I have been using a book called 'the Shenzhen insider's guide' [1] as a reference to help me understand what I need to do to setup something there. There is an entire chapter 'Business in Shenzhen' that lays out the groundwork needed to setup operations in Shenzhen and the different types of entities allowed to do business there. There may be advantages to having a Chinese partner in the setup.

I am currently only at the investigative stage. I will let you know as soon as I know more about bureaucratic obstacles.

1. https://www.amazon.com/Shenzhen-Insiders-Guide-Never-Ever/dp...