How much does a Chinese inspector cost?

Some importers wonder how much it costs to hire a Chinese inspector full time. The short answer is: more than you think.

Before delving into the numbers, three important preliminary remarks:

Profile: the example in this article is for a professional QC inspector who can read/write English, who has 2-4 years of relevant experience, and who lives around Guangzhou or around Shanghai. It can get a bit cheaper in other provinces, but not by much. And an experienced engineer would be more expensive.

Travelling: the calculations below assume that all the factories are in the same city. If you purchase shoes and all is made in Dongguan, it is relevant. If you purchase across 4 provinces, the budget will be much higher.

Legal matters: a foreign company that recruits a Chinese employee is outside the law. It means you have two solutions if you want your own QC guy. Either you set up a company in China, or you pay a China-based company for a dedicated inspector. For more information, you can read China Employment Contracts. Ten Things To Consider on the China Law Blog.

So, let’s go ahead with the cost calculation:

• Salary + housing + income tax + social insurance: 6,000 RMB per month
• Travel costs: 150 RMB per day
• Extra bonus (70 RMB per day worked)
• Internal audits (1 day out of 15, at a cost of 2,000 RMB each)
• Manager supervision (a 20th of a manager’s time, at 20,000 RMB per month)
• Total: 10,500 RMB per month, assuming 16 days of work per month.

(I left out some start-up costs, such as finding the right candidate or drafting a labor contract. And also the 13th month.)

10,500 RMB represents more than 1,500 USD.

Is that a lot? I don’t think it is, if the inspector is honest, organized, and focused on every detail.