China And Spain Signed Bilateral Social Security Agreement

Seyfarth Synopsis: Bilateral social security agreements between countries play an important role in facilitating the cross-border movement of employees, as they reduce exposure to the simultaneous application of the relevant countries' social security programs to a cross-border employee.  In what seems to be a continuing trend for the PRC government, it concluded a bilateral social security agreement with the Spanish government (the "Sino-Spain Agreement") during the G20 Labor and Employment Ministers' Meeting in Germany earlier this year.

 The PRC and Spanish governments signed the Sino-Spain Agreement on May 19, 2017.  Negotiations on the Sino-Spain Agreement began in 2011, and it will come into force after each country completes their respective domestic legal procedures.  Under the Sino-Spain Agreement, Chinese employees assigned to work in Spain, and their employers, will be exempt from certain compulsory social security insurance programs in Spain, such