Education Services

The Agreement on Trade in Services covers and consolidates commitments relating to liberalisation of trade in services provided in CEPA and its Supplements and also the Agreement between the Mainland and Hong Kong on Achieving Basic Liberalisation of Trade in Services in Guangdong.

Agreement on Trade in Services
Liberalisation Measures under Cross-border Services (Positive List)
Sectors or Sub-sectors	Education services Higher education services (CPC923)
Specific commitments	To allow Guangdong Province to implement the admission of Hong Kong students to regular higher education institutions in the Province. To allow Hong Kong institutions fulfilling the conditions required for recruiting students in the Mainland to increase the student quota for admitting Mainland students and to actively increase the quota for admitting Mainland students from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, provided that the institutions comply with the requirements for recruiting students in the Mainland.
Reserved Restrictive Measures under Commercial Presence (Negative List)
Sector	Education Services
Sub-sector	Primary education services (CPC921)
Obligations concerned	National Treatment
Reserved Restrictive Measures	Commercial Presence The setting up of schools and other education institutions mainly admitting Chinese citizens of the Mainland is restricted to cooperation on a contractual basis. Not to invest in the establishment of education institutions providing compulsory education and religious education. For clarity and avoidance of doubt, for schools set up on a wholly-owned basis for the children of foreign nationals in the Guangdong Province, admission may be extended to cover the children of overseas Chinese and talents who returned from studies abroad working in Guangdong, in addition to the children of foreign nationals who hold residence permits in the Mainland.
Sector	Education Services
Sub-sector	Secondary education services (CPC922)
Obligations concerned	National Treatment
Reserved Restrictive Measures	Commercial Presence The setting up of schools and other education institutions mainly admitting Chinese citizens of the Mainland is restricted to cooperation on a contractual basis.¹ Not to invest in the establishment of education institutions providing compulsory education and religious education. For clarity and avoidance of doubt, for schools set up on a wholly-owned basis for the children of foreign nationals in the Guangdong Province, admission may be extended to cover the children of overseas Chinese and talents who returned from studies abroad working in Guangdong, in addition to the children of foreign nationals who hold residence permits in the Mainland.
Sector	Education Services
Sub-sector	Higher education services (CPC923)
Obligations concerned	National Treatment
Reserved Restrictive Measures	Commercial Presence The setting up of schools and other education institutions mainly admitting Chinese citizens of the Mainland is restricted to cooperation on a contractual basis.² Not to invest in the establishment of education institutions providing religious education.
Sector	Education Services
Sub-sector	Adult education (CPC924)
Obligations concerned	National Treatment
Reserved Restrictive Measures	Commercial Presence Not to invest in the establishment of education institutions providing religious education.
Sector	Education Services
Sub-sector	Other education services (CPC929)
Obligations concerned	National Treatment
Reserved Restrictive Measures	Commercial Presence Not to invest in the establishment of education institutions providing religious education.

To allow the establishment of non-academic secondary vocational training institutions on a wholly-owned basis in the Mainland, the scope of admission shall be analogous with that for Mainland vocational training institutions.

To allow the establishment of non-academic tertiary vocational training institutions on a wholly-owned basis in the Mainland, the scope of admission shall be analogous with that for Mainland vocational training institutions.

For details about the cooperation in education under the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation (Ecotech Agreement), please refer to the Ecotech Agreement.

Rules and regulations promulgated by the Mainland authorities relating to the implementation of commitments under CEPA :

Hong Kong Service Suppliers may establish non-academic secondary and tertiary vocational training institutions on a wholly-owned basis in the Mainland, the scope of admission shall be analogous with that for Mainland vocational training institutions; however the setting up of schools and other education institutions in the mainland mainly admitting Chinese citizens of the Mainland to provide primary, secondary and higher education services is restricted to cooperation on a contractual basis.
For details, please refer to:

For other details, please refer to :

Enquiries concerning the application procedures and requirements for the provision of education services in the Mainland can be directed to:

The Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China

Enquiries concerning the application procedures and requirements for the establishment of vocational training institutions in the Mainland can be directed to:

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China

2025-05-23

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