$500 idea · Pattern break · China · Edition 001
Shanghai's own rule for its government marketplace forbids anyone from charging a supplier to be listed on it — and PRC procurement law names 自然人, a natural person, as a valid supplier.
《上海政府采购云平台电子卖场管理办法》(沪财发〔2025〕2号), in force since 1 July 2025, Article 4: "供应商入驻电子卖场及商品上架等全部免费，任何单位和个人不得向供应商收取任何费用。" [Supplier entry to the e-marketplace and the listing of goods are entirely free of charge; no unit or individual may charge suppliers any fee whatsoever.] Article 37 puts payment at 10 working days from receipt of invoice. Neither of Shanghai's two 2026 framework files asks for a deposit. The cost of admission to the purchasing menu of every government body in the city is ¥0.
The consensus picture of selling to the Chinese state has five parts: you need a company, a bid bond, a tender, connections, and the patience to be paid a year late. Each of the five is contradicted by a document that is published, current and free to read. What is left is not a loophole — it is the stated design. Beijing spent five years dismantling the working-capital requirement for small suppliers because it wanted 1.2 亿 registered 个体工商户 to have somewhere to sell.
The money question is separate and sharper. Starting capital here is ¥3,374 [$500 USD] and the target is ¥33,745 a month [about $5,000 USD], ¥404,934 a year, struck at the CFETS central parity of 6.7489 published 24 September 2026. Once you are inside, the legal shell you chose decides how much revenue you must bill to clear that. A 个体工商户 (sole trader) clears it on ¥502,000 of annual invoicing. A 有限责任公司 (limited company) needs ¥592,800 — ¥90,800, or 18.1%, more work for the identical result. The reason is that the famous 5% effective corporate rate for a 小型微利企业 is only the first half of the trip; getting the cash to a human being costs another 20% at the dividend door, and almost nobody prices that in.
Both figures sit far below the line that actually binds. VAT is not charged at all on a 小规模纳税人 billing under ¥100,000 in a month; ¥502,000 a year is ¥41,833 a month, 41.8% of that ceiling. The target is not near any cliff. The constraint is finding buyers, and the buyers are on a website that costs nothing to join.
The evidence
10 findingsA natural person is a lawful government supplier in China
"供应商是指向采购人提供货物、工程或者服务的法人、其他组织或者自然人。" [A supplier means a legal person, other organisation, or natural person that provides goods, works or services to a purchaser.] Article 22 then lists what a supplier must have — civil capacity, sound accounts, the equipment and skill to perform, a clean tax and social-insurance record, no major violation in three years. No registered capital. No track record. Published by 国家市场监督管理总局 at samr.gov.cn.
A one-person 个体工商户 is counted as an SME inside procurement
"符合中小企业划分标准的个体工商户，在政府采购活动中视同中小企业。" [An individual industrial and commercial household meeting the SME size criteria is treated as an SME in government procurement activity.] Article 7 then reserves the field: "采购限额标准以上，200万元以下的货物和服务采购项目…适宜由中小企业提供的，采购人应当专门面向中小企业采购。" [Goods and services projects above the procurement threshold and below ¥2m that are suitable for SME supply shall be procured exclusively from SMEs.] Reproduced by 上海市发展和改革委员会 at fgw.sh.gov.cn.
Listing on the Shanghai government marketplace is free by municipal rule, and payment is 10 working days
Article 4: "供应商入驻电子卖场及商品上架等全部免费，任何单位和个人不得向供应商收取任何费用。" [Supplier entry and product listing are entirely free; no unit or individual may charge suppliers any fee.] Article 21 sets the 网上超市 entry method as "公开征集、供应商承诺与审核入驻模式" [open call, supplier undertaking and review] — not a tender. Article 31: a single purchase reaching ¥200,000 but below the city threshold must go to 竞价 (auction); below that, the buyer simply picks. Article 37: "采购人原则上应当自收到发票后10个工作日内" pay. shanghai.gov.cn · full text PDF, 上海市财政局.
In Shanghai nothing under ¥1,000,000 is tendered at all
"本市政府采购货物、服务和工程项目分散采购限额标准（即政府采购限额标准）为100万元。" [The decentralised procurement threshold for goods, services and works in this municipality is ¥1m.] Open tender for goods and services starts at ¥4m. Below ¥1m the buyer is outside the Government Procurement Law's tender machinery entirely; 沪财采〔2026〕17号 (22 Jun 2026) tells Shanghai budget units to use "货比三家" [compare three quotes] and warns them against "小标大招" [running a big tender for a small buy]. Catalogue PDF · 沪财采〔2026〕17号.
Late payment to an SME costs the state 0.05% a day
Article 9: "机关、事业单位从中小企业采购货物、工程、服务，应当自货物、工程、服务交付之日起30日内支付款项；合同另有约定的，从其约定，但付款期限最长不得超过60日。" [State organs and public institutions buying from SMEs shall pay within 30 days of delivery; a contract may vary it, but never beyond 60 days.] Article 17 sets the default penalty for lateness at "每日利率万分之五" — 0.05% per day. Article 13 bans every deposit in construction work other than the four established by law. 工业和信息化部.
A live Shanghai framework: SME-only, three winners, no deposit, ¥2,000 to be on it
The 2026 air-conditioning maintenance framework for the Chongming District education system is "仅面向中小微企业采购" [procured exclusively from small, medium and micro enterprises], admits 3 suppliers for 24 months (1 Aug 2026 – 31 Jul 2028), states "本项目无需交纳保证金" [no deposit required for this project], and charges winners ¥2,000 each. The Fengxian District Finance Bureau's parallel framework (项目编号 310120000260326198140-20339599, 31 Mar 2026) admits 25 suppliers, also with no deposit, at ¥6,000 each. Chongming file · Fengxian file.
The framework halls cap your price; the supermarket does not
Chongming's ceiling prices are "1-3匹挂机：≤50元/台·年" [wall units 1–3 hp: ≤¥50 per unit per year] and ≤¥200 for ceiling cassettes. To bill ¥502,000 a year at the wall-unit cap you would need 10,040 units — ¥502,000 ÷ ¥50 — split three ways against two other winners. The 网上超市 door has no published cap: Article 31 lets the buyer negotiate and choose directly below ¥200,000 per transaction. Same platform, same buyers, opposite pricing power.
Zero VAT under ¥100,000 a month; income tax halved under ¥2m a year
"对月销售额10万元以下（含本数）的增值税小规模纳税人，免征增值税" [small-scale VAT taxpayers with monthly sales of ¥100,000 or less are exempt from VAT], running to 31 December 2027. And: "自2023年1月1日至2027年12月31日，对个体工商户年应纳税所得额不超过200万元的部分，减半征收个人所得税。" [From 1 Jan 2023 to 31 Dec 2027, individual income tax on the portion of an 个体工商户's annual taxable income not exceeding ¥2m is levied at half.] Article 3 of the same notice keeps the 小型微利企业 corporate rate at 25% × 20% = 5% effective to the same date. 财政部 税政司 · 国家税务总局.
$5,000 a month costs ¥502,000 of billing as a sole trader, ¥592,800 as a company
Target: $5,000 × 6.7489 = ¥33,744.50 a month, ¥404,934 a year. Sole trader: revenue ¥502,000 − costs ¥60,000 − the ¥60,000 statutory deduction (个人所得税法 第六条) = taxable ¥382,000; tax = (¥382,000 × 30% − ¥40,500) ÷ 2 = ¥37,050; net ¥502,000 − ¥60,000 − ¥37,050 = ¥404,950 = ¥33,746/month = $5,000. Effective tax on revenue: 7.38%. Company: profit ¥592,800 − ¥60,000 = ¥532,800; CIT ¥26,640; dividend tax 20% × ¥506,160 = ¥101,232; net ¥404,928. Gap: ¥90,800, 18.1%. Rate from 国家外汇管理局's 人民币汇率中间价 table, safe.gov.cn (24 Sep 2026: 674.89 per 100 USD).
Who is on the other side of the trade
The same buyer that runs the free marketplace also signs the big ones through open tender: the Shanghai Tax Service awarded its 金税云平台运行维护服务 (项目编号 SITEN-ZB-20260576) to 神州数码信息系统有限公司 for ¥3,087,000 on 8 July 2026. That contract needed a tender, a bond and a track record. The ¥180,000 print job, translation job or maintenance round at the same institution needs none of the three — it needs someone listed on the marketplace when the buyer goes looking. Award notice.
The ladder
From $500 to $5,000 a month · ¥3,357 → ¥33,566Registration fees for 个体工商户 were abolished; the 电子营业执照 issues through 一网通办. Article 21 of the Government Procurement Law means even this is optional for bidding purposes — but the licence is what lets you issue 发票, and 发票 is what gets you paid. Choosing the sole-trader shell over a 有限责任公司 is the single highest-value decision on this ladder, worth ¥90,800 of avoided billing a year at the target.
-
Register as an 个体工商户, not a company
Registration fees for 个体工商户 were abolished; the 电子营业执照 issues through 一网通办. Article 21 of the Government Procurement Law means even this is optional for bidding purposes — but the licence is what lets you issue 发票, and 发票 is what gets you paid. Choosing the sole-trader shell over a 有限责任公司 is the single highest-value decision on this ladder, worth ¥90,800 of avoided billing a year at the target.
Cost: ¥0 · Decision value: ¥90,800/yr -
Enter the 网上超市 on 上海政府采购云平台
Entry runs on 承诺与审核 — you undertake that you meet Article 22, they review, you are in. 沪财发〔2025〕2号 Article 4 makes it a municipal offence for anyone to charge you for this, which also means every agency offering to "handle your onboarding" for a fee is selling something the rule already gives away.
Cost: ¥0 · 沪财发〔2025〕2号 第四条、第二十一条 -
Price every quote below ¥200,000
Article 31 is the only competitive line that matters at this scale. At ¥200,000 a single purchase must go to 竞价 and you are in a price auction; at ¥199,000 the buyer negotiates with you and chooses. Four ¥125,500 engagements a year is ¥502,000 of revenue and not one auction.
¥502,000 ÷ 4 = ¥125,500 per engagement < ¥200,000 -
Ignore the framework halls until you have staff
框架协议采购馆 listings look like the prize — they are 24-month agreements with named district buyers. But they publish ceiling prices. Chongming's wall-unit cap is ¥50 per unit per year; you would need 10,040 units, shared with two other winners, to reach the target. Frameworks are a volume business. The supermarket is a margin business.
¥502,000 ÷ ¥50/unit/yr = 10,040 units -
Invoice on the day you deliver
The payment clock in Article 37 starts at 收到发票, not at delivery. A week of slow invoicing is a week of your own money financing the state. If they are late anyway, 国务院令第802号 Article 17 prices the delay at 0.05% a day — 18.25% a year — which is the number to quote in the follow-up email rather than an apology.
10 working days · penalty 0.05%/day = 18.25%/yr -
Keep monthly invoicing under ¥100,000
At the target you bill ¥41,833 a month — 41.8% of the VAT exemption ceiling. You have room to more than double before VAT appears at all, and the exemption is a monthly test, so a lumpy ¥180,000 month costs you 1% on the whole month, not on the excess. Smooth the invoicing, not the work.
¥502,000 ÷ 12 = ¥41,833/mo = 41.8% of ¥100,000 -
Take the money out as 经营所得
The sole trader's business income is already the owner's income; there is no second door. Tax at the target is ¥37,050 — 7.38% of revenue — because 财政部 税务总局公告2023年第12号 halves it through 2027. The company path pays 5%, then 20% again on the way out, and needs ¥592,800 of billing to land in the same place.
(¥382,000 × 30% − ¥40,500) ÷ 2 = ¥37,050 → net ¥404,950
Sources
14 primary documents- 中华人民共和国政府采购法 第二十一条、第二十二条 (主席令第68号, amended 31 Aug 2014) — 国家市场监督管理总局
- 政府采购促进中小企业发展管理办法 财库〔2020〕46号 第二条、第七条、第九条 (财政部 + 工业和信息化部) — 上海市发展和改革委员会
- 上海政府采购云平台电子卖场管理办法 沪财发〔2025〕2号 第四条、第二十一条、第三十一条、第三十七条 (上海市财政局, issued 6 Jun 2025, in force 1 Jul 2025) — 上海市人民政府
- 上海政府采购云平台电子卖场管理办法 — full text PDF, 上海市财政局
- 上海市政府集中采购目录及标准（2024年版）— 分散采购限额标准 100万元, 公开招标数额标准 400万元, 上海市财政局
- 上海市预算单位财政性资金小额项目采购工作指引 沪财采〔2026〕17号 (上海市财政局, 22 Jun 2026)
- 保障中小企业款项支付条例 国务院令第802号 第九条、第十三条、第十七条 (in force 1 Jun 2025) — 工业和信息化部
- 2026年崇明区教育系统空调维保服务项目 封闭式框架协议采购 征集文件, 项目编号 310151000260525113457-51357081 (上海市崇明区教育局, June 2026)
- 上海市奉贤区政府投资建设项目竣工财务决算评审服务 封闭式框架协议采购 征集文件, 项目编号 310120000260326198140-20339599 (上海市奉贤区财政局, 31 Mar 2026)
- 财政部 税务总局公告2023年第19号 第一条 — 月销售额10万元以下免征增值税, 至2027-12-31 (财政部 税政司, 1 Aug 2023)
- 财政部 税务总局公告2023年第12号 第一条、第三条 — 个体工商户 200万元以内减半征收个人所得税; 小型微利企业 减按25%计入、20%税率, 至2027-12-31 (国家税务总局)
- 国家税务总局上海市税务局 金税云平台运行维护服务中标公告, 项目编号 SITEN-ZB-20260576, 神州数码信息系统有限公司, ¥3,087,000 (8 Jul 2026)
- 人民币汇率中间价 (USD 674.89 per 100, 2026-09-24) — 国家外汇管理局
- 中华人民共和国个人所得税法 第三条、第六条 and 个人所得税税率表二（经营所得适用）— 国家税务总局上海市税务局