China’s Approach to Labor Provisions in Free Trade Agreements: Evolution, Impact, and Framework

WU Wenfang* & HUANG Linhan**

Abstract: Labor provisions have become a fundamental trade rule in regional and bilateral trade agreements. Although China’s legislation on pilot Free Trade Zones includes content related to labor protection, it primarily aligns with labor indicators in “Doing Business”, the assessment of business situations issued by the World Bank. It differs from the labor rights protection focus emphasized in trade agreements. The latest strategic documents issued by the State Council of China have addressed this issue to fully achieve the goal of aligning Free Trade Zones with high-standard trade agreements. Building on the development of Free Trade Zone legislation and domestic labor law governance, China should proactively explore a tailored approach to labor provisions in Free Trade Agreements. In this approach, it should explicitly define the “baseline” and “ceiling” for labor provisions during negotiations and, within this framework, establish benchmarks for labor rights protection, enforcement mechanisms, and cross-border regulatory mechanisms suited to the specific conditions of the agreement parties.

Keywords: labor law governance · pilot free trade zones · free trade agreements · labor standards · China’s approach