#1 Global EOR Solutions Provider in China

Q: What does an Employer of Record (EOR) do in China?

An EOR is the legal employer of your team in China. It issues the employment contract, runs payroll, withholds and files income tax, enrolls employees in statutory benefit schemes, and carries the compliance liability, so you can employ there without setting up a local entity.

Q: What roles can I employ in China through an EOR?

Any role you would put on your own payroll: engineering, finance, marketing, sales, operations, customer support, HR, design, and management. EOR is a legal employment arrangement, not a role-specific service. The only exceptions are roles that China law reserves for licensed or entity-employed staff.

Q: How fast can employees be onboarded in China?

Most employees can be onboarded within 5–10 business days, depending on documentation. Contracts, statutory registrations, and payroll setup run in parallel from day one.

Q: Do I maintain control over the work?

Absolutely. You direct work responsibilities, reporting lines, performance management, and team culture. We handle the legal and administrative backend only.

Q: How much does EOR in China cost?

Our EOR fee is a transparent monthly amount per employee, charged on top of their salary and the statutory employer contributions listed above. There are no upfront fees, no setup fees, and no hidden costs.

Q: Can I convert existing China contractors to employees?

Yes. Long-term contractors who work fixed hours under your direction are a misclassification risk in China. We move them onto compliant employment contracts with the statutory entitlements they are owed, under our local entity.

Q: Who owns the IP my China employees create?

You do. Every employment contract we issue includes IP assignment and confidentiality clauses drafted to be enforceable under China law.

Q: Can I offer localized benefits to my China employees?

Yes. We administer local statutory benefits (health, leave, social insurance) plus any optional benefits you want to offer (private health, equipment stipends, learning budgets), all billed through the same monthly invoice.

Employ your team in China without a WFOE. Housing fund, social insurance, individual income tax, and labor contract compliance fully managed.

Get an EOR Quote

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Why use an EOR in China

No local entity

We are already the legal employer in China.

Compliance liability on us

China labor law, tax and benefits are on us.

Employed in 5–10 days

Contracts, registrations and payroll run in parallel.

Misclassification risk removed

Turn China contractors into compliant employees.

Employ in China without a local entity

Asian markets covered

100 K+

AI-native talent

200 +

teams building with us

92 %

employee retention rate

Results from teams that hired with us

Faster hires, lower burn, more shipped.

$200K

saved in hiring costs

A social polling platform that hired 2 senior engineers in 24 days on average, weeks after launch.

$27M

Series A raised

An industrial AI company that hired 6 specialists across 3 roles from one pipeline, then raised its Series A.

engineers hired

The freight company behind the internet's first load board, adding data, full-stack and mobile engineers in 22 days on average.

developers hired

A real-estate coaching company that built its first engineering team in Vietnam, across 5 role types, at 60 to 70% less than US hiring.

70%

productivity boost

A Web3 education platform that hired 10 engineers in Vietnam in two months to speed up its roadmap.

$1.5B

acquisition outcome

A machine-learning car marketplace that grew its Taiwan engineering team 70%, entered 3 new markets and was acquired by Carro.

70%

labor cost saved

A luxury jeweler with 870 stores across Asia that staffed its e-commerce push from Malaysia and lifted efficiency 30%.

70%

efficiency gain

A digital health platform that hired 5 developers and ops staff across Vietnam and Malaysia without slowing delivery.

50%

productivity uplift

A Bitcoin restaking platform that grew its team 20% with frontend and product hires and lifted technical capability 40%.

role types staffed

A luxury retail group that stood up a 10-engineer team in Vietnam in two months and doubled its development speed.

3 days

to first SDR hire

An omnichannel chat platform that built a team of 3 SDRs in Indonesia to drive lead generation.

2 mo

hiring time saved

A blockchain wellness platform that hired the lead engineer in Hong Kong to anchor its offshore team.

Trusted by teams that ship fast

Founders and engineering leaders on hiring with Second Talent.

Partnering with Second Talent has been a game-changer for our tech expansion.

Their ability to source top-tier talent from Vietnam helped us scale rapidly while maintaining quality. Their pre-vetted candidates integrated seamlessly, and their account management ensured smooth onboarding.

Tom F.

Co-founder (#1 US Real Estate Coach)

Second Talent played a key role in our tech expansion, quickly providing high-quality frontend talent that integrated seamlessly into our projects.

Their pre-vetted candidates, smooth onboarding process, and excellent support helped us build a strong, cost-effective team that drives our success.

Marco A.

Co-founder & CTO

Thanks to Second Talent, Open Campus quickly built a skilled tech team of 10 within two months, boosting productivity by 70% and accelerating our Web3 platform's development.

This success has strengthened our role in decentralized education and fueled our market expansion, highlighting our leadership in Web3 innovation.

Jonah L.

Head of Portfolio (raised US$100m)

Second Talent helped Beyond Cars (acquired by Carro) swiftly build a top-tier tech team in just a month, accelerating our platform's development and boosting productivity.

This success allowed us to expand into new markets, ultimately leading to our acquisition by a major automotive e-commerce company.

Garry Y.

Co-Founder (acquired by Carro)

Second Talent built our team of pre-vetted engineers who made our hiring decisions straightforward.

Once onboarded, our tech team saw a significant boost in productivity and development speed. Their excellent account management and responsive customer service also ensured smooth handling of all post-onboarding HR matters.

Jack N.

Director of IT (10,000+ employees)

Second Talent helped us rapidly scale by sourcing top-quality SDR talent from Indonesia.

Their pre-screened candidates fit perfectly, and their smooth onboarding and support built a strong, cost-effective team that helped to test and experiment sales with another market.

Leo W.

Co-founder (raised US$5m)

How EOR in China works, step by step

Tell us who you want to employ

Share the role, salary, start date, and any benefits you want to offer. We confirm what China law requires and send an all-in monthly quote.

We become the legal employer

Your team member is employed under our owned entity in China, on a contract that meets local labor law and assigns IP to your company.

You direct the work, we handle the backend

Reporting lines, tools, working hours, and performance stay entirely with you. We are the legal employer, not the manager.

We run payroll, taxes, and compliance

Salary disbursement, tax withholding, social insurance, statutory bonuses, and leave are handled monthly under China regulations.

China at a glance

TL;DR

EOR in China: employ staff without a WFOE. Social insurance, housing fund, IIT withholding and labor contract compliance handled city by city.

Population

1.4B

Currency

CNY (Chinese Yuan Renminbi)

Employer contributions

~31% (pension 16%, medical 10%, unemployment 0.5%, housing fund 5–12%).

Minimum wage

Beijing: CNY 2,420/mo (~$335). Shanghai: CNY 2,690/mo (~$372). Varies by city.

Employment Laws & Employer Obligations in China

Working Hours

40 hours/week (8 hrs/day, 5 days). "996" culture exists but is legally non-compliant.

Overtime Pay

150% weekdays, 200% rest days, 300% statutory holidays. Max 36 hrs OT/month.

Probation Period

1 month (contract <1 yr), 2 months (1–3 yrs), 6 months (3+ yrs or open-ended).

Leave Entitlements in China

Leave Type

Entitlement

Annual Leave

5 days (1–10 yrs), 10 days (10–20 yrs), 15 days (20+ yrs).

Sick Leave

3–24 months depending on tenure and length of service. Paid at 60–100% by region.

Maternity Leave

98 days nationally + provincial extensions (30–60 extra days common). Paid via insurance.

Paternity Leave

15–30 days depending on province. Beijing: 15 days. Shanghai: 10 days.

Public Holidays

11 days (New Year, Spring Festival 3 days, Qingming, Labor Day, Dragon Boat, Mid-Autumn, National Day 3 days).

Notice Period

30 days (written notice) or 1 month salary in lieu. Immediate for serious breach.

Severance Pay

1 month per year of service. Capped at 12 months (for high earners).

Payroll & Tax in China

Component

Details

Employer Contributions

~31% (pension 16%, medical 10%, unemployment 0.5%, housing fund 5–12%).

Employee Contributions

~23% (pension 8%, medical 2%, unemployment 0.5%, housing fund 5–12%).

Income Tax

Progressive 3%–45%. Monthly standard deduction: CNY 5,000.

Minimum Wage

Beijing: CNY 2,420/mo (~$335). Shanghai: CNY 2,690/mo (~$372). Varies by city.

13th Month / Bonus

Not mandatory. Year-end bonus is standard (1–6 months in tech). Taxed separately.

Second Talent handles all of this for you

Payroll, taxes, social contributions, leave tracking, contracts, and termination compliance in China. You focus on building your product. We handle the rest.

Get an EOR Quote

One workspace for EOR in China

Contracts, statutory benefits, payslips, leave, and monthly USD invoicing for your China team. Every step lives in a single workspace your team and ours share.

China-specific employment contracts auto-generated and e-signed
Statutory benefits, social insurance, and tax filings handled monthly
Leave tracking, payslips, and HR documents in one place
One USD invoice per month: no FX juggling, no local admin

See the platform

🔒 get.secondtalent.com

Second Talent

Team
Payroll
Contracts
Invoices
Compliance

Active employees · 4 countries

Team · 12 employees

On payroll

Maria R. 🇵🇭

Finance Analyst · Manila

$2,400/mo

SSS · PhilHealth

On payroll

Thanh N. 🇻🇳

Operations Manager · Hanoi

$3,100/mo

Social insurance

On payroll

Adi S. 🇮🇩

Customer Success · Jakarta

$2,200/mo

BPJS enrolled

Onboarding

Countries

Next payroll

28th

Filings

Current

Pricing

Pricing built around your requirements

EOR pricing depends on the country, headcount, and benefits scope. Tell us who you're employing in China and we'll send an all-in per-employee quote, with no upfront fees, no hidden costs.

Request Custom Price

Costs, comparisons and other markets

Model the numbers before you commit to China.

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EOR Cost Calculator

All-in monthly employment cost by country

EOR vs Entity Calculator

Break-even headcount for your own entity

All EOR Countries

Employment rules across 9 Asian markets

EOR Pricing

How our per-employee fee is structured

EOR in China FAQs

Everything HR and finance need to know.

What does an Employer of Record (EOR) do in China?

An EOR is the legal employer of your team in China. It issues the employment contract, runs payroll, withholds and files income tax, enrolls employees in statutory benefit schemes, and carries the compliance liability, so you can employ there without setting up a local entity.

What roles can I employ in China through an EOR?

Any role you would put on your own payroll: engineering, finance, marketing, sales, operations, customer support, HR, design, and management. EOR is a legal employment arrangement, not a role-specific service. The only exceptions are roles that China law reserves for licensed or entity-employed staff.

How fast can employees be onboarded in China?

Most employees can be onboarded within 5–10 business days, depending on documentation. Contracts, statutory registrations, and payroll setup run in parallel from day one.

Do I maintain control over the work?

Absolutely. You direct work responsibilities, reporting lines, performance management, and team culture. We handle the legal and administrative backend only.

How much does EOR in China cost?

Our EOR fee is a transparent monthly amount per employee, charged on top of their salary and the statutory employer contributions listed above. There are no upfront fees, no setup fees, and no hidden costs.

Can I convert existing China contractors to employees?

Yes. Long-term contractors who work fixed hours under your direction are a misclassification risk in China. We move them onto compliant employment contracts with the statutory entitlements they are owed, under our local entity.

Who owns the IP my China employees create?

You do. Every employment contract we issue includes IP assignment and confidentiality clauses drafted to be enforceable under China law.

Can I offer localized benefits to my China employees?

Yes. We administer local statutory benefits (health, leave, social insurance) plus any optional benefits you want to offer (private health, equipment stipends, learning budgets), all billed through the same monthly invoice.

Employ in China, fully compliant, no entity required.

$0 upfront costs, one monthly fee per employee

Get an EOR Quote