Hiring in China? Start with the city, not just the country.

China is the world’s second-largest economy and its largest manufacturing base, but the rules that set your real employer cost, minimum wage, social insurance, and the Housing Provident Fund, are set city by city, not nationally. We help you choose the right employment model, place you with the right partner, and stay alongside you for the life of the relationship.

  • Independent advice
  • Vetted partners
  • On your side at renewal

A manufacturing and technology superpower. A city-by-city cost structure underneath.

China is the world’s largest exporter and home to seven of the ten busiest container ports on earth, but there is no single national minimum wage and no single national social-insurance rate table: Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen each set their own figures, and the gap between them is real money on every payslip. Add mandatory enrolment in the “five insurances and one fund” (五险一金) system, and getting the city-specific number wrong is the most common costly mistake foreign employers make in China.

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The world’s largest exporter, priced differently by city

Home to seven of the world’s ten busiest container ports and the deepest manufacturing supply chains anywhere, but China has no single national wage or contribution table: Shanghai’s minimum wage (CNY 2,740/month) runs materially above Shenzhen’s (CNY 2,520/month), and the “five insurances and one fund” rates that sit on top of salary are set and administered locally, not centrally.

02

Dismissal restricted to statutory grounds

The Labor Contract Law restricts dismissal to a fixed list of statutory grounds rather than at-will termination, mandatory enrolment in five separate social insurance schemes plus the Housing Provident Fund, and a national tax authority that has collected social insurance premiums directly since 2019, mean your employment structure has to be chosen with care.

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Independent expert advice

Not sure whether you need EOR, payroll, or your own WFOE (a wholly foreign-owned limited liability company)? We map your headcount, your target city, and your risk profile and give you a clear recommendation, not a product pitch.

Four ways to hire in China. Pick once, pick right.

Most businesses arrive having already decided, and often decided too quickly. Here is the honest version of each route. When one fits, the detailed guide is one click away.

Employer of Record

An EOR partner becomes the legal employer of your China-based staff, handling the contract, payroll, five-insurances-one-fund enrolment in the correct city, and Labor Contract Law compliance, while you direct the work. Operational in days, no entity needed. Best for testing a specific city or hiring a small team.

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Global Payroll

For when you already have a Chinese entity, or want to consolidate payroll across several countries. You stay the legal employer; a specialist partner runs the monthly calculations against the correct city’s contribution base and rates, and files with the State Taxation Administration and the local housing-fund centre correctly.

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Entity Formation (WFOE)

Your own Chinese company, most commonly a wholly foreign-owned limited liability company (WFOE), registered with the State Administration for Market Regulation under the unified Company Law. No statutory minimum registered capital, but subscribed capital must now be fully paid in within five years. Full control and a local presence, but you carry registration, capital-contribution timelines, and ongoing filings. Right when the headcount and permanence justify it.

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PEO Services

A co-employment model alongside your own Chinese entity. True PEO co-employment is far less established in China than in the US, so for most companies EOR or managed payroll is the better fit. We will tell you honestly which one your situation calls for.

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China at a glance

Currency

Chinese Yuan Renminbi (CNY/RMB). Salaries are set and paid in RMB; if your budget lives in EUR or USD, exchange movement and the fact that RMB is not fully convertible quietly change your real cost.

Minimum wage (2026)

Set city by city, not nationally, and reviewed every one to three years. Shanghai leads nationally at CNY 2,740/month (2026); Shenzhen sits lower at CNY 2,520/month; Beijing tops the hourly rate at CNY 27.7/hour. There is no single “China minimum wage” to quote, only the figure for the city you are actually hiring in.

Employer costs

Employers in Shanghai, used here as the representative city, pay roughly 30.7% to 34.4% of the contribution base across pension (16%), medical insurance (9%), unemployment insurance (0.5%), work-injury insurance (0.2% to 1.9%, industry-rated), and the Housing Provident Fund (5% to 7%, employer’s choice within the band). Beijing and Shenzhen run different rates and different caps; we confirm the figures for your actual city before you commit.

Leave & Notice

China is not at-will: the Labor Contract Law restricts dismissal to a fixed list of statutory grounds, with 30 days’ written notice or one month’s pay in lieu for no-fault termination. Statutory paid annual leave starts at just 5 days after one year of cumulative service, rising to 10 days after 10 years and 15 days after 20, on top of 13 public holiday days in 2026.

Hiring in China: quick answers

The questions we are asked most about hiring in China.

What is the fastest way to hire someone in China?

An Employer of Record. Your hire can start in days, with a compliant Chinese employment contract and correct five-insurances-one-fund enrolment in the right city from day one, and no entity to set up. It is the lowest-risk way to test a city or place a small team.

Do I need a Chinese entity to hire?

No. With an EOR you can employ people in China without your own company. You only need to incorporate a WFOE when you are committing to a permanent, larger presence, and we will tell you honestly when that point arrives.

There is no single national minimum wage or social-insurance table: both are set and administered city by city, and Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen genuinely differ. Add mandatory enrolment in five separate insurance schemes plus the Housing Provident Fund, and dismissal that is restricted to statutory grounds rather than at-will. None of it is a problem when a partner who already knows your specific city’s rules is running it for you.

We are independent: we assess what you actually need, place you with the right vetted partner, secure pricing you will not get going direct, and stay on your side to escalate or renegotiate. You get advice, not a product pitch.

Let’s map your China hire.

Tell us who you want to hire and which city you are headed to in China. One conversation maps your options, flags the risks, and usually gets you to a better answer, and better pricing, than going direct. No pitch.

Tax and labour data verified July 2026 (State Taxation Administration, MOHRSS, Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Shanghai Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau). Figures are set city by city and change; we confirm the current position for your specific city when we scope your hire.