Plus-one hub · Origin / customs · China NNN · China entity · Trade flagship.
Choose the split on access, customers and preferential origin — not last quarter’s wage screenshot. China remains a WFOE/access question; Vietnam is its own FIE / investment-registration system. Neither labour code is at-will. Splitting process can break FTA / customer origin (including USMCA-style tests on the Mexico sister page). Copy-pasting a China NNN into Vietnamese is how you get no injunction — new NNN/OEM in each country. “Made in Vietnam” stickers without substance are a customs file. UFLPA / forced-labour audits stay on their own page.
At a glance
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| One Vietnam contractor enough? | Often you still need a VN entity or a real principal. |
| Easier to fire? | Do not assume that. Read VN labour statute. |
| Keep China NNN? | New file in each country. |
| Sticker = origin? | No. |
| Wage-only move? | Weakest legal reason. |
Scope and legal framework
Investment entry. China: WFOE/JV and the negative list. Vietnam: investment registration / enterprise registration for a foreign-invested company. Two applications, two capital clocks.
Labour. China’s Labour Contract Law is not at-will. Vietnam has its own labour code, unions and termination process. “Cheaper fire” is not a planning assumption.
Origin, customs, IP. Preferential origin needs qualifying operations, not a new hang-tag. IP: register and contract in both places — link China NNN / OEM spokes; do the Vietnam equivalents separately.
Practical workflow
- Write why you split: customer, tariff, capacity, risk — not “HR found a park.”
- Origin memo with a trade lawyer before you move a line.
- Stand up the Vietnam vehicle; keep or wind China on purpose.
- New NNN/OEM and TM filings on both sides.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Vietnam labour is “US at-will with pho.”
- One English NNN for both factories.
- Ignoring the plus-one origin sister until the first denied preference claim.
Action checklist
- Split reason written.
- Origin test named (which FTA / customer rule).
- Two-entity plan.
- Two IP/contract plans.
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