Open chops, licences, beneficial owners and regulatory gates early — a glossy CIM is not diligence.
China M&A diligence typically spans corporate registers, chops/authority, licences, material contracts, labour/social insurance, IP, tax/fapiao, litigation, data/PIPL and foreign-exchange. Deal-specific gates include negative list, NSR and merger control. This wiki is the DD orientation. Specialised export-control DD and third-party compliance DD stay linked. Structure choice and closing filings sit beside it. Live corporate M&A related guide remains deep.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Corporate authority and chops verified?
Who can sign.
AuthorityLicence and negative-list fit?
Access.
AccessLabour/IP/tax red flags?
Ops.
OpsNSR/merger/export-control screens?
Gates.
GatesWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Is credit DD enough?
Counterparty credit checks help collections; M&A needs fuller legal DD.
Where is export-control DD?
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.