Decide solvent wind-down versus bankruptcy court — abandoning annual reports is not a closing strategy.
‘Closing’ a Chinese company usually means either a solvent liquidation and deregistration path or an enterprise-bankruptcy path when insolvent. Tax, customs, employees and chops must be cleared. This wiki is the closing decision map entry for the expansion slug. Live WFOE liquidation/deregistration and company-liquidation pages own process depth; bankruptcy liquidation owns the insolvent track. Distressed M&A is an alternative to shutdown.
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.
Solvent or insolvent?
Lane.
LaneOpen solvent liquidation guides?
Deep twins.
SolventOr bankruptcy liquidation?
Insolvency twin.
BankruptEmployees/tax/chops planned?
Clearance.
ClearWorking 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.
Where is solvent liquidation?
Open /company-liquidation-in-china and /china-wfoe-liquidation-deregistration.
Where is bankruptcy liquidation?
Open /bankruptcy-liquidation-in-china.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.