Ministry of Labour and Social Security and State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Administration of the Establishment of Sino-foreign Equity and Cooperative Joint Venture Employment Agencies Tentative Provisions

Promulgated: October 8 2001
Effective: December 1 2001
Applicability: These Provisions also apply to investors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (Article 13).

Main contents: Authorization to establish a Sino-foreign equity or cooperative joint venture employment agency is granted by administrative departments of labour and social security and administrative departments of foreign trade and economic cooperation. Registration is carried out by the administrative department for industry and commerce of the location where the agency is established. Wholly foreign-owned employment agencies are prohibited. The representative offices in China of foreign enterprises, as well as foreign chambers of commerce established in China, are not permitted to engage in employment agency services (Article 3).
Sino-foreign equity and cooperative joint venture employment agencies are permitted to offer employment agency services to Chinese and foreign employment-seekers and employers (Article 5). They may also engage in employment counseling and employment information services, collect and disseminate information on the labour market, organize and hold employment forums, and engage in other approved services.
To establish an employment agency, the following conditions must be met: the foreign partner should be a legal person with a good reputation engaged in employment agency services in its country of registration; the Chinese partner should be a legal person qualified in employment services and possess a good reputation; the registered capital should not be less than US$300,000; and the agency should have more than three full-time employees qualified in employment agency services (Article 6).
Applications are made to the administrative department of foreign trade and economic cooperation in the location where the agency will be established. Applications are then transferred to the administrative department of labour and social security at the same level of government (Article 7). The administrative department of labour and social security will respond within 15 days (Article 8). Then, within 30 days, the administrative department of foreign trade and economic cooperation will decide whether to approve the establishment (Article 9).
Related legislation: Administration of the Labour Market Provisions