Treaty detail
United States - China tax treaty
A practical treaty page built around the official treaty text, key withholding categories, permanent-establishment rules, and article-level summaries.
Signed
1984-04-30
Effective
1987-01-01
Articles seeded
6
Withholding snapshot
Dividends
Individual rate: 10% · Corporate rate: 10%
The treaty applies a uniform 10 percent ceiling on dividends, with the qualifying-shareholder analysis depending on the article wording. China's domestic dividend-withholding rules continue to apply where treaty conditions are not satisfied.
Interest
Rate: 10%
The treaty applies a 10 percent ceiling on most interest. Government, central-bank, and qualifying-institution interest may obtain better treatment under the article.
Royalties
Rate: 10%
Royalties generally face a 10 percent ceiling under the treaty across the core categories. China's industrial-equipment royalty rules can produce different outcomes in specific cases.
Permanent establishment
Construction threshold: more than 6 months
Dependent-agent analysis remains important and is broader than in some newer treaties, including specified stock-of-goods and habitual-conclusion wording.
Other treaty flags
Pension treatment is article-specific. The treaty includes detailed government-service and pension articles distinct from the general dividend-interest-royalty snapshot.
Seeded article summaries
Article 4
Residence
Defines treaty residence and provides tie-breaker tests under the older 1984 treaty wording.
Article 4 is the entry point for treaty entitlement. Because the U.S.-China treaty dates to 1984, residence analysis interacts with developments in China's domestic individual and enterprise tax law since then.
Article 5
Permanent Establishment
Sets the business-presence threshold including a service-PE rule.
The China treaty includes a service-PE provision that can create a permanent establishment based on the furnishing of services for more than 6 months. The 6-month construction-site threshold is also notable compared with the 12-month standard in many newer treaties.
Article 7
Business Profits
Generally reserves business profits to the residence state in the absence of a permanent establishment.
Article 7 is the operating rule for cross-border services. The interplay with the service-PE rule in Article 5 means many service arrangements between the United States and China require careful PE analysis.
Article 10
Dividends
Caps source-country withholding on dividends at a uniform 10 percent ceiling.
Article 10 of the U.S.-China treaty does not differentiate dividend rates by direct-ownership level in the way many newer treaties do. The 10 percent ceiling reflects the older 1984 treaty wording.
Article 11
Interest
Limits source-country withholding on qualifying interest to a 10 percent ceiling.
Article 11 reflects the older 1984 ceiling of 10 percent on most interest. Government, central-bank, and qualifying-institution interest may obtain better treatment under the article.
Article 12
Royalties
Limits source-country withholding on royalties to a 10 percent ceiling.
Article 12 caps royalties at 10 percent. China's domestic industrial-equipment royalty rules can produce a different outcome in specific industrial-property-related fact patterns.
Official text
Other treaties involving these jurisdictions
Computed from the cross-reference graph. Links open the related entity on this site.
This entry cites
- TreatyUS–GB treaty
- TreatyUS–CA treaty
- TreatyUS–DE treaty
- TreatyUS–FR treaty
- TreatyUS–JP treaty
- TreatyUS–NL treaty
- TreatyUS–AU treaty
- TreatyUS–KR treaty
Primary sources
- IRS China treaty documents pageVerified 2026-05-20
- Official U.S.-China treaty PDFVerified 2026-05-20
- IRS Tax Treaty Table 1Verified 2026-05-20
- State Taxation Administration of ChinaVerified 2026-05-20
Important disclaimer
This library is for general tax education only. Always verify filing obligations, due dates, and tax consequences against the cited primary source or with a qualified tax professional.