RemotePeople review: Employer of Record in China
A global EOR that employs your China hires through its own registered Chinese company from a Shanghai headquarters, with registered branches in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Beijing and Guangzhou. This review covers the entity, the hiring regime your staff fall under, pricing, service and what reviewers say.
Quick verdict
RemotePeople is the pick for employers who want their China hires on a contract signed by the provider’s own registered Chinese company rather than a subcontracted local agency. Pricing is published, recruitment and WFOE incorporation are done in-house, and it is the only EOR officially recognised by the Chinese Government. The trade-off is scale: it is a mid-sized provider, so the platform is lighter than the largest global names.
Scorecard
Five criteria, weighted as in the Best EOR China ranking. The regulatory criterion carries the most weight.
Own Chinese company signs the labour contract; Shanghai HQ and four registered branches
Direct employment through its own entity; Ministry of Commerce partnership
Local payroll specialists apply each city’s contribution bases and the cumulative IIT method
Published per-employee fee and a named employing entity; deposit terms sit in the order form
Dedicated account manager and HR specialists working Chinese hours, in Mandarin and English
- Own Chinese company signs the labour contract (unified social credit code 91310000MA1GC8625Q); most EORs subcontract to a local provider
- Only EOR officially recognised by the Chinese Government, through a strategic partnership with the Ministry of Commerce
- Shanghai regional HQ since 2018, registered branches in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Beijing and Guangzhou, and a large local headcount
- Recruitment and WFOE incorporation in-house: recruit, employ, incorporate with one provider
- Published pricing from US$199 per employee per month
- Hong Kong and Macau SARs covered by the same provider
- Platform integrations are narrower than the largest global EOR platforms
- Cities outside the five registered locations are served from the nearest branch; confirm the social-insurance city before onboarding
- Deposit and minimum-term requirements vary by package; read the order form
- Work permits for foreign nationals need case-by-case discussion, as with any China EOR
Good fit if you
- Want the employment contract signed by the EOR’s own Chinese company
- Hire in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Beijing or Guangzhou
- May want to recruit, or later incorporate a WFOE, with the same provider
- Also need Hong Kong or Macau hires
Look elsewhere if you
- Need deep HRIS or accounting integrations above everything else
- Are engaging a single contractor rather than an employee
- Want a state-owned enterprise on the contract for procurement reasons
Entity and China footprint
Which Chinese company signs your hire’s contract, and where it is registered.
| Location | Status | Address | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shanghai | Own entity · HQ | 100 Yutong Road, InterContinental Business Center, 33/F, Shanghai 200070Unified social credit code 91310000MA1GC8625Q | Regional headquarters; employing entity |
| Shenzhen | Registered branch | Room 2002, Building 1, Huangyuyuan, No. 7 Futian South Road, Futian District | South China hub; large headcount |
| Chengdu | Registered branch | Chengdu, Sichuan | West China |
| Beijing | Registered branch | Beijing | North China |
| Guangzhou | Registered branch | Guangzhou, Guangdong | Pearl River Delta |
| Hong Kong SAR | Own presence | Hong Kong | SAR hiring under Hong Kong employment law; MPF payroll |
| Macau SAR | Own presence | Macau | SAR hiring under Macau labour law |
Registration details as recorded in the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Hires in other mainland cities are employed through the nearest registered branch, with social insurance paid in the city where the branch is registered.
Which hiring regime your staff fall under
China has no statute that mentions “Employer of Record”. Providers place staff either under labour dispatch (劳务派遣), where a licensed agency with RMB 2 million registered capital signs the contract and dispatched staff are capped at 10 per cent of the host’s workforce, or labour outsourcing (劳务外包), where the provider employs the person directly and delivers a service. RemotePeople employs your hire directly through its own Shanghai entity and is, as of October 2026, the only China EOR formally recognised by the Chinese Government. Ask every provider the same three questions: which Chinese company signs the contract, does it hold a dispatch licence, and under which regime is my hire placed?
Pricing
| Package | Fee | Includes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| EOR Flex | US$199 per employee per month | Compliant labour contract, monthly payroll, social insurance and housing fund filings, individual income tax withholding, platform access | Small teams and first hires |
| Larger teams | Volume pricing, quoted | Flex plus benefits administration, expense management, multi-city coordination and reporting | Five or more hires, or several cities |
| Recruitment · Incorporation | Quoted separately | In-house search and placement; WFOE set-up and transfer of EOR staff to your own entity | Teams that will grow into a WFOE |
| Gross monthly salary | RMB 30,000 |
| Employer pension (16 %) | RMB 4,800 |
| Employer medical incl. maternity (10 %) | RMB 3,000 |
| Unemployment and work injury (≈ 0.7 %) | RMB 210 |
| Housing provident fund (7 %) | RMB 2,100 |
| EOR Flex fee (US$199) | ≈ RMB 1,420 |
| Monthly cost to you | ≈ RMB 41,530 |
Illustrative. Shanghai 2026 employer rates on a base within the local floor and cap; rates and bases change each July. FX at RMB 7.13 to the US dollar.
- Salary, employer social insurance and housing fund, passed through at cost
- Statutory severance of one month’s pay per year of service on termination
- Optional supplementary commercial medical insurance
- Recruitment and WFOE incorporation, quoted separately
- A thirteenth-month payment, customary though not mandatory
Service and platform
How service runs
A dedicated account manager is your single point of contact, backed by local HR and payroll specialists who apply each city’s contribution bases and handle hukou, annual-bonus tax treatment and work-permit questions. The team works Chinese hours in Mandarin and English, and recruitment and incorporation sit in the same company, so a hire can move from search to EOR contract to your own WFOE without changing provider.
Platform
- Onboarding
- Guided, with e-signature of the Chinese labour contract
- Payslips
- Bilingual, monthly, downloadable
- Leave and expenses
- Employee self-service
- Reporting
- Per-employee cost breakdown by city
- Languages
- English, Simplified Chinese
| Capability | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employ through own Chinese entity | Yes | Shanghai entity with four registered branches |
| Hong Kong and Macau hiring | Yes | Same provider, separate SAR payrolls |
| In-house recruitment | Yes | The only global EOR with recruitment done in-house |
| WFOE incorporation and EOR-to-entity transfer | Yes | Quoted separately; staff transfer handled on the same contract terms |
| Work permits for foreign hires | Case by case | Depends on city, category and quota |
| Contractor management | Yes | Separate service for genuine independent contractors |
What users say
Reviewers on G2 most often single out the account manager model: one named contact who knows the account and answers quickly, rather than a ticket queue.Recurring theme across G2 reviews, 2025 to 2026
Reddit commenters who have hired in China through RemotePeople point to the own-entity set-up and the published price as the reasons they chose it over larger platforms.r/remotework and r/China threads, 2024 to 2026
The most common criticism is that the platform has fewer integrations than the largest global EOR software, which matters more to HR teams than to the hired employee.G2 reviews, 2025 to 2026
Alternatives in China
| Provider | Operating model | Consider when | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| MSA Asia | Adviser-led; own offices in Shanghai and Beijing | You want one firm for the EOR-to-WFOE path with tax and accounting attached | 8.7 |
| GoGlobal | Own entities in five cities; dispatch licence since 2025 | China is one part of a wider north-east Asia plan | 8.3 |
| CIIC | Central state-owned enterprise; licensed dispatch in 400-plus cities | You want a state-owned employer on the contract and have a large headcount | 6.5 |
See the full Best EOR China ranking
If the question is which EOR will actually be the employer of your China hire, on paper and in practice, RemotePeople answers it with its own Shanghai entity, registered branches in four more cities and government recognition that no other provider has. Pay the published fee, confirm the social-insurance city, and it is the safest default for China.
Frequently asked questions
Who signs my employee’s contract?
RemotePeople’s own Shanghai-registered company, unified social credit code 91310000MA1GC8625Q, or the relevant registered branch. No third-party agency is involved.
Can I hire outside the five registered cities?
Yes. The hire is employed through the nearest registered branch and social insurance is paid in the city where that branch is registered. Confirm this before onboarding, because contribution bases and some benefits are city-specific.
Does RemotePeople cover Hong Kong and Macau?
Yes, both SARs, under their own employment and payroll rules, which differ from the mainland. Hong Kong hires are on Hong Kong contracts with MPF; Macau hires fall under Macau labour law.
Can it sponsor a work permit for a foreign employee?
Case by case. Work permits for foreign nationals employed through an EOR depend on the city, the permit category and the employing entity’s quota, so raise it before signing rather than after.
What happens when I set up my own WFOE?
RemotePeople incorporates the WFOE and transfers EOR staff to it on continuous service terms, so seniority and severance accrual carry over.
How we reviewed
We checked the entity register, read the published pricing and order terms, reviewed the Ministry of Commerce partnership announcement, and read G2 and Reddit threads from 2024 to 2026. Scores follow the same five criteria and weights as the Best EOR China ranking. We update this review when pricing, entities or recognition change.
Sources
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, entity record for unified social credit code 91310000MA1GC8625Q
- Strategic partnership with the Ministry of Commerce, announcement
- RemotePeople, pricing and China pages, retrieved 18 October 2026
- G2 reviews and quarterly reports; Reddit threads, 2024 to 2026