Paid information services require a license; transaction-processing platforms have a different classification, while noncommercial information services require filing

Chinese noncommercial filing is free. A value-added telecommunications business license involves company formation and compliance costs. The applicant must be a company, with registered capital of at least RMB 1 million for operations within one province or RMB 10 million across provinces. The review period is 60 days and the license lasts five years.

China's Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services establish licensing for commercial services and filing for noncommercial services; neither may operate without the applicable procedure. Commercial services are defined as providing information, webpage creation, or similar services to internet users for payment. Online data processing and transaction processing, commonly called EDI in the industry, uses platforms connected to public communication networks or the internet to process users' data, transactions, or affairs online. The classification includes transaction processing, electronic data interchange, and network or electronic-device data processing. Operating without a required license or beyond its scope leads to confiscation of unlawful proceeds and fines of three to five times those proceeds. If proceeds are absent or below RMB 50,000, the fine is RMB 100,000–1 million. Serious cases can lead to website closure. These are Chinese national rules.

Compare the actual service with the definitions in the Telecommunications Business Classification Catalogue. The source did not find an official blanket statement that every e-commerce platform involving matching and payment handling must obtain an EDI license. The ministry's service guide says to apply for the relevant license according to the business classification. The determination therefore depends on the service, not simply its label. The source's shorthand “charging users means a license” refers here to the defined regulated services, not a complete classification of every website that earns revenue. The applicant for this license must be a legally established company.

State Council (2000). Measures for the Administration of Internet Information Services, Order No. 292, second amendment December 6, 2024, Articles 3, 4, 7, and 19. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2011/content_1860864.htm; State Council (2024). Decision amending and repealing certain administrative regulations, Order No. 797, item 18. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2025/issue_11786/202501/content_6997034.html; State Council (2000). Telecommunications Regulations, second amendment 2016, Articles 7, 9, 13, and 69. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2016/content_5139478.htm; Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (2017). Measures for the Administration of Telecommunications Business Licensing, MIIT Order No. 42, Articles 6, 9, 11, and 14. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2017/content_5240090.htm