How international entrepreneurs establish companies in Beijing
Discover how foreigners navigate the process of starting businesses in Beijing. This article delves into the unique challenges and opportunities they face in one of China's most bustling cities. It features insights and firsthand accounts from expatriates who have successfully established their enterprises, shedding light on the cultural nuances and regulatory landscape in the Beijing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
TroibNews 
For Afghan entrepreneur Abdul Wahed Ahmadzai, each day is rewarding as he builds connections between global talents and entrepreneurial opportunities in Beijing, one of China’s bustling capitals.
Ahmadzai has lived in Beijing's Chaoyang District for a decade. His journey in China began in 2014 when he became a finance student at the University of International Business and Economics. Over the years, he obtained both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.
Initially, like many university students, Ahmadzai envisioned a career as a white-collar worker in investment banking. However, a pivotal moment arrived in 2016 when he was encouraged by a tutor to join a student startup team. They pitched a service platform aimed at international students at a startup competition.
"Surprisingly, I won," Ahmadzai shared with CN. "I thought I'm just gonna be going there, presenting my idea and hopefully get some feedback and go back on my own way and try to build it. But then I realized in Beijing, there are so many platforms. There are so many ecosystems. There are so many initiatives that are targeted to help young entrepreneurs and international talents to go and build their businesses without them having to worry about where to start, where to go."
"I think Beijing is one of the best ecosystems. I always tell people in Beijing that the only thing you need to start a business is an idea."
His company was eventually established with the aim of addressing the disconnect between the training received by international talents and the actual needs of businesses. Through the Chaoyang Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference, he garnered funding to create Beijing Infinite Port Culture and Technology Limited Company.
"We have different things that we are busy with. The core is trying to figure out how we can put talents to better use, how we can build a good model for a talent-driven economy," said Ahmadzai. "It sounds very abstract. But something we are very passionate about is to figure out the relationship between universities and industries, the role that talents play, how to empower them and how to close the skill gaps. But to be very specific of it, we are trying to figure out how we can create meaningful opportunities for international talents."
"And it either comes to our jobs or it comes to entrepreneurship. What we focus on is entrepreneurship. We create all the system and infrastructure to help people build their own ventures and build their own businesses. We incubate and empower them to innovate," Ahmadzai added.
"Beijing really values international talents and has introduced a series of measures to promote employment facilitation," he told Beijing Youth Daily. "I have to share these with more talents."
Between 2016 and 2024, Beijing has rolled out initiatives designed to foster an inviting landscape for overseas startups, offering financial incentives, policy support, and infrastructure aimed at attracting and retaining international entrepreneurial talents.
The Chaoyang District government launched the Phoenix Plan in 2016, offering grants to highly qualified overseas professionals and foreign startups. By 2020, the Beijing Municipal Government had introduced temporary measures to provide financial assistance, tax incentives, and streamlined procedures for international entrepreneurs.
In 2021, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission began providing incentives such as talent introduction visas and work permits to overseas individuals engaged in business and innovation. Recently, the government increased financial support for tech startups, offering interest rate subsidies and allowing intellectual property to be used as collateral for loans to foster innovative enterprises.
Ahmadzai's team has successfully assisted over 30 foreign companies from the U.S., France, and Japan in establishing businesses in Beijing, spanning diverse sectors including new energy, law, and trade.
"We do hope to provide more exchange opportunities between China's startups and the rest of the world and share China's wisdom and technology with other countries and, at the same time, localize it. So China's solution becomes the world solution."
Below are excerpts from Ahmadzai's discussion with CN regarding his entrepreneurial journey and the Beijing government's support for international startups.
Why did you decide to start a business in Beijing?
It just feels right. There's everything for you, all the resources, all the tools, all the people to help and support you to start a business. Also, what we wanted to do is something that's not only for Beijing or China, but is for the whole world. Beijing is a window to the world. I think in one kilometer, you will meet people from 50 different countries.
So it makes sense if you wanna build something international, if you wanna mix build something for not just one country, not for one region, not for one specific target audience, but to the whole world. You have to be in a metropolis, a diverse international environment such as Beijing.
Have there been any moments when you felt, "I'm so glad I chose to start my business in Beijing"?
Every day. So what happens is I think Beijing is one of the best ecosystems. I always tell people in Beijing that the only thing you need to start a business is an idea. The reason is I came up with an idea. I talked to friends, and they told me there's a startup competition called Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference. Now, they renamed it to ITEC – International Talent Entrepreneurship Conference. And they said: "You have a good idea. Why don't you go and take part in it and pitch in this competition? At least you will get some feedback from the mentors." I said: "All right. That makes a lot of sense." I took part in the competition. Surprisingly, I won.
I was like, this is very nice. I started networking with people. I talked with judges. They told me that since you won a prize in this competition, they will support you to open your company. They will give you a cash prize. They will connect you with resources. I didn't expect any of this. I thought I'm just gonna be going there presenting my idea and hopefully get some feedback and go back on my own way and try to build it. But then I realized in Beijing, there are so many platforms. There are so many ecosystems. There are so many initiatives that are targeted to help young entrepreneurs, to help international talents to go and build their businesses without them having to worry about where to start, where to go.
For me, I think that was a blissful moment that I had the opportunity to take part in these competitions. This was very, very meaningful. And the reason I do what I do right now is because I realize that such a platform, if it's extended to a lot of people, it empowers more people to build impactful ventures that can create meaningful, I would say, changes in our society. So why Beijing? I will go back: in Beijing, you only need the idea to start a business.
How would you describe Beijing's business environment in the past 10 years? Do you see any changes?
I think one of the important things when it comes to starting a business is you need to know your positioning, and you need to have a direction of where you wanna go. Beijing is actually very good at creating blueprints for you. So you're able to find your position within an industry or your position within an economy.
The "Two Zones" policy is a very good example of how Beijing is trying to create different special zones for different industries that, as long as companies get to those zones, they will have access to the resources. If you're in Haidian [District], technology innovation. If you're in Chaoyang [District], it's international services. If you're in Daxing, it's much more on the manufacturing side of things.
Number one, I think Beijing has become way more organized. There's a very clear blueprint of what industries encourage and support ... I think they have more access to, I would say, even government departments, to investors, to industry parks, to these associations – that makes them feel more welcome. That lowers the barrier of starting a business in Beijing. Ten years ago, if you wanna start a business in Beijing, you probably have to figure out a lot of things by yourself. But now a lot of things are different. There's more information; there’s more transparency. For example, if you go to the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, you can learn everything about investment in Beijing, [including] all the information, different districts' policies. Everything is over there.
What else do you think the Beijing government can do to help small and micro enterprises thrive?
There still has to be more communication done when it comes to policies. More things have to be clarified. We should do more promotions on helping people become more aware of the regulations and laws in here ... It will be good if we have more unique platforms that are specifically tailored for smaller companies that are not only focused on technology.
The 12345 hotline provides services for both individuals and businesses. Have you ever called for assistance? How did it help?
[I'm] not calling in a direct way. But we have discussed a lot of relevant departments, and then we encourage a lot of entrepreneurs to go and call 12345.
I think one of the other big reasons is Beijing as a city knows it's not perfect. And no city around the world is perfect. But it's striving and working very hard to make it better for everybody. One of the things that I really appreciate about Beijing is, anytime we have a concern, a challenge or a question, we get the response immediately, and we see those in action.
A couple of years ago, it was very difficult for international entrepreneurs to register their own company online because they didn't have access to an English platform, or they couldn't put their passport number into the system. That was a concern raised by many entrepreneurs. This year, everything is done in English. People can use their passport to do the online registration for companies. So, in a way, it feels like the whole stakeholders – the government, the investors, the people and the companies – are coming together to make life easier, to make business easier. It kind of feels like a collective action among all of the people of Beijing to make things better, to make life better.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
Ahmadzai has lived in Beijing's Chaoyang District for a decade. His journey in China began in 2014 when he became a finance student at the University of International Business and Economics. Over the years, he obtained both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree.
Initially, like many university students, Ahmadzai envisioned a career as a white-collar worker in investment banking. However, a pivotal moment arrived in 2016 when he was encouraged by a tutor to join a student startup team. They pitched a service platform aimed at international students at a startup competition.
"Surprisingly, I won," Ahmadzai shared with CN. "I thought I'm just gonna be going there, presenting my idea and hopefully get some feedback and go back on my own way and try to build it. But then I realized in Beijing, there are so many platforms. There are so many ecosystems. There are so many initiatives that are targeted to help young entrepreneurs and international talents to go and build their businesses without them having to worry about where to start, where to go."
"I think Beijing is one of the best ecosystems. I always tell people in Beijing that the only thing you need to start a business is an idea."
His company was eventually established with the aim of addressing the disconnect between the training received by international talents and the actual needs of businesses. Through the Chaoyang Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference, he garnered funding to create Beijing Infinite Port Culture and Technology Limited Company.
"We have different things that we are busy with. The core is trying to figure out how we can put talents to better use, how we can build a good model for a talent-driven economy," said Ahmadzai. "It sounds very abstract. But something we are very passionate about is to figure out the relationship between universities and industries, the role that talents play, how to empower them and how to close the skill gaps. But to be very specific of it, we are trying to figure out how we can create meaningful opportunities for international talents."
"And it either comes to our jobs or it comes to entrepreneurship. What we focus on is entrepreneurship. We create all the system and infrastructure to help people build their own ventures and build their own businesses. We incubate and empower them to innovate," Ahmadzai added.
"Beijing really values international talents and has introduced a series of measures to promote employment facilitation," he told Beijing Youth Daily. "I have to share these with more talents."
Between 2016 and 2024, Beijing has rolled out initiatives designed to foster an inviting landscape for overseas startups, offering financial incentives, policy support, and infrastructure aimed at attracting and retaining international entrepreneurial talents.
The Chaoyang District government launched the Phoenix Plan in 2016, offering grants to highly qualified overseas professionals and foreign startups. By 2020, the Beijing Municipal Government had introduced temporary measures to provide financial assistance, tax incentives, and streamlined procedures for international entrepreneurs.
In 2021, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission began providing incentives such as talent introduction visas and work permits to overseas individuals engaged in business and innovation. Recently, the government increased financial support for tech startups, offering interest rate subsidies and allowing intellectual property to be used as collateral for loans to foster innovative enterprises.
Ahmadzai's team has successfully assisted over 30 foreign companies from the U.S., France, and Japan in establishing businesses in Beijing, spanning diverse sectors including new energy, law, and trade.
"We do hope to provide more exchange opportunities between China's startups and the rest of the world and share China's wisdom and technology with other countries and, at the same time, localize it. So China's solution becomes the world solution."
Below are excerpts from Ahmadzai's discussion with CN regarding his entrepreneurial journey and the Beijing government's support for international startups.
Why did you decide to start a business in Beijing?
It just feels right. There's everything for you, all the resources, all the tools, all the people to help and support you to start a business. Also, what we wanted to do is something that's not only for Beijing or China, but is for the whole world. Beijing is a window to the world. I think in one kilometer, you will meet people from 50 different countries.
So it makes sense if you wanna build something international, if you wanna mix build something for not just one country, not for one region, not for one specific target audience, but to the whole world. You have to be in a metropolis, a diverse international environment such as Beijing.
Have there been any moments when you felt, "I'm so glad I chose to start my business in Beijing"?
Every day. So what happens is I think Beijing is one of the best ecosystems. I always tell people in Beijing that the only thing you need to start a business is an idea. The reason is I came up with an idea. I talked to friends, and they told me there's a startup competition called Overseas Talent Entrepreneurship Conference. Now, they renamed it to ITEC – International Talent Entrepreneurship Conference. And they said: "You have a good idea. Why don't you go and take part in it and pitch in this competition? At least you will get some feedback from the mentors." I said: "All right. That makes a lot of sense." I took part in the competition. Surprisingly, I won.
I was like, this is very nice. I started networking with people. I talked with judges. They told me that since you won a prize in this competition, they will support you to open your company. They will give you a cash prize. They will connect you with resources. I didn't expect any of this. I thought I'm just gonna be going there presenting my idea and hopefully get some feedback and go back on my own way and try to build it. But then I realized in Beijing, there are so many platforms. There are so many ecosystems. There are so many initiatives that are targeted to help young entrepreneurs, to help international talents to go and build their businesses without them having to worry about where to start, where to go.
For me, I think that was a blissful moment that I had the opportunity to take part in these competitions. This was very, very meaningful. And the reason I do what I do right now is because I realize that such a platform, if it's extended to a lot of people, it empowers more people to build impactful ventures that can create meaningful, I would say, changes in our society. So why Beijing? I will go back: in Beijing, you only need the idea to start a business.
How would you describe Beijing's business environment in the past 10 years? Do you see any changes?
I think one of the important things when it comes to starting a business is you need to know your positioning, and you need to have a direction of where you wanna go. Beijing is actually very good at creating blueprints for you. So you're able to find your position within an industry or your position within an economy.
The "Two Zones" policy is a very good example of how Beijing is trying to create different special zones for different industries that, as long as companies get to those zones, they will have access to the resources. If you're in Haidian [District], technology innovation. If you're in Chaoyang [District], it's international services. If you're in Daxing, it's much more on the manufacturing side of things.
Number one, I think Beijing has become way more organized. There's a very clear blueprint of what industries encourage and support ... I think they have more access to, I would say, even government departments, to investors, to industry parks, to these associations – that makes them feel more welcome. That lowers the barrier of starting a business in Beijing. Ten years ago, if you wanna start a business in Beijing, you probably have to figure out a lot of things by yourself. But now a lot of things are different. There's more information; there’s more transparency. For example, if you go to the People's Government of Beijing Municipality, you can learn everything about investment in Beijing, [including] all the information, different districts' policies. Everything is over there.
What else do you think the Beijing government can do to help small and micro enterprises thrive?
There still has to be more communication done when it comes to policies. More things have to be clarified. We should do more promotions on helping people become more aware of the regulations and laws in here ... It will be good if we have more unique platforms that are specifically tailored for smaller companies that are not only focused on technology.
The 12345 hotline provides services for both individuals and businesses. Have you ever called for assistance? How did it help?
[I'm] not calling in a direct way. But we have discussed a lot of relevant departments, and then we encourage a lot of entrepreneurs to go and call 12345.
I think one of the other big reasons is Beijing as a city knows it's not perfect. And no city around the world is perfect. But it's striving and working very hard to make it better for everybody. One of the things that I really appreciate about Beijing is, anytime we have a concern, a challenge or a question, we get the response immediately, and we see those in action.
A couple of years ago, it was very difficult for international entrepreneurs to register their own company online because they didn't have access to an English platform, or they couldn't put their passport number into the system. That was a concern raised by many entrepreneurs. This year, everything is done in English. People can use their passport to do the online registration for companies. So, in a way, it feels like the whole stakeholders – the government, the investors, the people and the companies – are coming together to make life easier, to make business easier. It kind of feels like a collective action among all of the people of Beijing to make things better, to make life better.
Sanya Singh for TROIB News
