Topic 1 COMPARATIVE NOTES WITH PRC LAW
Structure of business organizations in China
Sino-foreign Equity Joint Venture
:
Company Business Legal Person State-owned Enterprise Collective-owned Enterprise Business Organizations
Sino-foreign Contractual Joint Venture
Foreign investment Enterprise
General Partnership Special General Partnership Business Partnership
Limited Partnership Individual Industrial and Commercial Business Individual Lease holding Farm Household
Wholly foreign owned Enterprise
Individual Proprietorship Enterprise
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中国商事组织分类简表
公司企业 商法人 国有企业 集体企业 中外合资经营企业
普通合伙企业 特殊的普通合伙企业 商组织 商合伙 有限合伙企业 中外合作经营企业
外 商 投 资 企 业
个体工商户 商个人 农村承包经营户 独资企业 外资企业
Summary 概说 In China, business organizations fall into three categories: business legal person, business partnership and business individual. According to the General Principles of the Civil Law of PRC, a business legal person covers an enterprise as a legal person. It also includes an official organ, institution and social organization as a legal person. Enterprise as a legal person is similar to a profitable social organization and is a business legal entity. An official organ, institution, and non-enterprise social organization are not considered as business entities. 在中国，商事组织一般分为三类：商法人、商合伙和商个人。根据《民法通则》的规定， 商法人包括企业法人，机关、事业单位和社会团体法人。其中企业法人相当于营利性社 团法人，是为商法人；而机关、事业单位和社会团体等非企业法人一般不能成为商法人。
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Business Legal Person 商法人 Under Chinese business law, a business legal person includes an incorporated enterprise, a non-incorporated enterprise such as state-owned enterprise, collective-owned enterprise and excludes unlimited company that exists in English company law. Traditionally, Chinese company law defines that a company is a “corporation aggregate” which is established in accordance with the law and for profit. However, Section 3, Chapter 2 of PRC Company Law 2005 “Special Regulations on One Member Limited Liability Company” makes an exception to this “aggregate” requirement. 根据中国商法，商法人包括公司企业和非公司企业，非公司企业如国有企业和集体企业， 但是排除了英国公司法中存在的无限公司。传统上，中国公司法将公司定义为依法成立 的以营利为目的的“社团法人” 。但是，2005 年中国公司法第二章第三节“一人有限责任 公司的特别规定”作出了例外规定，突破了“社团性”的要求。 There is no limited liability guarantee company in Chinese company law. A closer term is limited liability company where its shareholders are liable merely to the extent of their capital contributions. A public limited liability company under English company law is equivalent to joint stock limited company in the Chinese context. A private limited liability company in English company law holds some similarities with limited liability company in Chinese company law. A private limited liability company requires capital to be divided into shares while the latter does not. Shareholders of the latter exert their rights according to certificates of contribution and records of shareholders. 中国公司法中没有所谓的保证公司。与之相类似的概念是有限责任公司；有限责任公司 的股东仅就其认缴的出资额对公司承担责任。英国公司法中的公众公司相当于中国公司 法中的股份有限公司。英国公司法中的私人公司与中国公司法中的有限责任公司有一些 相似之外。二者的主要区别在于，前者要求将资本划分为股份，而后者没有这样的要求。 后者的股东根据出资证明书和股东名册上的记载情况行使权利。 Business Partnership 商合伙 In accordance with Chinese law, partnerships are of two major types: civil partnership and business partnership, with the latter often referred to as partnership enterprise. With the implementation of Chinese Partnership Enterprise Law 2006, there are now both general partnership and limited partnership in China, as in common law jurisdictions.
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根据中国法，合伙主要有两大类型：一是民事合伙，一是商事合伙，后者通常称为合伙 企业。 随着 2006 年中国合伙企业法的施行， 中国现在和普通法管辖区一样既有普通合伙， 也有有限合伙。 Rules governing partnership in China are more or less the same with English law. The definition of limited partnership in Chinese Partnership Enterprise Law 2006 is similar to that s. of the Limited Partnership Act. Article 2 of the Chinese Partnership Enterprise Law 2006 provides that there must be at least one general partner and the limited partner takes no part in the management of the partnership affairs. Limited liability partnership does exist in China to a limited extent according to the Partnership Enterprise Law 2006 and it is referred to as “special general partnership”. Under article 55 of the Partnership Enterprise Law 2006, an enterprise, which provides professional services, can elect to operate under such a business structure. Specifically, its partners jointly and severally assume unlimited liability arising from their business activities. However, they enjoy limited liability for intentional and wrongful acts committed by other partners of the same enterprise.1
中国普通合伙规则与英国法大致相同。2006 年中国合伙企业法关于有限合伙的定义与 S.4 ,the Limited Partnership Act 相似。前者第二条这样规定：至少有一名普通合伙 人且有限合伙人一般不执行合伙业务。依据 2006 年中国合伙企业法，中国确实存在一定 程度的有限责任合伙，即“特殊的普通合伙” 。在 2006 年中国合伙企业法第 55 条下，一 家提供专业服务的企业可以选择采用这种商业结构进行运作。具体地，这种合伙企业中 的合伙人对合伙事务中产生的债务承担无限连带责任，但他们对于本企业其他合伙人的 故意或重大过失行为导致的合伙债务仅承担有限责任。 Business Individual 商个人
Business individual in China is mainly regulated by Chinese Sole Proprietorship Enterprise Law 2000. It corresponds to sole proprietorship under English law. Both share some basic rules.
在中国，商个人主要由 2000 年中国个人独资企业法调整。商个人与英国法中的个人独资 相对应。二者有一些共同的基本规则。 Foreign Investment Enterprises in China 中国的外商投资企业 In China, enterprises involving foreign investments refer to those, which are established in accordance with Chinese law and they are called foreign investment enterprises or FIEs. They can be sino foreign joint ventures or wholly foreign owned enterprises. They are categorized as sino-foreign equity joint venture or EJV, sino-foreign contractual joint venture or CJV, and wholly foreign-owned enterprise or WFOE.
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Article 57, Partnership Enterprise Law 2007.
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在中国，外商投资企业是指根据中国法律设立的，以中外合资或者外国投资为基础的企 业。它们分为：中外合资经营企业，中外合作经营企业和外资企业。 Sino-foreign equity joint venture takes the form of either limited liability company under Chinese Law. Chinese and foreign parties set up this kind of enterprise in line with Law on China-foreign Equity Joint Ventures of PRC. They share investment, management, benefit, loss and risks together. 根据中国法，中外合资经营企业采取有限责任公司的形式。中国合营者与外国合营者依 照中外合资经营企业法设立这种类型的企业。他们共同投资、共同经营、共同受益、共 担损失和风险。 The establishment and operation of sino-foreign contractual joint venture fall under the regulation of the Law on China-foreign Contractual Joint Venture of PRC. The corporate structure can be in different forms other than a limited liability company. Like the case of EJV, PRC Company Law 2005 is only applicable when the joint venture law is silent on the legal issues involved. 中外合作经营企业的设立和经营由中外合作经营企业法调整。这种类型的企业可以采取 不同的形式，不限于公司形式。以合资企业为例，在涉及的法律问题上，只有当合资企 业法缺少相关规定时，2005 年中国公司法才有适用的空间。 Wholly owned foreign enterprises or WFOEs are enterprises completely owned by foreigners. Chinese law allows a WFOE to be structured as a limited liability company or a partnership or sole proprietorship. 外资企业，如其名称所昭示的那样，为外国投资者所有。中国法律允许其采取多种形式， 例如公司、合伙和个人独资。
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