An applicant for the qualification as a QFII shall meet the following requirements:

1. the applicant shall be in sound financial conditions and good credit with a certain amount of asset under management set by the CSRC (detailed criteria is shown below);

2. the applicant’s managerial personnel shall meet relevant professional requirements of the applicant’s domicile country or region;

3. the applicant shall have sound and effective governance structure, internal control system, and the applicant’s operation is well-managed and has not been subject to any major punishment by regulatory authorities in the latest 3 years;

4. the applicant shall be domiciled in countries or regions where the securities regulatory authorities have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CSRC; and

5. other requirements set by the CSRC in accordance with the principle of prudential regulation.

An applicant for the qualification as a qualified investor (QFII and RQFII are unified) shall meet the following requirements:

1. the applicant shall be in sound financial conditions and good credit standing with proven experiences in securities and futures investment;

2. the applicant’s managerial personnel in charge of domestic investments shall meet relevant professional requirements of the applicant’s domicile country or region (if such requirements exist);

3. the applicant shall have sound and effective governance structure, internal control system, and compliance management regime, and, in accordance with relevant regulations, appoint a supervisor to oversee the legality and compliance of the applicant’s domestic investment;

4. the applicant’s operation is well-managed and has not been subject to any major punishment by regulatory authorities in the latest 3 years or since its establishment; and

5. other requirements set by the CSRC in accordance with the principle of prudential regulation

Note that the quantitative criteria shall be cancelled according to the consultation paper released by the CSRC on 31 January, 2019.
 

A qualified investor (QFII or RQFII), after obtaining the license from the CSRC, may obtain an investment quota (basic quota) no higher than a certain proportion of its assets or the securities assets under management ("asset size") through filing; application for an investment quota higher than the basic quota is subject to approval by the SAFE.

The investment quotas of institutions such as overseas sovereign wealth funds, central banks and monetary authorities are not subject to the asset proportion restrictions. They may obtain an investment quota based on their needs to invest in the domestic securities markets.

Note that in September 2019, the SAFE announced that it would immediately revise the regulations on QFII and RQFII, to make it clear that the investment quota of individual qualified foreign investor will no longer need to be approved.

Press Conference on Abolishing Restrictions on the Investment Quota of Qualified Foreign Investors (QFII/ RQFII) Wang Chunying Spokeswoman and Chief Economist State Administration of Foreign Exchange

1. Where the assets or AUM of a qualified investor or the group it is subordinated to are located overseas, the formula is: USD 100 million + average asset size over the past three years ＊0.2% - quota obtained by the RQFII (in USD terms, "RQFII quota");

2. Where the assets or AUM of a qualified investor or the group it is subordinated to are located in China, the formula is: the equivalent of RMB 5 billion + asset size of the previous year＊80% - RQFII quota already obtained (in USD terms);

3. No more than USD 5 billion (including overseas sovereign wealth funds, central bank and monetary authorities);

4. No less than USD 20 million. The foreign exchange rates involved above shall be calculated based on the Conversion Rates of Currencies against the USD published by the SAFE on the day of application of the previous month.

The SAFE may adjust these criteria in consideration of balance of payments, and development and liberalization of capital markets.

1. Where the assets or AUM of an RMB qualified investor or the group it is subordinated to are located overseas, the formula is: equivalent of USD 100 million + average asset size over the past three years ＊0.2% - quota for the QFII already obtained (in RMB terms, "QFII quota").

2. Where the assets or AUM of an RMB qualified investor or the group it is subordinated to are located in China, the formula is: RMB 5 billion + asset size of the previous year＊80% - QFII quota already obtained (in RMB terms).

The foreign exchange rate involved above shall be calculated based on the conversion rates of various currencies against the USD published by the SAFE on the day of application for the previous month.

The PBOC and SAFE may adjust these criteria in consideration of balance of payments, and development and liberalization of capital markets.

http://www.safe.gov.cn/en/AdministrationInformation/index.html