Are non-profit or social- service-type activities carried out by Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOEs) subject to the Foreign NGO law? What if a WFOE is owned by a Foreign NGO?
According to guidance given during a Q&A session in 2016, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Foreign NGO Management Bureau will allow WFOEs to donate money for public interest or charitable purposes in China as long as they carry out normal for-profit business in China and do not solely carry out “NGO activities.” As of April 2017, the MPS has offered no further guidance about what mix of activities and operations might be considered carrying out “solely” NGO activities, nor about what constitutes an “NGO activity.”