The rule applies to Chinese companies and to the yuan-denominated financial accounts of foreign companies physically doing business in China (meaning having an office or facility in China), which is why it had a dampening effect on foreign investment.
Annoyingly, if you ask a representative of the Chinese government if such a rule exists (before you have sent money into China), they will tell you no such rule exists, or that the rule doesn't apply to foreign companies. They wait until the money is in China and you try to transfer it out of your bank account to let you know that your company is also subject to these rules.
Several US clients of mine found this out the hard way (a few years ago, before the trade war).
The requirements for doing forex are very different for both entities (and I know this from being a foreign entity with Chinese income and a Chinese bank account). There isn’t one rule, it’s a set of regulations.
Annoyingly, if you ask a representative of the Chinese government if such a rule exists (before you have sent money into China), they will tell you no such rule exists, or that the rule doesn't apply to foreign companies. They wait until the money is in China and you try to transfer it out of your bank account to let you know that your company is also subject to these rules.
Several US clients of mine found this out the hard way (a few years ago, before the trade war).