According to the company law, a company can invest abroad, but it cannot become a partner in a partnership.

Strictly speaking, company partner is not an independent concept of partner. The so-called legal person partner means that the legal person organization participates in the partnership as the investor and becomes a partner. Countries all over the world adopt different attitudes towards legal person's participation in partnership, and the laws of most countries allow legal person to participate in partnership and become a partner. Article 6 of the United States Uniform Partnership Enterprise Law stipulates that "a partnership enterprise is a combination of two or more people who engage in business activities as owners for the purpose of making profits". Article 2 of the law stipulates that "person" includes natural persons, partnerships, companies and other combinations. The United States Unified Limited Partnership Act also stipulates that members of a limited partnership, whether general partners or limited partners, can be legal persons (companies); The revised American Standard Company Law (1984) stipulates in Chapter 3, Article 2 that a company can be a partner when setting out its business scope. The German Civil Code does not prohibit legal persons from being partners, while the Commercial Code stipulates that shareholders (partners) of commercial partnerships are legal persons, including joint stock limited companies or limited liability companies. There are also some countries or regions that prohibit or restrict legal persons from participating in partnerships. Article 55 of Japanese Commercial Law stipulates that "a company shall not become an unlimited shareholder of other companies". Article 552 of the Swiss debt law stipulates that the shareholders of an unlimited liability company are limited to natural persons. Article 13 of the Company Law of Taiwan Province Province stipulates that a company may not become a partner of a partnership; Article 54 and Article 1 10 stipulate that shareholders of an unlimited company and a joint venture company may not become partners in a partnership unless all other shareholders agree. When China's General Principles of Civil Law was promulgated, legal person partnership was relatively rare and appeared in the form of joint venture. Therefore, in legislation, the individual partnership is regulated in the form of partnership, and the unincorporated business formed by legal persons is stipulated from the perspective of joint venture. Chapter III of the Joint Venture Law states that "if an enterprise or a joint venture between enterprises does not meet the requirements of a legal person, the parties to the joint venture shall bear civil liability with their own or managed property according to the proportion of capital contribution or agreement." Those who are jointly and severally liable according to the law or agreement shall be jointly and severally liable. This provision was later widely interpreted as "partnership" or corporate partnership. Because the law does not positively stipulate whether legal persons are allowed to be partners, there are great differences on whether to allow legal persons to participate in partnerships in the legislative process of the Partnership Enterprise Law. One view is that we should learn from the experience of most foreign countries, and there is no restriction on the partnership status, allowing it to be composed entirely of individuals, individuals and legal persons or legal persons and legal persons. Judging from China's legislation and practice, firstly, although the law does not directly stipulate that a legal person is a partner, the provisions on joint venture in Article 52 of the General Principles of the Civil Law, including the situation of forming an organization and not having the qualification of a legal person, are usually interpreted by the theoretical circle as a future partnership, which should be a legal person partnership in nature. Second, the company law does not prohibit companies from becoming partners. Third, China's relevant policies encourage scientific and technological workers to unite with enterprises and invest and cooperate with enterprises with their own scientific and technological knowledge. In many cases, this cooperative investment takes the form of partnership. Moreover, allowing legal persons to be partners has many positive meanings for the development of socialist market economy. First, provide all kinds of investment opportunities and channels for legal person enterprises, so that they can take advantage of the advantages of simple and flexible establishment of partnership enterprises and flexible capital contribution methods, so that enterprises can obtain economic benefits; Second, partners can learn from each other's strengths, give full play to their respective advantages, and develop into specialized and intensive management; Third, it is convenient for partners to concentrate on developing products or markets. Another view is that although allowing legal persons to be partners has certain positive significance, there are also great risks. First, allowing a legal person to become a partner means that it will bear unlimited joint liability for the debts of the partnership, thus making the legal person's property in an unstable state. The negligence of the partnership may lead to the liability of the legal person enterprise with all its property, and even joint bankruptcy. The legal person's participation in the partnership is uncertain, but it makes the enterprise bear unlimited liability. Second, the admission of a legal person may damage the reputation of a legal person enterprise. Its counterparties may be reluctant to deal with it because it has unlimited responsibilities in other enterprises. Third, from the social point of view, allowing legal person partnership may lead to a series of situations that damage the interests of many creditors of a large company because of the problems of a small enterprise, especially in the current situation that China's legal system is not perfect enough and some state-owned enterprises have factory directors (managers) who are selfish at the expense of the public. If state-owned enterprises are allowed to become partners, it is difficult to prevent individual factory directors and managers from collecting benefits from enterprise property and aggravating the loss of state-owned assets. Fourthly, China is currently in the period of system transition, and various new situations are constantly emerging. In reality, it is not common for corporate enterprises to participate in partnerships. From a prudent and long-term point of view, we should continue to conduct in-depth and detailed investigation and study on this issue, and then make corresponding regulations. In view of this, those who hold this view advocate prohibiting legal persons from participating in partnerships. Because there is a big gap between the two opinions and there is not much experience in real life, the Partnership Enterprise Law finally adopts a vague approach, that is, it does not clearly stipulate that legal persons are allowed or prohibited to participate in partnerships. Enterprises can continue to explore the pilot project in practice, and then modify the future legislation after gaining experience.