COMPUTER SERVICES

Commercial Presence in China
  • Foreign service suppliers may establish joint ventures (with foreign majority ownership permitted) to provide software implementation services (including systems and software consulting, systems analysis, systems design, programming, and systems maintenance services) and data processing (including input preparation services).
  • Foreign services suppliers providing consultancy services related to the installation of computer hardware, as well as data processing and tabulation services and time-sharing services are not subject to market access restrictions and are accorded national treatment.
Presence of Natural Persons in China
  • Foreign individuals in China must be certified engineers or personnel with a Bachelor’s degree and three years experience in the relevant fields.
  • 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
  • The cross-border supply of computer and the related services listed above is not subject to market access restrictions and is accorded national treatment.
Consumption of Services Abroad
  • The provision of these services abroad is not subject to market access restrictions and is accorded 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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