China, Netherlands sign social insurance deal

BEIJING - China and the Netherlands signed a social insurance agreement on Monday that will exempt company personnel sent to work in each other's countries from mandatory social insurance contributions.

The deal was signed in The Hague after three rounds of negotiations since November 2014, China's Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced.

The agreement will take effect following legal procedures in the two countries, the ministry said.

Without the agreement, Dutch citizens working in China have to participate in five insurance programs -- pension, medical, work-related injury, unemployment and maternity insurance -- in accordance with the law, and both employee and employer must contribute to the social insurance premiums.

According to Chinese rules, if a foreigner leaves China prior to reaching the statutory age for pension withdrawal, his or her social insurance personal account will be retained, and the contribution years will be calculated on a cumulative basis if he or she comes back to China to work again in the future.

The insurance premiums account for nearly 40 percent of a foreign employee's wage, but employees cannot receive pensions until they have paid premiums for a total of 15 years.

China has signed similar bilateral social insurance agreements with Germany, the Republic of Korea, Denmark, Finland, Canada and Switzerland, in addition to the Netherlands.