Who this guide is for
Foreign employees signing with a mainland China entity. Cross-border secondments, representative-office arrangements, independent consulting, labor dispatch, equity-heavy packages and overseas-law contracts need individual advice because the legal employer and applicable protections may differ.
First check: who is employing and sponsoring you?
Ask for the employer’s full registered Chinese name and unified social credit code. Compare it with the contract, company chop, salary payer, work-permit application and the entity directing your work. A familiar English brand name is not enough. If an overseas parent made the offer but a subsidiary appears in the contract, ask for a written explanation of each entity’s obligations.
Article 17 of the Labor Contract Law requires identifying details for both parties and core employment terms. Article 24 of the foreign-employment rules states that the China employer should be the employer specified in the employment authorization. A mismatch is a stop-and-resolve issue, not paperwork to ignore.
Line-by-line signing checklist
| Term | Questions to answer before signing |
|---|---|
| Contract term | Fixed, open-ended or task-based? Start/end dates? Renewal decision and notice? Does it match permit dates? |
| Probation | Is it permitted for this term, within the statutory cap, used only once, and paid at a lawful amount? |
| Role | Title, duties, reporting line and measurable expectations? Does the permit application use the same role? |
| Location | Primary city and worksite, travel and remote work? What consent/process applies to relocation? |
| Compensation | Gross base, fixed allowances, commission, bonus, equity, currency, payday and tax/social-insurance treatment? |
| Hours | Standard or approved special system? Schedule, rest days, overtime approval and calculation? |
| Leave/benefits | Statutory and company leave, medical cover, housing, school, flights and reimbursement evidence? |
| Work authorization | Who files, pays, renews and cancels? What happens if approval is delayed or denied? |
| Exit | Notice, final pay, bonus, unused leave, certificate, permit cancellation and repatriation terms? |
Gross pay, net pay and benefits
“RMB 40,000 per month” is incomplete unless the document says whether it is gross before individual income tax and employee social-insurance deductions or a guaranteed net amount with a defined gross-up. Most employees should negotiate and reconcile gross components rather than rely on a changing take-home figure.
- Separate fixed base salary from allowances and genuinely discretionary awards.
- Write objective commission/bonus triggers, measurement period, payment date and treatment on resignation or termination.
- State whether housing or school fees are cash allowances or reimbursed against compliant evidence.
- Do not assume “13th month” is statutory; it must come from contract, valid policy or established practice.
- Ask which social-insurance contributions apply and whether a treaty exemption is being formally claimed.
Chinese and English text
China law does not make an English translation self-executing simply because the employee is foreign. Find out which language the contract says controls, then have that version reviewed. Compare all numbers, dates, defined terms, annexes and cross-references. Never sign a blank schedule or accept a lower “visa salary” that differs from the actual deal.
If HR says a clause is “only standard” or “will never be used,” ask to delete or clarify it. Keep the recruiter’s final written answers, but put important commercial terms into the signed contract or incorporated plan. Obtain your own signed original as Article 16 requires.
Confidentiality, non-compete and repayment clauses
Confidentiality can apply to properly identified protected information. A post-employment non-compete is restricted by Articles 23–24 to senior management, senior technical staff and others with confidentiality obligations, must be compensated during the restricted period, and cannot exceed two years. Scope, territory and duration should be proportionate and reviewed locally.
Training-cost repayment, intellectual property, liquidated damages and global mobility clauses should not be accepted as generic boilerplate. Ask what exact employer-funded specialist training, amount and service period support a repayment term. Get advice before signing any clause that lets the company recover immigration, recruitment or ordinary onboarding costs.
Before-signing workflow and evidence file
- Request the full contract, handbook, bonus plan and benefit policy before resigning.
- Create a comparison sheet for offer, contract and permit: entity, role, city, dates, salary and benefits.
- Translate and reconcile the controlling language.
- Send one numbered list of unresolved questions and obtain written answers.
- Escalate unusual mobility, non-compete, training, IP, tax equalization and termination clauses.
- Sign only the final version; initial handwritten changes and obtain the employer-chopped original.
- Store copies, job description, policies and key messages outside the employer’s email or device.
Hypothetical situations and stop signs
Hypothetical 1 — salary mismatch: a French engineer’s offer promises RMB 45,000 plus housing, while the Chinese contract states RMB 32,000 and makes all additions discretionary. “Only for the visa” is a warning, not reassurance. Reconcile before signing.
Hypothetical 2 — sponsor mismatch: the permit application names a Beijing entity but the contract names a Hong Kong company. Ask qualified advisers to structure and document the relationship before travel.
Stop and obtain independent advice if you are asked to work first and “fix the visa later,” surrender your passport indefinitely, sign an incomplete Chinese document, accept a different employer or salary for official filings, waive all statutory rights, or sign a broad unpaid non-compete.
Official sources
General information only. This guide is not legal, tax or immigration advice. National rules, local implementation and the facts of a case can produce different results. Confirm time-sensitive procedures with the competent local authority or a qualified China professional.