China
Make employment in China easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in China, all in one easy-to-use platform.
- Capital City
Beijing
- Currency
Chinese yuan (¥, CNY)
- Languages
Mandarin (Putonghua)
- Population size
1,400,050,000
Facts & Stats
- Capital City
Beijing
- Currency
Chinese yuan (¥, CNY)
- Languages
Mandarin (Putonghua)
- Population size
1,400,050,000
- Ease of doing business
Very easy
- Cost of living index
42.54 (2021)
- Payroll frequency
Monthly
- VAT - standard rate
13%
- GDP - real growth rate
6.1% (2019)
Since Deng Xiaoping launched the Open Door policy in late 1978, China has seen rocketship growth over the past four decades, transforming a strictly communist economy into a global superpower.
Today, China is a staggering multi-trillion dollar economy dominating entire industries from manufacturing to finance, setting the pace for so much technological innovation.
China’s labor market is vast, highly educated, and home to an enormous an untapped collection of expats and locals open to remote work. The sheer size and potential of China markets makes international expansion here alluring to any growth-focused employer.
Keep in mind that local expertise is almost essential in nearly every instance due to the truly unique nature of doing business here. More and more Chinese professionals are multilingual with fluency in English as well as local dialects. It’s also worth noting that China’s huge expanse makes every pocket of the country different. The culture, food, climate, language, and business practices of each province often varies dramatically, but for those companies determined enough to find success in China – the potential rewards are immense.
Grow your team in China with Remote
Looking to employ workers in China? Companies hiring in China must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually with providers like Remote.
Remote can employ your team in Shanghai province through our local legal entity handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Chinese team (note that we are actively working on wider availability across China). You can also pay contractors now in China with Remote.
Risks of misclassification
China, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in China may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.
Employing in China
Provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights are spelled out in the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China and Labour Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China. The Labour Law covers workplace discrimination against employees’ protected characteristics such as ethnicity and religion.
Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in China.
Minimum wage
The minimum wage in China varies across cities/regions. The major cities have an average higher minimum wage. Shanghai, for example, sets its minimum wage at 2,690 RMB per month or 24 RMB per hour.
15 Public holidays
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Effortless HR in China: Take the Tour
Competitive benefits package in China
At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and your company has the localized expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.
Our benefits packages in China are tailored to fulfill the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Mental Health Support
Pension or 401(K)
Life and Disability Insurance
Taxes in China
Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in China.
16%
Pension
0.5%
Unemployment Insurance
10%
Medical Insurance
0.256%
Injury Insurance
7%
Housing Fund
Types of leave
Employees are not entitled to any paid leave before they have completed their first year on the job. Upon completion of their first year of service, but before they have completed their tenth year of service, the employees are entitled to five days off annually. Employees with at least 10 years of service get 10 days off annually, increasing to a maximum of 15 days for 20 years of employment or above.
Employment termination
Termination process
Employment contracts in China can only be terminated with clear justification and severance payment made to the concerned employee.
Notice period
The standard notice period of employer and employee is 30 days and the notice has to be given in writing, although payment can be made in lieu of notice. During probation period, the employee's notice is 3 days.
Severance pay
Employees are entitled to a month’s pay for every year worked, with any tenure up to six months but less than a year counted as a year. Employees with less than six months’ tenure and are not in probation period are entitled to half a month’s pay if they’re let go. Severance is not payable under summary dismissal.
Probation periods
Probation periods can last anywhere from a month to six months, depending on the term of employment. Probation periods are not extendable.
Fair Pricing in China
Employer of Record
Hire and pay your global team
Starting at $599/month
for annual plans
Top features
Satisfaction guaranteed
No deposits or hidden fees
Zero onboarding or offboarding fees
Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting
Built-in security and compliance
Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)
Flexible, localized benefits
Top features
Only pay for contractors you actively work with
Work with contractors in 200+ countries
Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts
Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay
Transparent payments with complete visibility
Remote Payroll
Consolidate your multi-country payroll
$50
per employee/month
Top features
Reduce costs by centralizing payroll management
Ensure local compliance for every country
Direct support from in-house local payroll experts
Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience
Tax and labor authority reporting handled for you
Top features
Guided onboarding and offboarding
Employee profile and document management
Time and attendance (time off and tracking)
Expense management and reimbursement
Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app