ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise

Okay, kiddo, today we're going to talk about something called a "wholly foreign-owned enterprise" (WFOE). So, imagine you are a grown-up who wants to start a business in China. There are certain rules and regulations you need to follow in order to do that. One of these rules is that if you want to have a business in China, you need to have a Chinese partner who owns at least 50% of your business.

But some grown-ups might not want to have a Chinese partner or might want to own all of their business by themselves. That's where WFOEs come in. A WFOE is a special type of business that a foreign person or company can start in China that is 100% owned by the foreigner.

It's like if you and your friend wanted to build a fort, but your friend had to be in charge of half the fort because of some rules. But you really want to be in charge of the whole fort, so you decide to build your own fort all by yourself. That's kind of like what a WFOE is. It's your own fort, and you don't have to share it with anyone else.

Now, starting a WFOE can be a bit tricky and requires a lot of paperwork and approvals from the Chinese government. But if you can get everything approved, then you get to own your own business in China without having to share it with anyone else. Isn't that cool?
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