Registration requirements are the part of trading with China most often misunderstood from outside it. They do not apply to all goods, and they do not apply to all producers. They attach to specific categories, and which category a product falls into decides what has to be in place before it can be imported.
Registration of overseas producers
China's customs administration maintains a registration regime for overseas producers of imported food. Producers, processors and, in some cases, storage facilities within the covered categories must hold a registration before their goods can be imported, and for certain categories the registration is made on the recommendation of the competent authority in the producing country rather than by the producer directly.
Three practical consequences follow. First, the requirement is category-specific: a product outside the covered categories is not affected. Second, it is site-specific, so a producer operating more than one facility needs a registration for each. Third, a registration has to be kept current, because it is not permanent and lapses if it is not renewed.
Where a registration is held, the number issued is used on the packaging of the goods exported under it, so the registration is visible in the consignment documents and on the goods themselves.
Other requirements that sit alongside registration
Registration is one requirement among several. A consignment may also have to satisfy labelling requirements, national food safety standards, and any inspection and quarantine conditions agreed between the customs administrations of the two countries. Holding a registration is not a guarantee that a consignment will clear: the goods still have to meet the requirements that apply to them.
Bonded arrangements
Goods held under a bonded arrangement sit outside the ordinary import procedure until they are entered for domestic use. Storage, processing and re-export under bond are treated separately from goods entered for sale in China, and the two should not be described as though they were the same.
Which customs territory is involved
Mainland China and the other customs territories of the region are administered separately, and a requirement that applies in one does not automatically apply in another. Where goods move between them, or where a supplier is located in one and the importer in another, say so explicitly. Treating the region as a single customs territory is one of the most common sources of a requirement being missed.
TCSA confirms which requirement applies to a commodity and a producer before any work is commissioned, and confirms coverage with your enquiry rather than assuming it. Nothing here is a ruling on your consignment; the requirements are set by the customs administration that administers them.