Originally Posted by moondog

Please accept my apologies for missing this and subsequent posts on the same subtopic.

Like many others back in 2010, I used to work on business visas. The RP became an important requirement about 5 years ago. The first one is honestly a serious PITA (e.g. you need to get all sorts of documents notarized; I even went to DC to pull this off at the State Department and the PRC consulate). Paying Vincent his $750 is well worth it in this case because he provides a complete plan of attack.

Renewals only cost around $500. It's still worth using Vincent for this IMO because his 关系 is quite good. You do need to go to Pudong at least once in person, but his staff will meet you there. He does require that you work for a real company.

ETA: During the visa days, I always did the drill myself at consulates. This plan of attack no longer works, as noted.