CIIC review: Employer of Record in China
China International Intellectech Group is a central state-owned enterprise founded in 1987 to place staff with the representative offices of foreign companies, and it still does that at national scale. This review covers its licensed dispatch model, footprint, pricing, service and how it compares for a foreign company making a first hire.
Quick verdict
CIIC is as safe as any employer in China on the regulatory criterion: a central state-owned enterprise under SASAC holding dispatch licences in its own name across more than 400 cities, with nearly four decades of placing staff with foreign-invested companies. It ranks ninth because the product is built for large employers already in China, not for a foreign SME making a first hire: onboarding is process-heavy, English-language account management is not the default, there is no published pricing and no self-service platform.
Scorecard
Five criteria, weighted as in the Best EOR China ranking. The regulatory criterion carries the most weight.
Own licensed entities nationally; regional subsidiaries in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and elsewhere sign the contract
Licensed dispatch in its own name; the ten per cent cap and the temporary, auxiliary or substitute test still apply to your hire
City-level payroll run by regional units with decades of local filing experience
No published pricing; deposit, regime and termination terms arrive in a Chinese-language service agreement
Service is organised by region, not around your account; English-language contact is uneven
- Licensed labour dispatch in its own name, run by a central state-owned enterprise under SASAC
- Service network across more than 400 Chinese cities, with offices in Hong Kong and Macau
- Labour dispatch, personnel administration, payroll and tax, benefits, recruitment, training and work-permit handling under one roof
- Nearly four decades of placing staff with foreign-invested companies; with FESCO, one of the two original Chinese answers to hiring without an entity
- Awards including the Shanghai Quality Gold Award (2013) and Shanghai Brand certification (2018) for its Shanghai unit
- Built for large employers; a small foreign hirer gets a regional process rather than a named account manager
- English-language service is uneven; confirm who your contact is and in which language before signing
- No published pricing and no self-service platform or employee app
- Dispatch means your hire counts against the ten per cent cap and must fit the temporary, auxiliary or substitute test; ask how CIIC positions a permanent core role
Good fit if you
- Already run a Chinese entity or representative office and need dispatched staff at scale
- Want a state-owned employer on the contract for procurement or counterparty reasons
- Hire in cities where international EORs have no branch
- Have Mandarin-speaking HR who can manage a regional process
Look elsewhere if you
- Are a foreign SME making a first hire with no entity in China
- Need an English-speaking account manager and a platform
- Want a published fee before you talk to anyone
Entity and China footprint
CIIC is a group of licensed regional companies rather than a single employer. The subsidiary for your hire’s city signs the dispatch contract.
| Location | Status | Address | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beijing | Group HQ | Building A, No. 2 Xinjiekou Outer Street, Xicheng District, Beijing | Head office of China International Intellectech Group |
| Shanghai | Own licensed subsidiary | Shanghai | CIIC Shanghai: 20,000-plus client companies, 770,000 employees |
| Shenzhen · Guangzhou | Own licensed subsidiaries | Guangdong | South China dispatch and payroll |
| Other mainland cities | Service network | More than 400 cities | Regional subsidiaries and branches |
| Hong Kong SAR | Own office | Hong Kong | Hong Kong employment and cross-border staff |
| Macau SAR | Own office | Macau | Macau employment |
Ask for the full company name and unified social credit code of the subsidiary that will sign your hire’s contract; it differs by city.
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. CIIC is a licensed dispatch agency and that is its default for foreign clients: a CIIC regional company signs the labour contract and dispatches the worker to you. The regime is lawful and long established, but the ten per cent cap and the temporary, auxiliary or substitute test apply, and a foreign company with no Chinese entity has no local headcount against which to measure the cap. Ask in writing how CIIC positions your hire and whether an outsourcing contract is available instead.
Pricing
| Service | Fee | Includes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labour dispatch / EOR | On quotation; no published rate card | Dispatch contract, monthly payroll, IIT withholding, social insurance and housing fund filings, personnel file administration | Representative offices and FIEs needing dispatched staff |
| Personnel administration and payroll | On quotation | Payroll and tax, benefits, hukou and personnel file services for staff on your own entity’s contracts | Companies with their own Chinese entity |
| Recruitment, training, visas | On quotation | Search and headhunting, corporate training, work permit and residence permit handling | Larger programmes |
| 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 |
| CIIC service fee | Per quotation |
| Monthly cost before fee | ≈ RMB 40,110 |
Illustrative. Shanghai 2026 employer rates on a base within the local floor and cap. Dispatch fees from state-owned agencies are typically quoted per head per month and fall with volume.
- Salary, employer social insurance and housing fund, passed through at cost
- Statutory severance of one month’s pay per year of service on termination
- Supplementary commercial insurance and benefits, quoted separately
- Recruitment, training and work-permit services, on separate agreements
- A thirteenth-month payment, customary though not mandatory
Service and platform
How service runs
Service is delivered by the regional subsidiary for your city through its dispatch and personnel administration teams. Payroll, social insurance and housing fund filings are handled locally with decades of experience of each city’s bureaux, and the group runs recruitment, training, benefits and work-permit lines alongside. For a large employer with Mandarin-speaking HR this is dependable. For a foreign company with a single hire and no local HR, the absence of a named English-speaking account manager is the main practical obstacle.
Platform
- Onboarding
- Paper and email process through the regional unit
- Payslips
- Monthly, Chinese language
- Leave and expenses
- Managed through your own HR; no employee app
- Reporting
- Standard payroll reports by request
- Languages
- Mandarin; English on request
| Capability | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed labour dispatch in own name | Yes | Nationally, through regional licensed subsidiaries |
| Hong Kong and Macau hiring | Yes | Own offices in both SARs |
| Recruitment and training | Yes | Headhunting and corporate training are core group segments |
| Work permits for foreign hires | Yes | Long experience with foreign staff at representative offices |
| English-language account management | Confirm | Not the default; agree the contact and language in the service agreement |
| Self-service platform | No | Regional process |
What users say
HR managers at foreign-invested enterprises describe CIIC as dependable on filings and bureaux relationships, the reason large employers keep it for dispatched and administrative staff.Recurring theme from FIE HR discussions, 2024 to 2026
The complaint from smaller foreign companies is consistent: a regional process with no single contact, Chinese-language paperwork, and slow responses in English.Expatriate business forums, 2024 to 2026
Nobody questions whether CIIC is a lawful employer; the question raised is whether it is the right fit for a first hire by a company with no one in China.Editorial assessment
Alternatives in China
| Provider | Operating model | Consider when | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| RemotePeople | Own Chinese entity; direct employment; Shanghai HQ and four registered branches | You want the EOR’s own company on the contract, a published fee, an English-speaking account manager and a platform | 9.2 |
| 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 |
| FESCO Adecco | Shanghai JV between Beijing FESCO and the Adecco Group; licensed dispatch | You want the other incumbent with an international partner on the board | 7.7 |
See the full Best EOR China ranking
CIIC is the state’s own answer to hiring in China without an entity, and for a large employer with local HR it remains a dependable one. A foreign company making its first China hire will find the process, the language and the absence of a price list hard going, and will be better served by a provider built around that customer.
Frequently asked questions
Who signs my employee’s contract?
The licensed CIIC regional company for your hire’s city signs a labour contract with the worker and a dispatch agreement with you. Ask for that company’s full name and unified social credit code.
Is labour dispatch legal for a permanent role?
Dispatch is regulated by the Labour Contract Law and the 2014 Interim Provisions: roles should be temporary, auxiliary or substitute and dispatched staff capped at ten per cent of the host’s workforce. Enforcement varies by city. Ask CIIC in writing how it positions a permanent, core role and whether an outsourcing contract is available.
Is there English-language support?
On request, not by default. Agree the named contact and working language in the service agreement before you sign.
What does CIIC charge?
There is no published rate card. Fees are quoted per head per month and fall with volume; expect the quote to arrive with a Chinese-language service agreement setting out deposit and termination terms.
Does CIIC cover Hong Kong and Macau?
Yes, through its own offices in both Special Administrative Regions, under each SAR’s employment law.
How we reviewed
We read the group’s corporate profile, the CIIC Shanghai service pages, the China Daily enterprise profile and the LinkedIn company page, and compared the dispatch model against the Labour Contract Law and the 2014 Interim Provisions. Scores follow the same five criteria and weights as the Best EOR China ranking. We update this review when the model, footprint or pricing changes.
Sources
- China International Intellectech Group, corporate site
- CIIC Shanghai, company profile
- China Daily, China International Intellectech Co (CIIC), enterprise profile
- Labour Contract Law of the PRC, Articles 57 to 67; Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch, 2014