Implementing Measures for the PRC Regulations on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (2004)

Instrument summary

The Implementing Measures for the Regulations of the PRC on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools were adopted at a Minister’s meeting on 1 March 2004, promulgated by the Ministry of Education as Order No. 20 on 2 June 2004, and entered into force on 1 July 2004. They were issued to implement the 2003 Regulations (documented in a separate archive entry) and to set out the concrete procedures for establishing and managing cooperative education institutions and projects.

The Measures apply to the specific norms governing the establishment, activities, and administration of Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run schools, as well as to the examination, approval, and administration of cooperative education projects that offer qualifications, tutoring for self-taught examinations, supplementary teaching, and pre-school education. They define a “cooperative education project” as teaching activity jointly conducted by a Chinese and a foreign institution in disciplines, specialties, or courses, without establishing a separate education institution, and mainly recruiting Chinese citizens.

By their own terms, the Measures repealed the Provisional Measures Governing Chinese-foreign Jointly Run Schools promulgated by the former State Education Commission on 26 January 1995, marking the move from provisional rules to a consolidated implementing framework.

Policy context

The Measures were issued under the policy direction set by the 2003 Regulations: expanding opening-up, introducing recognised high-quality foreign educational resources, and encouraging cooperation in emerging and urgently needed disciplines and in China’s western, remote, and less-developed regions. They translate that direction into operational requirements.

A notable feature is the recognition of institutional continuity. The Measures provide that cooperatively-run schools already approved before the 2003 Regulations took effect must, within a specified period, meet the requirements for a certificate of approval; those that fail to meet the requirements within the period are not granted such a certificate. This grandfathering rule smoothed the transition from the 1995 provisional regime to the new statutory one.

The Measures also clarify the treatment of cooperation involving institutions from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the Taiwan region of China: the Measures apply to such cooperation with the mainland unless otherwise specified by the state, underscoring the cross-border scope of the framework.

Relationship to TNE

The 2004 Measures are the operational layer for the two mainland-China TNE modalities anchored by the 2003 Regulations:

1. Cooperative institutions (joint institutions) · The Measures set out the steps for signing a cooperation agreement, the qualifications of the cooperating parties, the prohibition on establishing branch schools or other cooperatively-run schools, and the capital-contribution and evaluation requirements.
2. Cooperative projects (joint programmes) · The Measures define projects offered without a separate institution and set the examination-and-approval pathway for projects in academic-qualification, self-study tutoring, supplementary, and pre-school education.

The Measures thus determine, at the procedural level, how a foreign institution may enter the mainland market through either route, and they make prior approval and ongoing compliance conditions explicit. They are the instrument most often consulted when verifying whether a given joint institution or joint programme was lawfully established and remains in good standing.

[Verification: The Measures have been read against the consolidated text as published on gov.cn. Readers should confirm any article-level detail against the current version, as subsequent amendments to the parent Regulation and related rules may affect specific procedures.]

Key provisions

1. Cooperation agreement · Parties must sign a cooperation agreement on equal terms, in Chinese, covering name, parties, objectives, content and term, contributions, rights and obligations, and dispute resolution.
2. Party qualifications · Both Chinese and foreign cooperators must hold corresponding schooling qualifications and relatively high educational quality; an existing cooperatively-run school seeking a new one must have passed evaluation by the original approval authority or its entrusted body.
3. No branch schools · A cooperatively-run school may not establish branch schools or other cooperatively-run schools.
4. Capital contributions · Contributions must be compatible with the level and scale of the proposed school and verified according to law, with timelines set in the agreement.
5. Penalties · The Measures specify rectification, warnings, and fines for operating without permission, false enrolment advertising, unauthorised fee increases, and disorderly or low-standard teaching.

What the record shows

1. The Measures were promulgated by the Ministry of Education as Order No. 20 on 2 June 2004 and entered into force on 1 July 2004. · Source: gov.cn full text of Order No. 20.
2. They were issued to implement the 2003 Regulations and repealed the 1995 provisional measures on the same date. · Source: gov.cn text, concluding articles.
3. They define a “cooperative education project” as collaborative teaching in disciplines, specialties, or courses without establishing a separate institution. · Source: gov.cn text, Article 2.
4. They require cooperating parties to hold corresponding qualifications and prohibit cooperatively-run schools from establishing branch schools. · Source: gov.cn text, Articles 6–7.
5. The framework extends to cooperation involving institutions from the Hong Kong and Macao SARs and the Taiwan region of China, unless otherwise specified. · Source: gov.cn text, Article 61.

Limits of this record

• This entry records the adoption, effect, and operational role of the 2004 Measures; it does not reproduce the full text, and any citation should be checked against the current consolidated version.
• It does not record the approval status of any specific cooperative institution or project, nor the separate rules for vocational-skill training projects (left to the State Council labour department).
• This is an archival record compiled from public primary sources. It does not state the position of any regulator and does not constitute legal advice.

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This archival entry is based on review of the Implementing Measures for the Regulations of the PRC on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (Ministry of Education Order No. 20) as published on gov.cn. Statements should be verified against the current consolidated text before academic or regulatory citation. This entry does not constitute legal advice.