Does the employer have to pay social security for foreign employees?

Article 97 of the Social Insurance Law provides that "Foreigners who are employed within China shall participate in social insurance with reference to the provisions of this Law." When a foreign employee terminates the employment relationship and cancels the employment certificate, the foreign employee usually leaves China, and since the foreigner may have paid the corresponding social insurance in his/her home country, a situation of double contribution may arise, and if foreigners coming to work in China are strictly required to pay social insurance in accordance with China's laws, this may cause unnecessary burden on the employer and the foreign employee. At present, China has already exempted certain social insurance payment obligations with Germany, Japan, South Korea, Canada and other countries through bilateral agreements. For foreigners who have paid social insurance in China but have left the country before reaching the pensionable age, Article 5 of the Interim Measures for the Participation in Social Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China stipulates that: if a foreigner leaves the country before reaching the stipulated pensionable age, his/her social insurance individual account will be retained, and if he/she comes to China again to be employed, his/her years of contribution will be calculated cumulatively; and if a foreigner terminates his/her social insurance relationship upon his/her own written application, his/her social insurance individual account can be transferred to his/her social insurance individual account. If the person concerned applies in writing for termination of the social insurance relationship, the amount stored in his or her individual social insurance account may be paid to him or her in a lump sum.