How to Export Food to China: Registration, Documents and Labels

You produce dates, honey, coffee, seafood or dairy in the Gulf, and Chinese buyers are asking for prices. The demand is real, but a first shipment can sit at a Chinese port for weeks if one registration or label is missing. This guide explains how to export food to China step by step: which registrations you need, which documents customs checks, how the Chinese label must look, and what changed in the rules from 2021.

How big is China's food import market?

In 2016 China became the world's second-largest importer of food and beverages after the United States, with imports above AUD 130 billion (about USD 88.2 billion). By 2022 the figure had risen to about USD 110 billion. A growing middle class, more imported-food shelves in supermarkets and cross-border shopping apps all push that number up.

For Arab exporters, the products with a natural story are dates, honey, coffee, spices, olive oil, halal meat and seafood. China also has a Muslim population of more than 20 million, concentrated in Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai and Xinjiang, who look for halal-certified products.

Before you spend on registration, check the numbers. Ask two or three Chinese importers what they would pay per carton delivered to their port, then subtract sea freight, Chinese import duty and VAT, the importer's margin and the cost of relabelling. If the result does not beat your price in the Gulf, fix the product or the pack size first. Registration and labelling are fixed costs that only pay back on repeat orders.

Two routes into China: general trade or cross-border e-commerce

Foreign exporters usually deliver food to China in one of two ways.

General trade export

Goods are shipped in bulk, cleared at a Chinese port by a licensed importer, and sold through distributors, supermarkets, restaurants or online shops. This route suits larger volumes and gives you the widest reach, but every rule in this guide applies in full, including the Chinese label before clearance.

Cross-border e-commerce (CBEC)

Consumers buy directly from your store on a Chinese cross-border platform, and goods travel in small parcels or from a bonded warehouse inside China. CBEC is a faster way to test demand, and some labelling and licensing rules are lighter, but there are limits per order and per person each year. Check the current rules on the platform you choose. Marketing still has to happen on Chinese apps such as Douyin, Xiaohongshu and WeChat, not on Instagram or Google. Opening a store usually needs a deposit, a Chinese-language product page and a plan for returns, so read the platform's fee schedule before you apply. Help with launching on Chinese e-commerce platforms shortens the set-up, which otherwise takes 4 to 12 weeks.

Step one: complete importer and exporter registration

Under both routes, every foreign food and beverage exporter and every Chinese importer must register through:

• The Imported Food and Cosmetics Importer and Exporter Registration System.
• The Internet + Customs platform run by China's General Administration of Customs (GACC).

Some higher-risk foods need additional registration of the producing factory:

• Natural casings
• Aquatic products
• Dairy products
• Bird's nests and their products
• Bee products, including honey
• Eggs and egg products
• Edible oils and fats
• Oilseeds

For these categories, the food safety authority in your own country usually has to recommend your factory to GACC. Many products of animal or plant origin also need a bilateral agreement between your country and China before they can enter at all. Check GACC's published list of approved countries and products for your item before you quote a price.

1. Confirm that your product and your country are on GACC's access list for that category.
2. Collect your factory's licences, food safety certificates (such as HACCP or ISO 22000) and halal certificate.
3. Register the factory with GACC, directly or through your national authority where recommendation is required.
4. Make sure your Chinese importer is registered and holds the right food business licence.
5. Wait for the registration number and print it on every export package where required.

Step two: prepare documents and prior authorisation

Customs clearance usually requires these documents:

• Commercial invoice
• Detailed packing list
• Bill of lading
• Export certificate from the country of origin
• Health or hygiene certificate
• Packing date certificate (for beverages)
• Free sale certificate
• Original label sample
• Chinese label sample
• Inspection certificate from AQSIQ, whose functions were merged into GACC in 2018, so check the current form with your importer

Do you need an import licence?

Most food entering China does not need prior import authorisation. However, if your product appears in the 2023 Automatic Import Licensing Commodity Catalogue, as poultry and some dairy products do, your importer must apply for automatic import authorisation before shipment. Ask the importer to check the current catalogue for your customs code, since the list is revised.

Step three: labelling in Chinese

Every food product imported into China must carry a label in simplified Chinese before it clears customs. Three national standards set the layout and content:

• General Standard for Pre-packaged Food Labels (GB 7718-2011)
• Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods for Special Dietary Uses (GB 13432-2013)
• Nutrition Labelling of Pre-packaged Foods (GB 28050-2011)

A revised version of GB 7718 was published in 2025 with a transition period, so confirm with your importer which version applies on your shipment date. The label must show:

• The standard name of the food
• A list of ingredients with percentages where required
• Name and address of the manufacturer, or of the local agent or distributor
• Production date, best-before or expiry date, and storage instructions
• Country of origin
• Quality grade
• The national or industry standard code the product is made to

The Chinese label can be printed on the pack or applied as a sticker, but it must match the original label and be in place before the goods are declared. Have your importer approve the draft in writing before you print.

What changed in the regulations from 2021

On 12 April 2021 GACC issued new measures on the safety of imported and exported food and on food safety management systems, which took effect in January 2022. The main changes:

• Wider registration scope: companies that process or store these products for export to China must now register too, not only producers.
• New registration methods: the method depends on the product category, either recommendation by your national authority or direct application.
• Simpler application material: some documents are no longer required after a food safety assessment.
• Stronger review: GACC can assemble experts or appoint agents to evaluate applications, including by document review or inspection.

The approach is similar to other regulated sectors in China: register the facility first, then the product, then ship. The same pattern appears in China's medical devices industry and in China's pharmaceutical industry, where registration also comes before any sale. Expect GACC registration to take several months, and longer where your national authority must recommend the factory first.

Common mistakes Arab food exporters make

• Quoting and signing before checking whether the product and country have market access at all.
• Assuming the buyer handles registration, when the factory registration is the exporter's responsibility.
• Printing Chinese labels from a translation app without importer approval, which leads to relabelling at the port.
• Shipping honey, dairy or seafood before the factory registration number is issued.
• Selling in China without registering the brand name, leaving it open for someone else to file.
• Ignoring shelf life. Sea freight and clearance can take 30 to 50 days, so products with short shelf life may arrive too close to expiry for retailers.

Protect your name early. China grants trademarks to the first applicant, so file through a trademark registration service in China before your first shipment, including a Chinese-character version of the brand.

What to do next

This week, find your product's HS code and check GACC's access list for your country and category. Ask your national food authority whether your factory needs its recommendation, and ask any Chinese buyer to confirm that they are a registered importer. If you want to hold the import licence yourself, compare the cost of a local entity through company formation in China with using a distributor. HiGreenPanda's teams in Shenzhen and Shanghai can check your Chinese label and documents against current rules through its business consulting service. Only then send samples and quote a price.