with an English-speaking guide and an interpreter present throughout the briefings.

• Meals as listed in the itinerary, with dietary requirements and allergies arranged in advance
• Private air-conditioned vehicle with licensed driver throughout, plus airport or station transfers on arrival and departure
• Professional English-speaking guide throughout the programme
• All entrance fees to the sites named in the itinerary, including a business centre in Chaoyang and a commercial district in the east of the city, with shuttle buses and cable cars merged into the ticket price where the site requires them
• Travel insurance at 30 CNY per person per day
• Luggage handling where group size requires it
• Bottled water, tour headsets where group size requires them, and local handling services
• All government taxes and service charges as itemised in the quotation

• International air tickets to and from China, and any domestic flights or high-speed rail fares not listed in the itinerary
• China visa fees, invitation letters and any documentation costs
• Meals and drinks not listed in the itinerary, including all alcoholic beverages
• Optional evening performances, additional excursions and any activity not named in the itinerary
• Personal expenses: laundry, telephone, minibar, shopping and personal items
• Gratuities for guides and drivers (entirely at your discretion)
• Anything not expressly listed under “What is included”
• Costs arising from events beyond our control, such as flight delays, weather, or changes to opening hours or site access

Frequently asked questions

Is this a company visit?

Not in this version. It is a briefing plus fieldwork day, because a single factory visit answers a narrower question than most delegations are actually asking. Company and park visits can be added as a second day, subject to the host confirming access, and we will not promise a named company until that confirmation is in writing.

Who delivers the briefing?

A locally based advisor who works with foreign investors on registration and licensing, briefed in advance on your sector and your questions. We share the session outline with you a week before so that the morning is not generic.

Can we use our own audit template?

Yes. Send it in advance and we will run it instead of ours, provided it fits in an afternoon. If it does not, we say so before you travel rather than cutting it short on the day.

Is interpreting included?

Yes, consecutive interpretation between English and Mandarin is included throughout the briefings and the fieldwork, and the guide is English-speaking for the rest of the day. Written translation of documents is quoted separately.