In accordance with the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Chinese-Foreign Cooperation in Running Schools, Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools is an undertaking beneficial to public interests and forms a component of China’s educational cause; the State encourages Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools to which high-quality foreign educational resources are introduced; the State encourages Chinese-foreign cooperation in running schools in the field of higher education and vocational education, and encourages Chinese institutions of higher learning to cooperate with renowned foreign institutions of higher learning in running schools. Chinese and foreign cooperators in running schools may cooperate to establish educational institutions of various types at various levels. However, they shall not establish institutions offering compulsory education service or special education services such as military, police and political education services. No foreign religious organization, religious institution, religious college and university or religious worker may engage in cooperative activities of running schools within the territory of China. An educational institution which applies for establishing a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school shall have the legal person status. A Chinese or foreign cooperator in running a school may contribute with funds, in kind or in forms of land-use right, intellectual property rights or other assets to establish the school. Contribution of intellectual property rights by a Chinese or foreign cooperator in running a school shall not exceed one-third of its total contribution. A Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school shall meet the basic requirements prescribed by the Education Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Vocational Education Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Higher Education Law of the People’s Republic of China and other laws and administrative regulations, and shall have the legal person status. However, a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school established to offer higher education service through the cooperation between a foreign educational institution and a Chinese institution of higher learning which offers education for academic qualifications may have no legal person status. The establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school shall follow the standards for the establishment of state-run educational institutions of the same type and at the same level. An application for establishing a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school offering higher education for academic qualifications at or above the regular university education shall be subject to examination and approval of the education administrative department of the State Council; an application for establishing a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school offering specialized higher education or higher education for non-academic qualifications shall be subject to examination and approval of the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the proposed school is to be located. An application for establishing a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school offering secondary education for academic qualifications, programs of tutoring self-taught students for examinations, programs offering supplementary teaching of school courses and pre-school education shall be subject to examination and approval of the education administrative department of the people’s government of the province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government where the proposed school is to be located. Application materials shall be submitted for approval by the Chinese cooperator in running schools according to the administrative subordination relationship. The establishment of a Chinese-foreign cooperatively-run school shall include two steps of preparation for establishment and formal establishment. However, the applicant may file an application directly for formal establishment if it satisfies the conditions for offering education and meets the standards for establishment.