Regulations of the PRC on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (2003)

Instrument summary

The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (Regulations) were adopted at the 68th Executive Meeting of the State Council on 19 February 2003, promulgated by the State Council as Decree No. 372 on 1 March 2003, and entered into force on 1 September 2003. They are the first dedicated administrative regulation at the State Council level to govern cooperation between foreign educational institutions and Chinese educational institutions in running schools within mainland China.

The Regulation sits at the top of the legal hierarchy for this activity. It replaced the provisional measures issued by the former State Education Commission in 1995 and provided the statutory basis for the more detailed implementing rules that followed in 2004 (documented in a separate archive entry). Its stated purpose is to standardise Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools, strengthen international exchange and cooperation in education, and promote the development of the education cause.

The Regulation applies to foreign educational institutions cooperating with Chinese educational institutions to establish education institutions inside China that mainly recruit PRC citizens. It draws clear boundaries: it does not permit cooperation in compulsory education, nor in military, police, or political special-type education, and it bars foreign religious organisations from participating in cooperative schooling.

Policy context

The Regulation was promulgated in the period following China’s accession to the World Trade Organization, and its policy framing reflects a deliberate opening of the education sector. The instrument sets out the state policy as expanding opening-up, standardising operation, managing according to law, and promoting development. It encourages the introduction of high-quality foreign educational resources, with particular encouragement for cooperation in higher education and vocational education and with recognised foreign institutions.

The instrument also establishes the governance structure. The Ministry of Education is designated as the national authority responsible for overall planning, coordination, and macro-management of Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools. Provincial education departments carry corresponding responsibility within their own administrative regions, with other relevant departments acting within their statutory remits.

A further structural feature is the classification of cooperative activity into two forms: the establishment of a cooperative education institution (a jointly run school with legal-person or non-legal-person status) and the conduct of a cooperative education project (collaboration without establishing a separate institution). This distinction became the backbone of how later approval and recognition rules were applied.

Relationship to TNE

Within the typology used across this research archive, the 2003 Regulation is the foundational legal basis for the two mainland-China TNE modalities most often recorded: the joint institution (a cooperative university or college) and the joint programme (a cooperative project delivered without a separate campus). Both forms depend on prior approval by the education authorities before any enrolment or awarding of qualifications.

The Regulation requires that cooperative education institutions and projects obtain approval and that the qualifications they issue be consistent with the regulatory framework. It also affirms that the legitimate rights and interests of cooperating parties, the institutions, their leaders, teachers, and students are protected by Chinese law, and that institutions enjoy the preferential policies provided by the state and may conduct educational activities autonomously within the law.

The framework also reaches cooperation involving institutions from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region, and the Taiwan region of China, to the extent provided by separate specifications, reflecting the cross-border character of the sector within the broader Chinese jurisdiction.

[Verification: The Regulation was amended by the State Council in 2013 and again in 2019. The precise wording and article-level effect of each amendment should be confirmed against the current consolidated version of the Regulation before any citation in formal work.]

Key provisions

The Regulation establishes several structural principles that continue to shape the sector:

1. Public-interest character · Cooperative education institutions are defined as public-interest undertakings and as a component of China’s education system. They are entitled to state support and to autonomous operation within the law.
2. Approval before operation · Institutions and projects must be examined and approved by the education authorities; unlawful operation is subject to legal liability.
3. Leadership and governance · The instrument requires appointed leadership and board or joint management committee structures appropriate to the institution type.
4. Qualification issuance · The rules for which qualifications may be issued, and by whom, are set out so that awards are traceable to an approved institution or project.
5. Supervision · Education authorities are tasked with planning, coordination, and supervision, with a reporting and rectification mechanism for non-compliance.

What the record shows

1. The Regulation was promulgated by the State Council as Decree No. 372 on 1 March 2003 and entered into force on 1 September 2003. · Source: Ministry of Education notice; Tianjin Gazette text of Decree No. 372.
2. It was the first State Council-level administrative regulation dedicated specifically to Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools, superseding the 1995 provisional measures. · Source: MOE notice framing the instrument as the statutory basis for subsequent rules.
3. It excludes compulsory education and military, police, and political special-type education from cooperative schooling, and bars foreign religious organisations from participating. · Source: text of the Regulation (Articles 6–7).
4. The Ministry of Education holds the national authority for overall planning and coordination of cooperative schooling. · Source: text of the Regulation (Article 8).
5. The instrument has been amended by the State Council (2013, 2019) and remains in force as the core statute for this form of TNE. · Source: consolidated-version note on MOE/gov.cn reproductions.

Limits of this record

• This entry records the adoption, effect, and structural role of the 2003 Regulation; it does not reproduce the full article-by-article text, and any citation should be checked against the current consolidated version including the 2013 and 2019 amendments.
• It does not cover the 2004 Implementing Measures, which are documented in a separate archive entry, nor the approval status of any specific institution or project.
• 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 Regulations of the PRC on Chinese-foreign Cooperation in Running Schools (State Council Decree No. 372) as published by the Ministry of Education and reproduced in the Tianjin Municipal Government Gazette. Statements should be verified against the current consolidated Regulation before academic or regulatory citation. This entry does not constitute legal advice.