CIIC review: the state-owned HR and dispatch agency for foreign employers in China
China International Intellectech Group, founded in 1987 and administered by the central government, is one of the two state-owned agencies that have staffed foreign representative offices for decades. It is enormous, local and quote-only, and its public figures are years old. We scored it on our eight criteria for a foreign company considering it as an Employer of Record.
The incumbent for dispatch and representative offices, not a modern EOR for a small foreign team.
CIIC is a central state-owned enterprise founded in 1987, headquartered in Beijing, with HR outsourcing, labour dispatch, position outsourcing, payroll, recruitment, training and labour-law consulting across a network it puts at more than 300 cities. Its HR arm filed for a Shanghai main-board listing in 2023 disclosing revenue of about RMB 15.5bn in 2021 and roughly 220,000 people on CIIC labour contracts, then withdrew in 2024. Its Shanghai company is one of the designated providers for foreign enterprises and representative offices, which cannot employ Chinese staff directly and must use an agency such as CIIC or FESCO. That is where CIIC is unmatched: scale, licences and relationships with every labour bureau. It is also where the limits show for a foreign SME: no published prices, no reachable English website at the time of writing, no ratings on any platform, service in Chinese and through local branches, and public figures that stop in 2022. If you are opening a representative office or running a large dispatch programme, CIIC belongs on the list; if you are hiring three engineers in Shenzhen, the platforms will be faster and clearer.
Choose CIIC if you are opening a representative office, which must use a designated agency, or you run a large dispatch or position-outsourcing programme and want the state-owned incumbent. Look elsewhere if you want published prices, English-language onboarding, a named account manager or an EOR for a handful of hires.
Who actually employs your staff: the CIIC group company for your city
CIIC is a group of state-owned companies rather than a single entity. Its HR business, CIIC Co., Ltd. (中智经济技术合作股份有限公司), was the vehicle for the 2023 IPO filing; its Shanghai subsidiary is the designated provider for foreign enterprises and representative offices in that city, and local branches contract in their own cities. Your dispatch or outsourcing contract will be with the relevant group company, and dispatched staff hold a CIIC labour contract.
We could not find a published dispatch licence number, although the licence is implicit in a business whose core is dispatch, nor could we reach an English-language site. Ask the branch for its business licence, dispatch licence and the model (dispatch versus position outsourcing) it proposes.
| Field | What we found |
|---|---|
| Group | China International Intellectech Group, founded 1987, central state-owned enterprise, Beijing |
| HR arm | CIIC Co., Ltd.; Shanghai IPO filed February 2023, withdrawn June 2024 |
| Disclosed scale | Revenue about RMB 15.5bn (2021); about 220,000 people on CIIC contracts at 30 June 2022 |
| Network | 300 to 375 cities, by its own figures (2017–2019) |
| Shanghai arm | Designated provider for foreign enterprises and representative offices; 20,000+ clients, 770,000 employees (c. 2018) |
| Services | HR outsourcing, labour dispatch, position outsourcing, payroll, recruitment, training, labour-law consulting |
| English service | Website unreachable at time of review; capability not verified |
Facts from the IPO filing coverage, China Daily’s central SOE directory and CIIC conference profiles; most are 2017–2022. Ask the local branch for current figures and licences.
Eight criteria, the same for every provider
- State-owned incumbent since 1987 with licensed companies across 300+ cities
- Designated provider for foreign representative offices, which must use an agency
- Scale: about RMB 15.5bn revenue and 220,000 people on its contracts at the last public disclosure
- Full HR outsourcing range: dispatch, position outsourcing, payroll, recruitment, training, labour-law advice
- No published pricing
- No English website reachable; service runs through Chinese-speaking local branches
- No ratings on any review platform; public figures stop in 2022
- Dispatch model means the 10 per cent cap and the temporary, auxiliary or substitute test apply to WFOE clients
- IPO withdrawn in 2024 after a year under review
Dispatch, outsourcing and payroll at state scale
CIIC’s business is the Chinese HR outsourcing market itself: labour dispatch, position outsourcing, payroll and benefits administration, recruitment and training, delivered through city branches. Foreign companies meet it most often as the agency behind a representative office’s staff or a large dispatched workforce.
Labour dispatch and outsourcing
Dispatch under CIIC labour contracts; position outsourcing where the 10% cap bites; the legally required route for representative offices
Payroll and benefits
Payroll, social insurance, housing fund and IIT across 300+ cities; supplementary benefits and training
Recruitment and consulting
Recruitment, training and labour-law consulting through local branches
What CIIC handles for a dispatched or outsourced employee
| Obligation | Status | What we found |
|---|---|---|
| Labour contract | Handled | CIIC labour contract with the dispatched or outsourced worker |
| Social insurance (five funds) | Handled | Registered and paid through the local CIIC company |
| Housing fund | Handled | Registered and contributed locally |
| Individual income tax | Handled | Withheld and filed by the employing CIIC company |
| Dispatch structure and 10% cap | Core service | Licensed dispatch is the core business; position outsourcing offered where the cap applies |
| Representative office staffing | Core service | Designated agency in Shanghai and other cities |
| English-language service | Unverified | Not verified |
What you actually pay for one Shanghai hire on RMB 30,000 a month
CIIC publishes no fees. The example shows statutory employer costs only; expect a monthly service fee per dispatched employee quoted by the local branch.
| Line item (monthly) | RMB |
|---|---|
| Gross monthly salary | 30,000 |
| Employer pension (16%) | 4,800 |
| Employer medical incl. maternity (9%) | 2,700 |
| Unemployment and work injury (approx. 1%) | 300 |
| Housing fund (7%) | 2,100 |
| CIIC service fee | Quote only |
| Statutory employer cost before the fee | ≈ 39,900 |
- Dispatch labour contract and onboarding
- Social insurance, housing fund and IIT administration
- Branch-based HR administration
- Service fee per employee and any deposit
- Supplementary benefits and training
- English-language account management
Illustrative, Shanghai 2026 rates. Ask the branch for its fee schedule and model.
If CIIC is not the fit
RemotePeople
Published price, English-speaking account manager, recruitment and incorporation for a foreign SME.
Read our RemotePeople reviewAcclime
Professional-services alternative with accounting and audit for companies that will incorporate.
Read our Acclime reviewMSA Asia
Incorporation, payroll and EOR from a Shanghai advisory firm with published prices.
Read our MSA Asia reviewCommon questions about CIIC in China
What is CIIC?
Can CIIC act as an Employer of Record?
What does CIIC charge?
Is CIIC listed?
Not sure CIIC is the one?
Compare all fifteen providers on entity, dispatch structure, city coverage and loaded cost, or ask us which route fits your situation.
How this review was made
Scored on the same eight China criteria as every provider on this site. Facts from IPO filing coverage, China Daily’s central SOE directory and CIIC conference profiles, read 24 October 2026; most figures date from 2017–2022. CIIC did not pay for this review and did not see it before publication.
Sources: China Daily directory of central SOEs (2019) · Lanjinger and PEdaily coverage of the CIIC Co., Ltd. IPO filing and withdrawal · CHCF/HRoot CIIC profiles (2018–2019) · China Law & Practice on PRC staffing firms, read 24 October 2026.