The Approval for the Temporary Adjustment of the Implementation in Beijing of the Provisions of Relevant Administrative Regulations and Departmental Rules, issued by China’s State Council, allows for the establishment of for-profit vocational training institutions in Beijing on a wholly foreign-invested basis.
On January 10, 2025, China’s State Council issued the Approval for the Temporary Adjustment of the Implementation in Beijing of the Provisions of Relevant Administrative Regulations and Departmental Rules (“Approval”), which allows for the establishment of for-profit vocational training institutions on a wholly foreign-invested basis. The Approval exempts Beijing from Article 62 of the Regulations on Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education, which prohibits foreign entities from unilaterally establishing educational institutions in China, and explicitly permits foreign entities to establish wholly foreign-invested for-profit vocational training institutions in Beijing.
The Approval comes after several years of efforts to expand foreign investment in vocational education and training in Beijing. Starting in 2020, the Work Plan for Deepening a New Round of Comprehensive Pilot Program for Expanding Opening up in the Service Industry and Building a National Comprehensive Demonstration Zone for Expanding Opening up in the Service Industry in Beijing proposed support for foreign investment in vocational training institutions. The following year, the Official Reply of the State Council on Approving the Temporary Adjustments to the Implementation in Beijing Municipality of Relevant Administrative Regulations and Ministry Rules Approved by the State Council authorized Beijing to develop and release specific administrative measures supporting such foreign investment.
Having received the State Council’s go-ahead, in August 2022 Beijing released the Administrative Measures for Operating For-profit Foreign-Invested Vocational Skills Training Institutions in Beijing (“Measures”) to permit foreign investors to independently invest in vocational training institutions in Beijing, provided that certain conditions are met. With the implementation of the Measures, Beijing now applies similar requirements to foreign and domestic investors. Specifically, the establishment of a for-profit vocational training institution by a foreign entity requires approval from the Beijing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. In order to receive approval, foreign entities must: 1) have legal status and good credit; 2) have investment or management experience in the field of vocational training and be capable of delivering a high-quality vocational program; and 3) have funds to operate the institution. In May 2023, Deloitte Business Skills Training (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of Deloitte Consulting (Holdings) Limited, became the first wholly foreign-invested institution to obtain approval to offer vocational training services in Beijing.
Beijing’s success in opening up its for-profit vocational education and training industry to foreign investment received the State Council’s seal of approval, so to speak, when the Council issued the Approval in 2025.
Implications for U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
These policies, now endorsed through the State Council’s issuance of the Approval, eliminate foreign investment barriers in the for-profit vocational training sector in Beijing. U.S. higher education institutions with an interest in establishing for-profit vocational training in Beijing may now capitalize on these reforms and develop strategies in line with their missions. In contrast to the establishment or delivery of educational programs that confer academic degrees, U.S. educational institutions now do not need to work with local partners to deliver vocational training in Beijing. However, as described above, institutions must still obtain approval from Beijing government authorities prior to the establishment of a vocational program.
Finally, we note that the new policies only apply to the establishment of for-profit vocational training; foreign entities seeking to establish non-profit vocational training programs must still partner with a Chinese institution as required by the Measures for the Administration of Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education on Vocational Skills Training.