Summary:
China's Ministry of Education (MoE) has reformed its requirements for verifying overseas degrees. This reform reduces the number of documents returning graduates must submit in order to register their degree with the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) under the MoE.

The most important such change is that returned graduates no longer need to provide their transcripts from foreign education institutions when applying for the accreditation of their overseas degree. Other cancellations of required documents include:

1. For graduates who transferred credits, proof of study at the students' previous institution is no longer required
2. For graduates who were enrolled on a Sino-foreign TNE programme (TNE programmes/institutes approved by the MoE), proof of study at the Chinese partner institution is no longer required
3. For graduates who studied in China before going abroad, proof of enrolment is no longer required for registration on the official qualification verification website operated by the China Higher Education Student Information and Career Center (CHESICC)
4. Proof of internship experience is no longer required for applicants with domestic internship experience
5. Other documents related to study in specific countries and regions including Hong Kong, Macao, Russia, Cuba and certain European countries are no longer required

Analysis by Kevin Prest and Xiaoxiao Liu:
Although registering an overseas degree is not a legal requirement, the CSCSE’s service is used by many employers – especially government departments and state-owned companies – to verify candidates’ overseas qualifications. Returned overseas graduates also receive favourable treatment in other areas such as household registration, which also requires the overseas degree to be registered. These changes will therefore be relevant to most Chinese graduates who return to China after graduation. Universities that provide support to Chinese alumni may wish to update their guidance on this process.

Sources:
http://www.moe.edu.cn/srcsite/A02/s5911/moe_621/201607/t20160725_272871....