Officials of the Guangzhou Local Tax Bureau confirmed on March 4 that foreign nationals employed by businesses or organizations in the city are required to purchase social insurance according to the same premium rates as those for local residents.

Taxation officials said that the city's Human Resources and Social Security and Local Tax Bureau jointly issued the Circular on Participation in the Social Insurance Program by Foreign Nationals Working in Guangzhou on November 26 last year. The circular states that foreign nationals employed by businesses or organizations in the city must purchase various types of social insurance, including endowment insurance, unemployment insurance, medical insurance, work-rated injury insurance and childbirth insurance, in accordance with the Provisional Regulations on the Participation in the Social Insurance Program by Foreign Nationals Working in China.