The two companies I had used a lot are Avis (avischina.com) and ShenZhou (zuche.com) . Avis used to be the beacon of 'foreign management' for the crappy Chinese car hire companies (i've used a bunch and most were highly unprofessional... though the Tianjin Xiali with unresponsive brakes and no power steering was certainly fun to drive).
These days, the competition like ShenZhou have really upped their game, with new cars, lots of pick-up locations, integrated IT management of their cars (including phone app). I've recently rented from Avis, who have started doing things like giving you cars with half a tank of petrol only... an annoying practice which inevitably leaves you slightly shortchanged. I'm not sure I still prefer Avis.
As for licenses - there was a lot of talk a couple of years ago about obtaining "temporary driving licenses" for those with visas valid for under 90 days. Even Avis helped with this process, back then. This was in Beijing. I don't know if it still applies, but you may wish to call Avis to check (if SZ don't do it, try calling Beijing).
Then there's the article below:
Motorhome China - Our reports - Chinese driver's license