Implementation Measures for the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education
Order No. 20 of the Ministry of Education
The Implementation Measures for the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education, which were adopted ministers' meeting on March 1, 2004, are hereby promulgated and shall come into force on July 1, 2004.
Minister of Education Zhou Ji
June 2, 2004
Chapter I. General Provisions
Article 1 The present Measures are formulated to implement the Regulation of the People's Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education (hereinafter referred to as the RCFCE).
Article 2 The present Measures shall apply to the specific requirements for the establishment, activities and management of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institutions, and the examination, approval and management of Chinese-foreign cooperative education projects according to the RCFCE such as diploma education, self-study examination aids, elementary education remediation and preschool education, etc.
The term Chinese-foreign cooperative education projects as mentioned in the present Measures refers to the cooperative educational and teaching activities between Chinese education institutions and foreign education institutions without establishing any education institution, and the said activities mainly aim to enroll Chinese citizens in the aspects of disciplines, specialties and courses.
In accordance with the provisions of the RCFCE, the measures for the examination, approval and management of Chinese-foreign cooperative education projects relating to the training of occupational skills shall be separately formulated by the labor administrative department of the State Council.
Article 3 The state encourages cooperative education between Chinese education institutions and foreign education institutions whose academic level and educational and teaching quality are universally acknowledged. It encourages the cooperative education activities relating to the subjects, specialties and fields that are new and badly demanded in China.
The state encourages Chinese-foreign cooperative education in China's west regions, remote and poverty-stricken regions.
Article 4 The Chinese-foreign cooperative education institutions shall, according to the Regulations on the Implementation of the Non-state Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China, be entitled to enjoy the support and awards given by the state to non-state schools.
Any private organizations or individuals who have made other outstanding contributions to the development of Chinese-foreign cooperative education shall be given awards by the administrative departments of education.
Chapter II. Establishment of Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education institutions
Article 5 The Chinese and foreign cooperators who intend to carry out Chinese-foreign cooperative education shall enter into cooperative agreements on the basis of equality and negotiation.
A cooperative agreement shall contain the name and address of the to-be-established Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution; the name and address of the Chinese and foreign cooperators, the legal representative, the purposes of running the education institution, the goal of education, the details of cooperative activities and time limit, each party's amount and way of capital contributions, rights and obligations, and the methods for solving disputes, etc.
The cooperative agreement shall be accompanied by a Chinese text. If any text is in a foreign language, its content shall be in conformity to that in Chinese.
Article 6 The Chinese and foreign cooperators who apply for establishing a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall have corresponding qualifications and relatively high education quality.
If a Chinese and foreign cooperator who has already established any Chinese-foreign cooperative institution applies for establishing a new one, the former Chinese-foreign cooperative institution shall have passed the evaluation by the original examination and approval organ or a private intermediary organization upon its authorization.
Article 7 No Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution may establish any branch institution or any other Chinese-foreign cooperative institution.
Article 8 If it is confirmed, upon evaluation, that a Chinese-foreign cooperative institution has brought in foreign quality education resources, either the Chinese or foreign cooperator may sign an agreement with any other private organization or individual so as to get educational fund. This private organization or individual may, as the representative of the Chinese or foreign cooperator signing the said agreement, be a member of the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee of the to-be-established Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, but shall not take the position of the chairman of the executive council, chairman of the board of directors or director of the joint managerial committee, nor participate in the educational and teaching activities of the to-be-established Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution.
Article 9 The investments made by the Chinese and foreign cooperators shall be compatible with the level and scale of the to-be-established Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, and they shall be subject to verification in accordance with the law.
The Chinese and foreign cooperators shall make payments of the operational funds under the cooperative agreement in full amount and in good time. During the existence of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, the Chinese and foreign cooperators shall not withdraw the registered capital, nor may they misappropriate the operating funds.
Article 10 With regard to the intellectual property as the educational investment of a Chinese or foreign cooperator, its price shall be determined by both the Chinese and foreign cooperators according to the principle of fairness and reasonableness or shall be evaluated by a private intermediary organization as agreed by both parties and undergo relevant formalities in pursuance of the law.
Where a Chinese education institution invests state-owned assets in the establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, it shall, according to relevant regulations of the state, hire a private intermediary organization with assessment qualifications to assess the said state-owned assets in accordance with the law. It shall reasonably determine their value on the basis of the assessment result, and shall perform the obligation of managing them.
Article 11 Where a Chinese or foreign cooperator uses intellectual property as its educational investment, it shall submit the pertinent materials of intellectual property, including a photocopy of the intellectual property certificate, valid status, practical value, basis for the price computation and the pricing agreement concluded between both parties, etc.
Article 12 According to the agreements concluded between China and foreign governments or at the request of Chinese education institutions, the administrative department of the State Council and the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government may invite foreign education institutions to cooperate with Chinese education institutions.
An invited foreign education institutions shall be an institution of higher or occupational education that is famous in the world or in the country where it is located.
Article 13 With regard to an application for the establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative educational institution of junior college diploma education or higher, the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the to-be-established institution is located shall give its opinion, then report to the administrative department of education of the State Council for examination and approval.
The provisions in Article 12 of the RCFCE and the preceding Paragraph shall apply, by analogy, to the examination and approval of the applications of Chinese-foreign cooperative education institutions for issuing diploma and degree certificates of foreign education institutions.
Article 14 When applying for the preparatory or direct formal establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, the Chinese cooperator shall submit the documents as required in the RCFCE. Among the said documents, the project report or formal establishment application shall be filled out according to the content and format of the Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education Institution Application Form made by the administrative department of education of the State Council in pursuance of Article 14 (1) and Article 17 (1) of the RCFCE.
Article 15 The examination and approval organ shall not approve the establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution under any of the following circumstances and inform the applicant of the reasons in writing:
(1) In violation of the social public interests, historical and cultural tradition and education's public welfare nature, being inconsistent with the demands of the development of national or local educational undertaking;
(2) Either of the Chinese-foreign cooperators doesn't meet the pertinent requirements;
(3) The cooperative agreement doesn't meet the statutory requirements, but the applicant fails to correct it after having been informed of the circumstance;
(4) The application documents contain any false information; or
(5) Other circumstances under which no approval may be granted in pursuance of the law and administrative regulation.
Article 16 The articles of association of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall specify the following matters:
(1) The name and address of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution;
(2) The purposes, scale, level and category of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution;
(3) The amount, sources and nature of the school assets and financial accounting system;
(4) Whether the Chinese-foreign cooperators demand reasonable returns;
(5) The method for establishing the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee, personnel composition, power, term of office and rules of procedure;
(6) The procedures for the appointment and dismissal of the legal representative;
(7) The forms of democratic management and supervision;
(8) The reasons and procedures for termination, and methods of liquidation;
(9) The procedure for modifying the articles of association; and
(10) Other matters that shall be prescribed in the articles of association.
Article 17 A Chinese-foreign cooperative institution can only use one name. The name translated into a foreign language shall be in conformity to the one in Chinese.
The name of a Chinese-foreign cooperative institution shall reflect its nature, level and type, it shall not contain such words as China, Chinese and national (Zhongguo, Chinese and Quanguode) etc. It shall not be in violation of Chinese law and administrative regulation, nor may it impair the public interests.
A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution without legal person qualifications shall not be named as an institution for higher education of China.
Article 18 Anyone who applies for formal establishment after having completed the preparatory establishment or directly applies for the formal establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, it shall not only submit the relevant materials as listed in Article 17 of the RCFCE, but also the following:
(1) The names of the initial executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee and the pertinent certification documents;
(2) The relevant qualification certification documents of the hired foreign teachers and managerial personnel;
Article 19 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution that intends to engage in diploma education shall file an application in March or September every year. The examination and approval organ shall organize experts to evaluate the application.
The time limit for examination and approval doesn't include the time of expert evaluation, but the examination and approval organ shall inform the applicant, in writing, the necessary time of expert evaluation.
Article 20 Anyone who has completed the preparatory establishment and applies for the formal establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall be disapproved by the examination and approval organ and shall be given written
explanations if it is under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Having no corresponding conditions for the establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution, and thus failing to meet the corresponding standards;
(2) The personnel composition of the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee doesn't meet the statutory requirements, or the schoolmaster or major administrative person-in-charge, teachers or accounting personnel do not have legal qualifications, the applicant fails to get right after having been informed of the circumstance;
(3) The articles of association don't meet the requirements of the RCFCE and the present Measures, the applicant fails to correct them after having been informed of the circumstance; or
(4) Violating any law or regulation during the preparatory establishment period.
Anyone who applies for the direct establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall disapproved by the examination and approval organ if it is under any of the circumstances as mentioned in Items (1), (2) and (3) of the preceding Paragraph or any of the circumstances as listed in Article 15 of the present Measures.
Chapter III. Organization and Activity of A Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education Institution
Article 21 Any member of the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee of a Chinese-foreign Cooperative education institution shall abide by the Chinese laws and regulations, love the education undertaking, have good ethics, and have full civil capacity.
No functionary of a state organ may be a member of the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution.
Article 22 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall hire a full-time schoolmaster or major administrative person-in-charge.
The schoolmaster or major administrative person-in-charge shall independently exercise the educational, teaching and administrative management powers.
Article 23 The proposal for the establishment of instrumentalities of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall be put forward by the schoolmaster or the major administrative person-in-charge, and shall be reported to the executive council, board of directors or joint managerial committee for approval.
Article 24 A Chinese-foreign cooperative institution shall establish rules and bylaws regarding the training of teachers. It shall provide the employed teachers with corresponding professional training conditions.
Article 25 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall offer corresponding curricula, carry out educational and teaching activities and guarantee the educational and teaching quality according to the commitments in the enrollment brochures and advertisements.
The Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall have schoolhouses and teaching facilities and equipment that can meet the standards.
Article 26 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall independently determine the enrollment scope, standards and ways in accordance with the law. However, it shall abide by the relevant regulations of the state when enrolling students to accept diploma-oriented higher education.
Article 27 Where a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution engaging in diploma-oriented higher education meets the requirements for granting degrees, it may apply for the qualifications of granting degrees under relevant provisions of the state.
Article 28 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall, in accordance with the law, manage and use its assets independently, but it shall not change the uses of the land and schoolhouses obtained in the name of public welfare undertaking.
No Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution may engage in for-profit activities.
Article 29 By the end of each fiscal year, a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall retain not less than 25% of its yearly increase of net assets or net yields as the development fund for the construction and maintenance of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution and the purchase and replacement of teaching equipment if the Chinese-foreign Cooperators haven't demanded any reasonable return or if the Chinese-foreign cooperators have demanded reasonable returns.
Article 30 The state-owned assets among the assets of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall be subject to supervision and management according to the relevant provisions of the state.
The donation properties accepted by a Chinese-foreign education institution shall be used and managed in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Donations to Public Welfare Undertaking.
Article 31 The seasonal returns demanded by Chinese-foreign cooperators shall be implemented in accordance with the Regulation on the Implementation of the Non-state Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 32 The Chinese-foreign cooperators may obtain no returns if the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution is under any of the following circumstances:
(1) Issuing false enrollment brochures or advertisements for the purpose of swindling money or property;
(2) Increasing fee-charging items or standards without permission and the circumstance is serious;
(3) Illegally issuing or counterfeiting diplomas, degree certificates or vocational qualification certificates;
(4) Having obtained a school license by means of cheating, or counterfeiting, altering, buying, selling, leasing or lending a school license;
(5) Failing to conduct accounting computation, formulate financial accounting statements according to the Accounting Law of the People's Republic of China and unified accounting system of the state, and the finance and assets management is in a mess;
(6) Having been punished by the tax organ due to violating the laws and administrative regulations of the state on the administration of tax collection;
(7) There is any serious hidden safety risk in the schoolhouses or other educational and teaching facilities and equipment, but it fails to take any measures in time and causes any serious casualties; or
(8) The educational and teaching quality is poor, which produces bad consequences in the society.
A Chinese or foreign cooperator that withdraws the registered capital away or misappropriates the educational fund shall not get any returns.
Chapter IV. Examination and Approval of Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education projects and Activities
Article 33 The level and type of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall be in line with those of the Chinese education institution and the foreign education institution, and generally, the Chinese education institution shall have already held identical or similar specialty and course. When opening a new specialty or course through cooperation, the Chinese education institution shall have essential teachers, equipment and facilities for doing so.
Article 34 A Chinese education institution may launch a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project by formulating an educational and teaching plan jointly with a foreign education institution of same level and type, issuing Chinese diploma and degree certificates or foreign diploma and degree certificates, and carrying out some educational and teaching activities outside China.
Article 35 When launching a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project, the Chinese education institution and the foreign education institution shall enter into a cooperative agreement with reference to Article 5 of the present Measures.
Article 36 With regard to an application for a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project of diploma-oriented higher education, the administrative department of education of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government where the said project is to be launched shall give its opinions, and then submit it to the education administrative department of the State Council for approval. An application for a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project of junior college education, superior secondary education, self-study examination aids, elementary education remediation or preschool education shall be submitted to the education administrative department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, municipality directly under the Central Government, in which the said project is to be launched, for approval, and shall be reported to the education administrative department of the State Council for archival purposes.
The examination and approval of a Chinese-foreign cooperative project relating to the issuance of the diploma and degree certificates of the foreign education institution, the use of its name, mark or educational service trade mark shall be implemented with reference to the preceding Paragraph.
Article 37 When applying for launching a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project, the Chinese education institution shall submit the following documents:
(1) A Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education Project Application Form;
(2) A cooperative agreement;
(3) The legal person qualification certifications of the Chinese-foreign cooperators;
(4) The capital verification certification (if there are asset or monetary investments); and
(5) The donation asset agreement and relevant certification (if there is a donation).
A foreign education institution that has established or launched any Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project shall submit the evaluation report issued by the original examination and approval organ or its authorized private intermediary organization.
Article 38 Anyone who intends to launch a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project of diploma education shall file an application in March or September every year. The examination and approval organ shall organize experts to evaluate the application.
The time limit for examination and approval doesn't include the time of expert evaluation, but the examination and approval organ shall inform the applicant, in writing, the necessary time of expert evaluation.
Article 39 Anyone applies for launching a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project, the examination and approval organ shall decide whether to approve within the time limit as specified in the Administrative License Law of the People's Republic of China. If approves, it shall issue a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project approval document in a uniform format and serial number. If disapproves, it shall explain the reasons to the applicant in writing.
The format and serial number of the Chinese-foreign cooperative education project approval documents shall be decided by the education administrative department of the State Council. The measures for numbering the said approval documents shall be formulated by the education administrative department of the State Council with reference to the measures for numbering the Chinese-foreign cooperative education licenses.
Article 40 The Chinese-foreign cooperative education projects are a part of the educational and teaching activities of Chinese education institutions, which shall be subject to the management of Chinese education institutions. With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project carrying out Chinese diploma education, the Chinese education institution shall evaluate the courses offered by the foreign education institution and its educational quality.
Article 41 The cooperators of a Chinese-foreign cooperative project may, in accordance with the law, determine the scope, standard and method of enrollment by themselves. However, they shall comply with the relevant provisions of the state if they carry out Chinese diploma education.
Article 42 The Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall manage financial affairs pertinent to the said project in pursuance of the law, and shall set up a special item for the Chinese-foreign cooperative education project under its financial account so as to handle the receipts and payments in a unified way.
Article 43 The charging items and standards pertinent to Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall be determined in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State, and shall be specified in the enrollment brochures and advertisements.
The surplus of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall be continuously used in the education and teaching activities and to improve the education conditions.
Chapter V. Management and Supervision
Article 44 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or a Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall, under relevant provisions of the state, introduce textbooks through lawful channels. The content of a textbook introduced into China shall be advanced, it shall not be contradictory to the Constitution and other relevant laws and regulations of China.
The Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or the Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall check and verify the content of the to-be-offered courses and textbooks, and shall timely submit a checklist of courses and textbooks and a statement to the examination and approval organ for archival purposes.
Article 45 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or a Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall formulate rules and bylaws for the management of students' records and teaching activities, and submit them to the examination and approval organ for archival purposes.
Article 46 When hiring a teacher or managerial personnel, the Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or the Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall, in compliance with the principle that both parties have equal status, conclude an employment contract with him (her), clarifying the rights and obligations of both parties.
Article 47 The sample enrollment brochure and advertisement of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution and project shall be timely submitted to the examination and approval organ for archival purposes.
Article 48 With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project relating to the issuance of diploma and degree certificates of a foreign education institution, the Chinese cooperator shall be a Chinese education institution carrying out the same level and type of diploma education.
With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project relating to the issuance of diploma and degree certificates of a foreign education institution, the courses and teaching contents shall not be inferior to the standards and requirements of the country where the foreign education institution is located.
Article 49 The diploma and degree certificates issued by a foreign education institution in a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall be identical with those issued by the foreign education institution in the country where it is located, and shall be acceptable in this country.
Article 50 With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project of diploma education, its level and type, specialties, courses, enrollment scale and charging items and standards shall be announced to the general public every year.
A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution shall, prior to April 1 each year, disclose the audit conclusion made by a private audit institution to its annual financial accounting statements.
Article 51 With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project of diploma education, the tuition shall be charged every academic year or semester. No advance tuition may be charged beyond an academic year or semester.
Article 52 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or a Chinese education institution that launches a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project shall, by the end of March of every year, submit the examination and approval organ a education report, which shall cover the basic information of the enrolled students, courses, teachers, teaching quality and finance status relating to the said Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or project.
Article 53 The examination and approval organ shall organize or authorize a private intermediary organization to evaluate the education quality of a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project of diploma education under the principle of publicity, impartiality and equality, and it shall announce the evaluation result to the general public.
Article 54 Where an examination and approval organ of Chinese-foreign cooperative education or any of its functionaries accepts property or gets other benefits from others by taking advantage of the post, abuses the powers, neglects the duties, issue approval documents for Chinese-foreign cooperative education to those not in conformity with the present Measures, or fails to investigate and punish the illegal acts found out, if the circumstance is serious and any crime is constituted, the direct liable person-in-charge and other direct liable persons shall be subject to criminal liabilities; if no crime is constituted, they shall be given an administrative sanction.
Article 55 If any organ, in violation of the present Regulation, examines and approves Chinese-foreign cooperative education institutions beyond the limit of its authority, the approval documents issued by it shall be invalidated and it shall be ordered to get right by the organ at a higher level; moreover, the direct liable person-in-charge and other direct liable persons shall be given an administrative sanction pursuant to the law.
Article 56 If any one, in violation of the present Regulations, launches any Chinese-foreign cooperative education project without approval, it (he) shall ordered to get right within a time limit and to refund the students the relevant fees charged by it by the administrative department of education; and the direct liable person-in-charge and other direct liable persons shall be given an administrative sanction in accordance with the law.
Article 57 Where a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project is under any of the following circumstances, the pertinent cooperators shall be ordered to get right within a time limit by the examination and approval organ and shall, in light of the seriousness of the actual circumstance, be given a warning or be fined not more than 30, 000 yuan. The direct liable person-in-charge and other direct liable persons shall be given an administrative sanction in pursuance of the law.
(1) Disseminating false enrollment brochures and swindling money or property;
(2) Increasing items of fees or standards for fees without permission and the circumstance is serious;
(3) The management is in a mess, and the education and teaching quality is poor;
(4) Failing to conduct finance management according to the relevant provisions of the state; or
(5) Having distributed the surplus.
Article 58 A Chinese-foreign cooperative education institution or the cooperators of a Chinese-foreign cooperative project who issues, in violation of the Education Law of the People's Republic of China, diploma, degree certificate or any other schooling certificate shall be punished in accordance with the Education Law of the People's Republic of China.
Chapter VI. Supplementary Provisions
Article 59 The present Measures shall not apply to the cooperative educational training activities of a Chinese for-profit training institution registered in the administrative department for industry and commerce and foreign for-profit training institution.
Article 60 Where a Chinese education institution fails to bring in substantial foreign educational resources, it only carries out student exchange activities with any foreign education institution by way of acknowledging the credits of each other, the present Measures shall not apply.
Article 61 The present Measures shall, by analogy, apply to the cooperation between an education institution of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region or Taiwan Region and an education institution in the Mainland in running a cooperative education project, unless it is otherwise provided for by the state.
Article 62 With regard to a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project that has been approved before the RCFCE came into effect, the parties concerned shall, according to the time limit and procedures as described in Article 63 of the RCFCE, go through after-the-event formalities for obtaining a Chinese-foreign cooperative education project approval. If it doesn't meet the requirements as listed in the RCFCE and the present Measures within the time limit, the examination and approval organ shall not change its project approval.
Article 63 The present Measures shall be implemented as of July 1, 2004. The Interim Provisions on Chinese-foreign Cooperative Education issued by the former State Education Commission of the People's Republic of China on January 26, 1995 shall be abolished simultaneously.
