Outsourcing in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is subject to an overlapping and potentially inconsistent set of industry and activity-specific regulatory regimes. Typically, the relevant written regulations are drafted in very high-level language which gives the supervising authorities substantial flexibility on implementing the regulations.

The only regulations relating generally to outsourcings are the Several Provisions for the Protection of Information in Undertaking International Service Outsourcing by Domestic Enterprises (Information Provisions) enacted by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), which came into effect on 1 February 2010. The Information Provisions require that outsourcing suppliers take effective measures to ensure the protection and confidentiality of certain types of data provided in connection with an outsourcing.