China vs Canada: Pay, Prices and Moving Rules (2026)

What this page compares and why the numbers are not like-for-like

This page sets out figures that official agencies in China and Canada print, each with its own currency, unit, reference period and date. It does not convert currencies, annualise, average or rank them, and it gives no advice. The figures are not like-for-like. China's National Bureau of Statistics prints annual average wages for 2025 for urban units with 5 or more employees, before tax, and says its survey excludes self-employed businesses and freelancers. Statistics Canada prints average weekly earnings from payroll data for July 2026 and, in a separate release, average hourly wages for August 2026 from the Labour Force Survey. These are different tables, periods and survey designs, so the pay figures on this page are not comparable with each other. Where the official pages we read do not state a figure, this page says so.

stats.gov.cn: Average annual wage of employees in urban units, 2025 www150.statcan.gc.ca: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, July 2026 (The Daily) www150.statcan.gc.ca: Labour Force Survey, August 2026 (The Daily)

Minimum wage in Beijing

China: these figures are for Beijing only, not a national figure. A Beijing notice (Jing Ren She Lao Fa [2025] No. 7), implemented from 1 September 2025, sets the minimum wage at not less than 14.6 yuan per hour and not less than 2,540 yuan per month (previously 13.91 yuan per hour and 2,420 yuan per month), and 27.7 yuan per hour for non-full-time workers. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security table, with data as of 1 January 2026, lists standards by province-level region; Beijing reads 2,540 yuan per month and 27.7 yuan per hour (the hourly standard; Order No. 21 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security says hourly standards apply to non-full-time workers). Under Order No. 21, in force from 1 March 2004, standards are to be adjusted at least once every two years.

rsj.beijing.gov.cn: Notice on adjusting the 2025 minimum wage standard of Beijing (Jing Ren She Lao Fa [2025] No. 7) mohrss.gov.cn: Minimum wage standards of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities (as of 1 January 2026) moj.gov.cn: Provisions on Minimum Wage (Order No. 21 of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 2004)

Minimum wage in Canada

Canada: the Government of Canada says employees of federally regulated employers are entitled to at least $18.15 per hour from April 1, 2026, and that a higher provincial or territorial rate applies instead. Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.95 per hour from October 1, 2026. This page gives no single rate for all workers in either country.

canada.ca: Pay and minimum wage, deductions, and wage recovery (federally regulated workplaces) ontario.ca: Minimum wage — Your guide to the Employment Standards Act (Ontario)

Pay statistics in China

The National Bureau of Statistics, in a release published 15 May 2026 for reference year 2025, gives the average annual wage of employees in urban non-private units as 129,441 yuan and in urban private units as 71,590 yuan. For non-private units the table prints 124,110 yuan for 2024 and nominal growth of 4.3%. Urban units are legal-person units in urban areas with 5 or more employees; the survey excludes self-employed businesses and freelancers; average wage is the per-person level of wages paid in the reporting period. Total wages are before tax and include the individual income tax, social insurance and housing fund the unit deducts. Urban private units are private limited companies, private joint-stock companies, sole proprietorships and partnerships; non-private units are the other domestic units, including government bodies and public institutions, and Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and foreign-invested enterprises. The official pages we read do not state a median or a Beijing average.

stats.gov.cn: Average annual wage of employees in urban units, 2025

Pay statistics in Canada

Statistics Canada's payroll release of 2026-09-24 gives average weekly earnings for Canada of $1,347.14 for July 2026, a 12-month change of 3.2%. It says earnings include overtime, are based on gross taxable payroll before source deductions, and are derived by dividing total weekly earnings by the number of employees. A separate release, the Labour Force Survey of 2026-09-04, says average hourly wages among employees were up 2.0% (+$0.71 to $37.02) year over year in August 2026 (not seasonally adjusted), reflecting the reference week of August 9 to 15, 2026. It gives average hourly wages of $18.66 for employees in the bottom 25% of the wage distribution, $26.61 for the second lowest 25%, $37.99 for the third quartile and $65.15 for the top quartile. The weekly and hourly figures come from different tables, so this page does not combine or convert them, and it gives no median or pay by occupation.

www150.statcan.gc.ca: Payroll employment, earnings and hours, and job vacancies, July 2026 (The Daily) www150.statcan.gc.ca: Labour Force Survey, August 2026 (The Daily)

Prices and inflation

China: the National Bureau of Statistics says consumer prices in August 2026 were up 0.8% year on year and 0.4% on the previous month, and up 0.9% for January to August on the same period of the previous year (release of 9 September 2026). Its table shows the rent of leased housing item at -0.6% year on year, a price change and not an average rent in yuan. Canada: Statistics Canada says the Consumer Price Index rose 3.0% year over year in August 2026 and fell 0.1% month over month (release of 2026-09-14); at the national level, prices for rent increased 2.8% year over year, a price change and not a rent in dollars. CMHC's 2025 Rental Market Report (published December 11, 2025) prints average 2-bedroom rents for the purpose-built rental market of $2,363 in Vancouver, $2,034 in the Greater Toronto Area and $1,346 in Montréal. The official pages we read do not state an average rent in yuan for China or a labelled national average rent in dollars for Canada.

stats.gov.cn: Consumer prices, August 2026 (CPI up 0.8% year on year) www150.statcan.gc.ca: Consumer Price Index, August 2026 (The Daily) cmhc-schl.gc.ca: 2025 Rental Market Report

Income tax basics in China

The Individual Income Tax Law says a person with a domicile in China, or with no domicile who has resided in China for an aggregate of 183 days in a tax year, is a resident individual taxed on income from inside and outside China; the tax year is the calendar year. The implementing regulations say that a person without domicile who has resided in China for an aggregate of 183 days in a year for fewer than six consecutive years is, on filing with the tax authority, exempt from individual income tax on income from outside China paid by an entity or person outside China. The regulations define domicile as habitual residence because of household registration, family or economic interests. A page of the State Taxation Administration's Guangdong tax website (published 2025-10-09) prints the comprehensive income rate table, from 3% on annual taxable income up to 36,000 yuan to 45% above 960,000 yuan.

fgk.chinatax.gov.cn: Individual Income Tax Law of the People's Republic of China (as amended 31 August 2018) fgk.chinatax.gov.cn: Implementing Regulations of the Individual Income Tax Law (State Council Order No. 707, 2018) guangdong.chinatax.gov.cn: Individual income tax rate tables (comprehensive income rate table and other tables)

Income tax basics in Canada

CRA's page for income earned in 2026 (return to be filed in 2027) prints federal rates from 14% up to $58,523 to 33% on the portion from $258,482.01; provincial or territorial rates apply in addition. CRA says residency depends on all relevant facts, including ties such as a home, a spouse or common-law partner and dependants in Canada, and says a person who has not established significant residential ties but stayed in Canada for 183 or more days in the year may be considered a deemed resident of Canada.

canada.ca: Current year tax rates and income brackets (2026) canada.ca: Determining your residency status

Social contributions in China: Beijing bases and national rules

Beijing: a notice dated 20 August 2026 sets, from July 2026, the monthly contribution base for employees' pension, unemployment, work injury and basic medical insurance between 7,270 yuan and 36,348 yuan; these are bases, not rates. A 2005 State Council decision on basic pension insurance for enterprise employees (copy on the Shanghai government portal) sets the individual pension account at 8% of the person's contribution wage from 1 January 2006, and a 1998 decision says the employee's medical rate is generally 2% of own wage income; the pages do not say whether later rules changed them, and the official pages we read print no Beijing employee percentages.

rsj.beijing.gov.cn: Notice on the upper and lower limits of the 2026 social insurance contribution wage base (Jing Ren She Fa [2026] No. 7) shanghai.gov.cn: Decision of the State Council on improving the basic pension insurance system for enterprise employees (3 December 2005) nhsa.gov.cn: Decision of the State Council on establishing the basic medical insurance system for urban employees (Guo Fa [1998] No. 44)

Social security agreement between China and Canada

A guide on the Beijing municipal government's English portal, credited to the Ministry of Commerce (24 April 2024), lists Canada among countries that have signed social security agreements with China and says nationals of those countries working in China may be exempted from the obligation to pay for their corresponding types of insurance within the prescribed time limit, according to the agreement.

english.beijing.gov.cn: Social Insurance - guide for foreigners working in China (text attributed to the Ministry of Commerce)

Social contributions in Canada, 2026

Canada, 2026: CRA prints CPP at 5.95% for employee and employer on pensionable earnings up to $74,600 above a $3,500 basic exemption, maximum $4,230.45 each; CPP2 at 4% on earnings above the annual maximum pensionable earnings, up to $85,000, maximum $416 each; EI (federal rate; the CRA page prints separate, lower Quebec rates) at $1.63 per $100 of insurable earnings up to $68,900, maximum annual employee premium $1,123.07. For employees whose province of employment is Quebec, QPP is deducted instead of CPP. The official pages we read do not state the QPP rate.

canada.ca: CPP contribution rates, maximums and exemptions canada.ca: Second additional CPP (CPP2) contribution rates and maximums canada.ca: Canada Employment Insurance Commission sets the 2026 Employment Insurance premium rate (news release) canada.ca: EI premium rates and maximums canada.ca: About the deduction of Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions

Moving from China to Canada: the visa requirement

IRCC's page 'What you need to enter Canada' says citizens of the countries or territories on its list need a valid visitor visa and a valid passport to visit or transit through Canada; the list includes China, People's Republic of. IRCC says a work permit or study permit is not a visa and that in most cases a valid visitor visa or an eTA is also needed; for a first study or work permit, a needed visa or eTA is issued automatically once the application is approved.

canada.ca: What you need to enter Canada

Moving from China to Canada: work permits and fees

An employer-specific work permit needs a job offer from an employer not on the list of non-compliant employers, and most jobs need a labour market impact assessment (LMIA). An open work permit lets the holder work for any employer except those on that list or those that regularly offer striptease, erotic dance or escort services, or erotic massages, and needs no job offer, but most people applying from outside Canada cannot get one. IRCC's fee list prints CAD 150.00 per person for a study permit and CAD 155.00 for a work permit, each including extensions.

canada.ca: Employer-specific work permits canada.ca: Open work permits ircc.canada.ca: IRCC fee list

Moving from China to Canada: Express Entry programs and requirements

IRCC says Express Entry manages skilled-worker applications for the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Its eligibility page prints language minimums of CLB 7 for TEER 0 or 1 and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3 (Experience Class), CLB 7 (Skilled Worker Program), and CLB 5 for speaking and listening and CLB 4 for reading and writing (Skilled Trades Program). It prints work experience of 1 year in Canada in the last 3 years, 1 year continuous within the last 10 years, and 2 years within the last 5 years, in that order.

canada.ca: Express Entry canada.ca: Express Entry: Who can apply

Moving from China to Canada: Express Entry job offer and fees

A job offer is not required for the Experience Class, is not required but earns points for the Skilled Worker Program, and is required for the Skilled Trades Program (a valid full-time offer of at least 1 year, or a certificate of qualification). For economic immigration including Express Entry, IRCC's fee list prints CAD 1,590.00 for "Your application" (the processing fee plus the right of permanent residence fee), or CAD 990.00 without the right of permanent residence fee; this page does not state the fees for a spouse, partner or child included in the application. No points score or cut-off is stated here.

canada.ca: Express Entry: Who can apply ircc.canada.ca: IRCC fee list

Moving from Canada to China: entry for Canadian passport holders

The Chinese Embassy in Canada page (last updated June 2026) says that from 00:00 on February 17, 2026 to 24:00 on December 31, 2026 (Beijing Time), citizens of Canada holding ordinary passports may enter China visa-free and stay for up to 30 days for business, tourism, family/friends visit and transit purposes, and that individuals who do not meet these requirements must still obtain a visa before entering. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs notice on visa-free entry for Canada and the United Kingdom says the policy runs until 31 December 2026. The ministry notice also lists exchange visits among the visa-free purposes. The ministry's FAQ says the visa waiver does not apply to those who come to China for work, study, news coverage or similar purposes, and that foreign nationals planning to stay more than 30 days must apply in advance for a visa matching their purpose.

ca.china-embassy.gov.cn: Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application mfa.gov.cn: Notice on a visa-free policy for Canada and the United Kingdom (对加拿大、英国实施免签政策的通知) mfa.gov.cn: 单方面免签政策常见问题解答 / FAQs on Visa-free Entry into China travel.gc.ca: China travel advice

Moving from Canada to China: visa fees

For applications made in Canada, the embassy page prints a visa fee of C$100 for all types of visas for Canadian passport holders and a reduced C$75 per person to December 31, 2026.

ca.china-embassy.gov.cn: Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application

Moving from Canada to China: work permit and residence rules

China's Exit and Entry Administration Law (in force from 1 July 2013) says in Article 41 that a foreigner working in China must obtain, as the rules require, a work permit and a work-type residence permit, and that no employer or individual may hire a foreigner who lacks both. It says a work-type residence permit is valid for a minimum of ninety days and a maximum of five years. The embassy page says Z visa holders must apply for a foreigner's residence permit within 30 days from the date of entry. The State Council regulations, as revised from 1 October 2025, list the Z visa for people who apply to work in China, with the work permit among the materials to submit.

nia.gov.cn: Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国出境入境管理法) ca.china-embassy.gov.cn: Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application mee.gov.cn: State Council Decree No. 814 amending the Regulations on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners, with the revised text (国务院令第814号)

Moving from Canada to China: foreign worker categories

A 2017 trial guide from the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs describes categories A, B and C; for B it prints a bachelor's degree or above, 2 years or more of relevant work experience and age of no more than 60; it says these age, degree or experience limits may be relaxed where truly needed, for example for outstanding foreign graduates or people meeting the points standard. This page states no points or salary thresholds.

fuwu.most.gov.cn: Service Guide for Foreigners' Work Permits, trial version (外国人来华工作许可服务指南（暂行）)

Family: joining a worker in Canada

Canada: IRCC says some family members of foreign workers in Canada may be able to apply for an open work permit, and defines a family member as a spouse or common-law partner, a dependent child, or a dependent child of the dependent child. Eligibility depends on whether the worker is on a pathway to or has applied for permanent residence, on the type of worker and on the occupation's TEER category. As of January 21, 2025, family members of low-skilled workers not on a pathway to permanent residence through one of the qualifying streams cannot apply under this measure. For high-skilled workers not on such a pathway, IRCC says that as of January 21, 2025 only select spouses or common-law partners may be eligible, and dependent children are no longer eligible under this measure.

canada.ca: Open work permits for family members of foreign workers canada.ca: Open work permits for family members of foreign workers: Who can apply

Family: relatives and visas for China

China: the revised regulations list the S1 visa for long-term visits as spouse, parent, child under 18 or spouse's parent of a foreigner residing in China for work or study, and the Q1 visa for family members of Chinese citizens and of foreigners with Chinese permanent residence. This page does not state whether accompanying family members may work in China.

mee.gov.cn: State Council Decree No. 814 amending the Regulations on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners, with the revised text (国务院令第814号)

What changed recently or is about to change: China

China's visa-free entry for Canadian ordinary-passport holders is stated to run from February 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026; the official pages we read give 31 December 2026 as the end date and none announces an extension. The Prime Minister's Office stated in January 2026 that the Prime Minister welcomed President Xi's commitment to introducing visa-free access for Canadians travelling to China. The embassy page says that, for applications in Canada, the reduced Chinese visa fee and the fingerprint exemption for qualifying short-term visa applicants (stay of 180 days or less) both run to December 31, 2026. State Council Decree No. 814, in force from 1 October 2025, added the K visa for young foreign science and technology talent, which needs no hiring or inviting employer in China.

travel.gc.ca: China travel advice pm.gc.ca: Prime Minister Carney forges new strategic partnership with the People’s Republic of China focused on energy, agri-food, and trade ca.china-embassy.gov.cn: Requirements and Procedures for Chinese Visa Application mee.gov.cn: State Council Decree No. 814 amending the Regulations on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners, with the revised text (国务院令第814号) nia.gov.cn: Officials answer questions on the State Council decision amending the Regulations on the Administration of Entry and Exit of Foreigners (答记者问)

What changed recently or is about to change: Canada

In Canada, Ontario's general rate applies from October 1, 2026, and the 2027 EI premium rate outside Quebec of $1.64 per $100 of insurable earnings, with maximum insurable earnings of $70,800, is announced for January 1, 2027 and is not yet in force.

ontario.ca: Minimum wage — Your guide to the Employment Standards Act (Ontario) canada.ca: Canada Employment Insurance Commission confirms 2027 Employment Insurance premium rate (news release)

What this page does not cover

This page does not cover residence for foreigners in China beyond the permit rules named above, family joining beyond the rules named above, whether accompanying family members may work in China, average rents in China, a single average wage for all workers in China or one Canadian figure combining the weekly and hourly series, the Quebec Pension Plan rate, cost-of-living comparisons or indexes, benefits, or which country suits you. Check the official pages for them.