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Executive Search in China
Post a C-Suite, VP or Senior Leadership role in China and receive referrals from independent headhunters.
In China the search is the straightforward part. Employers post mid-to-senior, C-suite and management roles, and independent headhunters registered on the platform refer candidates from their own networks. What is different from every other market in Asia is what happens after the offer: a signed offer in China has to become either a dispatch engagement through a licensed agency — capped at 10% of the employer's headcount and limited to temporary, auxiliary and substitute positions — or a contract with a Chinese entity of your own. Read that sentence before you read the rest of this page, because it decides how your hire can be employed.
Hiring a foreign national into China? Read our complete China Work Permit guide — the A/B/C points categories, the Notification Letter to Z visa chain, and what a sponsoring employer has to be.
What Executive Search in China Looks Like
Aniday is an online talent referral marketplace for C-suite, VP and senior leadership roles in China. Employers post a role and set a referral bonus; independent headhunters registered on the platform refer candidates from their own networks; the employer and the headhunter then deal with each other directly. Aniday supplies the software and does not source, screen, shortlist, interview or place candidates. Operating recruitment, headhunting or HR services inside China requires a human resources service licence (人力资源服务许可证) — where a step has to be performed by a licence holder, it is carried out by Aniday's partner entity in China, not by Aniday itself.
Why Choose Aniday for Executive Search in China?
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Reach headhunters fasterReach 50,000+ independent headhunters registered on Aniday, including specialists who cover China
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Trusted by leading companies5,000+ companies use Aniday, among them ST Engineering, Carro and HCLTech, across the platform and Aniday's EOR services in Asia.
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Multi-industry expertiseIndependent headhunters on the platform cover IT, Finance, Manufacturing, Semiconductor, Logistics, Retail and Consumer sectors
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Terms agreed upfrontReplacement and refund terms are agreed between the employer and the referring headhunter, and recorded on the platform
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Straight answers on the China handoverWe tell you before you post whether the role can be dispatched or needs your own Chinese entity, rather than after you have made the offer
Our Executive Search Process in China
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01
Post Your Role
You post the role yourself and set the referral bonus, using a self-service form. Aniday does not draft, edit or advise on your vacancy.
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02
Referrals from Independent Headhunters
Independent headhunters registered on the platform use their own networks to identify and approach candidates, including those not actively seeking jobs.
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03
Your Review & Interviews
Referred candidate profiles appear in your dashboard. You decide whom to interview and arrange interviews directly with the candidate and the referring headhunter
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04
Offer & Onboarding
You make the offer directly to the candidate. Aniday releases the referral bonus to the headhunter once the hire is confirmed on the platform. In China the offer then has to land on a contract — dispatch through a licensed agency, or your own Chinese entity. That handover is the section below.
After the Offer: How a China Hire Is Actually Employed
A signed offer is not an employment relationship in China. There are two compliant destinations for it, and a senior role usually only fits one of them.
The worker's labour contract is with a dispatch agency that holds a labour dispatch operating licence (劳务派遣经营许可证); the agency dispatches them to work for you. This is the classic route for companies without a Chinese entity, and it is the only one a representative office can use, because a representative office cannot hire staff directly at all. It is also narrowly bounded — see the limits below.
Your Chinese company signs the labour contract, runs payroll, files social insurance and the housing fund and, where the hire is a foreign national, sponsors the work permit. Nothing about dispatch's position limits or its 10% cap applies. For a core, permanent, full-headcount leadership team this is the compliant answer, and the honest one.
| What the Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch say | What it means for a senior hire |
|---|---|
| Only three kinds of position | A dispatched worker may only fill a 临时性 temporary position (no more than 6 months), a 辅助性 auxiliary position (supporting, not core business) or a 替代性 substitute position (covering an absent regular employee). A country manager, a VP of Sales or a CTO is core and permanent, and fits none of the three. |
| A 10% cap on headcount | Dispatched workers must not exceed 10% of the employer's total workforce. A small pilot team can sit inside that; a China organisation being built out cannot. |
| A two-year contract with the agency | The labour contract between the dispatch agency and the worker must run at least 2 years, which is itself in tension with the 6-month ceiling on a temporary position. |
| The agency must be licensed | Dispatch may only be provided by an agency holding a labour dispatch operating licence (劳务派遣经营许可证). Aniday does not hold Chinese licences; the licensed steps are performed by Aniday's partner entity in China. |
| A representative office cannot hire at all | A representative office must engage its staff through a dispatch or HR service agency. If your China presence is a rep office, dispatch is not a preference, it is the only mechanism available to you. |
Said plainly: dispatch works for a pilot team, a support function, or a bridge while a WFOE is being set up. It does not work as a permanent home for the leadership hire you just made. If the role you are posting is a core, permanent, full-headcount position, plan the Chinese entity before you make the offer — not after the candidate has resigned from their current employer.
Sources. Interim Provisions on Labour Dispatch, adopted at the 21st executive meeting of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and effective 1 March 2013 — position types, the 6-month ceiling on temporary positions, the 10% cap, the two-year agency contract, the dispatch operating licence and the position of representative offices. Human resources service licence (人力资源服务许可证) requirement for operating recruitment and HR services in China, same ministry. Last verified 2026-09.
Placing a Foreign National in China
If your shortlist includes a foreign candidate, the sponsoring employer question decides the whole placement — and it is decided before the offer, not after.
Only a legal entity that directly employs the person, holds a Chinese business licence and has the role inside its registered business scope can sponsor a foreigner's work permit. Labour dispatch cannot be used to sponsor a core foreign hire, because the dispatch agency is not the entity the work is being done for. For foreign nationals in core roles, a Chinese entity of your own is the route.
Work permits are graded on a points scale: 85 points and above is Category A, 60 to 84 is Category B, and under 60 is Category C. Category B is also met by a bachelor's degree plus 2 years of relevant experience, up to age 60. Most senior commercial hires land in A or B, so the points question is usually about documents and salary evidence rather than eligibility.
| Step | What has to happen, and by when |
|---|---|
| Notification Letter | The sponsoring employer applies first; the Notification Letter is what the candidate takes to the consulate. Supporting degree and criminal-record documents are legalised by apostille — China joined the Apostille Convention in November 2023. |
| Z visa | Issued on the Notification Letter, and the visa the candidate must enter China on. Entering on a business visa and converting later is not the chain. |
| Foreigner's Work Permit | Applied for within 15 days of entry. Late filing is the most common avoidable problem in an otherwise clean placement. |
| Work-type residence permit | Applied for within 30 days. Until it is issued, the hire is not settled, however senior they are. |
| On termination | The employer must cancel the work permit within 10 working days. This sits with the sponsoring entity, which is another reason the sponsor question matters at offer stage. |
| Salary evidence | A Category B salary floor of about 4 times the local average wage has been enforced in practice since early 2026 — roughly RMB 49,700 a month in Shanghai and RMB 47,700 in Beijing on the 2024 bases used from July 2025. Budget the package against that before the offer goes out. |
The full chain, with the points tables and the document list, is on our China work permit page.
Sources. Work permit categories and the points threshold (85 and above Category A, 60 to 84 Category B), the bachelor's-degree-plus-two-years route to Category B, the Notification Letter to Z visa to work permit to residence permit chain and its 15-day and 30-day deadlines, the 10-working-day cancellation duty, China's accession to the Apostille Convention in November 2023 and the Category B salary floor of about 4 times the local average wage, as published on our China work permit guide and administered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. Last verified 2026-09.
Client Reviews
Read how companies use the Aniday platform to reach independent headhunters, and Aniday's employment services to employ and pay the people they hire across Asia.
Executive Search Services in China FAQs
How long does it take to fill a senior position in China through Aniday?
Employers posting a senior role for China usually receive their first referrals within days; how long the hire itself takes is decided by your own interview and offer process. Budget a separate clock for the step after the offer. Setting up a dispatch engagement through a licensed agency, or onboarding the person into your own Chinese entity, is not part of the search and does not run at the same speed.
Can Aniday employ the executive we hire in China?
Not in the way an Employer of Record works elsewhere in Asia. Without a Chinese entity of your own, the compliant route is labour dispatch (劳务派遣) through an agency holding a labour dispatch operating licence, and dispatch is capped at 10% of the employer's total workforce and limited to temporary positions of no more than 6 months, auxiliary positions and substitute positions. Aniday holds no Chinese licence; where a licensed step is required it is performed by Aniday's partner entity in China. For a core, permanent leadership role the compliant answer is a Chinese entity of your own.
Our preferred candidate is a foreign national. Can they be placed in China?
Yes, but only a legal entity that directly employs the person, holds a Chinese business licence and has the role inside its registered business scope can sponsor the work permit, so labour dispatch cannot be used for a core foreign hire. The chain is a Notification Letter, then a Z visa, then the Foreigner's Work Permit within 15 days of entry, then a work-type residence permit within 30 days. On termination the employer must cancel the work permit within 10 working days.
Does Aniday hold a Chinese recruitment licence?
Operating recruitment, headhunting or HR services in China requires a human resources service licence (人力资源服务许可证). Aniday is a Singapore technology company and does not hold Chinese licences. Where a step has to be carried out by a licence holder in China, it is carried out by Aniday's partner entity in China, and that contracting party is named in your agreement.
What is the difference between general recruitment and executive search in China?
General recruitment focuses on entry- to mid-level positions and relies on job postings and inbound applications. Independent headhunters referring senior roles for China on Aniday approach passive candidates from their own networks, people who are not applying anywhere, which is what critical, senior and highly specialised leadership roles in China usually require.
How do replacement and refund terms work?
Replacement and refund terms are agreed directly between the employer and the referring headhunter when the role is posted, and are recorded on the platform. Aniday administers the referral bonus in line with those terms and does not itself guarantee any hire.
Talk to a headhunting expert
Related HR Services in China
Hiring a foreign national? Start with the China work permit guide.
