China-Foreign Equity Joint Venture
A China-Foreign Equity Joint Venture is defined as a limited liability company, established jointly by companies, enterprises or other economic organizations or individuals from outside China and those within China on the principle of equality and mutual benefit. An equity joint venture has the status of a Chinese legal person. The investment of the foreign party cannot be less than 25% of the total registered capital. Both the Chinese and foreign investors are involved in the operations of the enterprise and share the risks and benefits according to their shares of contributions to the investment. Contributions to the investment can take the form of buildings, machinery, property titles, specialized technologies, and land usage rights. Foreign investors can remit their legal earnings out of China or reinvest them in China.

Chin-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture
A China-Foreign Cooperative Joint Venture is of contractual nature. It is established in accordance with the terms and conditions of cooperation of both the Chinese and foreign parties. In a cooperative joint venture, such items as the investment amount, the terms of the cooperation, the distribution of earnings or products, the sharing of risks and losses, the methodologies of business management and the ownership of property on the expiry of the contract term are all defined in contract. The contract is subject to the approval of the Chinese government and the jurisdiction of Chinese laws. In general, the foreign party provides all or the bigger part of the required capital, technologies and critical equipment, while the Chinese party provides land usage rights, labor, services or buildings and materials. The investment of the foreign party shall not be lower than 25% of the registered capital. Different from the equity joint venture where the profit sharing formula or liabilities, rights and obligations of partners or anything else are based on the contributions of the partners to the registered capital, a cooperative joint venture is a contractual form of cooperation. In this arrangement, distribution of earnings or products, sharing of risks and losses, methodologies of business management and the ownership of property upon the expiry of the contract are not based on shareholding structure, but on how is prescribed in the contract. In the case of a cooperative joint venture, the foreign investor is allowed to recoup its investment first. Upon the expiry of the contract, all assets of the enterprise belong to the Chinese investor(s).

Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise
A Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise is defined as an enterprise established by companies, enterprises, other economic organizations or individuals from outside China exclusively with their own capital. The definition does not include branches in China of foreign enterprises or other economic organizations. Profits earned by the enterprises belong wholly to foreign investor(s).

Foreign Investment Joint Stock Limited Company
A Foreign Investment Joint Stock Limited Company is defined as a company jointly established, through subscribing a certain amount of capital, by companies, enterprises or other economic organizations or individuals from outside China and those within China on the principle of equality and mutual benefit. Each shareholder contributes the same amount to the registered capital and is liable to the company by its share of the registered capital. The company is liable to its debts by all of its assets. A Foreign Investment Joint Stock Limited Company is subject to the jurisdiction of the Chinese laws and regulations governing foreign investment enterprises.

Investment Company
An investment company is defined as a limited liability company established by a foreign investor exclusively with his own capital or in cooperation with a Chinese investor. A foreign investor who applies for establishing an investment company must be creditworthy and financially strong and must have already established a certain number of enterprises in China. In addition, the registered capital of an investment company cannot be less than USD 30 million. The scope of business of an investment company can be more extensive than that of ordinary foreign investment enterprises, and this is because investment activities by multinational foreign investors are fully encouraged in China. Currently, investment companies can invest in those sectors of industry, agriculture, infrastructure and energy where foreign investment is encouraged and allowed.

China-Foreign Cooperative Development
China-Foreign Cooperative Development means that Chinese and foreign companies jointly explore and develop onshore and offshore petroleum and mineral resources by signing a risk contract. This widely used form of cooperation is of high risk, high returns and high earnings. Three phases are involved: exploration, development and production.

BOT
BOT means that investors undertake an industrial or an infrastructure project in China, construct and operate the project and then transfer the title to this project to China upon expiry of the contract term . Investors are entitled to the operations of the project and the returns on their investment within a fixed period of time. BOT is often used for projects of highways, power generation and waste water treatment.