ARCHITECTURAL, ENGINEERING, AND URBAN PLANNING SERVICES

Commercial Presence in China
  • Foreign service suppliers may provide architectural, engineering (including integrated engineering), and urban planning services through joint ventures, with foreign majority ownership permitted. By December 11, 2006, wholly foreign-owned enterprises will be permitted. 
  • Foreign service suppliers must be registered architects/engineers or enterprises offering architectural/engineering/urban planning services in their home country.
Presence of Natural Persons in China
  • Managers, executives, and specialists of a representative office, branch, or subsidiary in China, temporarily moving as intra-corporate transferees, will be permitted an initial stay of three years.
  • Managers, executives, and specialists of foreign-invested enterprises in China will be granted a long-term stay permit as stipulated in the terms of contracts concerned or an initial stay of three years, whichever is shorter.
  • Service salespersons who are not based in China, and who meet certain other conditions set out in China’s services schedule, are limited to a 90-day stay.
Cross-Border Supply of Services
  • Cooperation with Chinese professional organizations is required for the cross-border supply of architectural, engineering, and urban planning services, except for scheme design. 
  • There are no other limitations on national treatment.
Acquired Rights of Foreign Service Suppliers
  • The conditions of ownership, operation, and scope of activities for an existing foreign service supplier, as set out in the supplier’s contract or shareholders’ agreement or in a  license establishing or authorizing the supplier’s operation or supply of services, will not be made more restrictive than they were on December 11, 2001.

December 2001
Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
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