Summary
The Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (CSCSE) - a body under the Ministry of Education - announced on April 3rd that it would relax its rules on the recognition of overseas distance-learning qualifications due to the current COVID-19 epidemic. The announcement expressed CSCSE's "understanding and support" of overseas universities' measures to mitigate the epidemic, including online delivery and online thesis defence, and confirmed that these measures will not affect the recognition of overseas degrees even if this results in students' overseas study duration not meeting the stated requirements for their degree to be recognised in China.

Update (19 March 2021)

In a note circulated in March 2021, the Ministry of Education emphasised that the policy only applies to in-person courses that have had to be rearranged due to the pandemic, and that the Ministry would not recognise programmes designed as fully online from the start.

Sources:

https://news.eol.cn/yaowen/202103/t20210319_2086525.shtml

Update (22 December 2020)

During the recent press conference, the MoE and CSCSE have reconfirmed that their policy announced in April allowing students enrolled on in-person courses but unable to study abroad due to COVID-19 to have their qualifications recognised is still in place. And it only applies to full-time registered students studying online as a result of their universities' COVID-19 mitigation measures. It should not be interpreted as a change in the policy for recognition of online delivery more broadly.

Sources: 

http://www.moe.gov.cn/fbh/live/2020/52834/twwd/202012/t20201222_506910.html

Update (13 May 2020)

Following this announcement, the British Council has received a number of enquiries from UK universities, seeking clarification with regard to what courses and what students are covered by CSCSE’s announcement. To support UK institutions, the British Council has sought some clarification from CSCSE.

CSCSE emphasised that this flexibility applies only to temporary measures applied during the pandemic period for students on in-person programmes, and specifically does not apply to programmes intended to be delivered entirely online or to students who continue to study remotely after it is possible to resume face-to-face study. CSCSE did clarify that newly-registered students will be covered by the policy for as long as pandemic-related restrictions are still in place.

CSCSE commented that decisions will be based on the students’ own circumstances and that both government-level policies and the university’s own announcements will be taken into account. However, they encourage universities to resume face-to-face teaching once pandemic controls end and universities should facilitate students’ visa applications to go to the UK for the rest of their programmes.

It is important to note that CSCSE’s clarifications in the above threeparagraphs come from direct discussions and do not have the weight of an official announcement. As of 13 May there have been no further announcements on this subject since the original statement.

A full translation of the original statement is included below.

Analysis by Kevin Prest, Senior Analyst, British Council International Education Services
CSCSE is responsible for officially accrediting overseas degrees in China, and returning overseas graduates are required to register their degrees with CSCSE to confirm their validity.

The recent announcement confirms that overseas degrees will still be recognised even if universities' mitigation measures would mean that the course fails to meet CSCSE's recognition requirements (for example because students return to China and study remotely).

The British Council's discussion with CSCSE confirms that this policy will apply for the whole period of epidemic controls, including newly-registered students if the epidemic continues into the next academic year.

However, it only applies to students who find themselves studying online as a result of their universities' COVID-19 mitigation measures. It should not be interpreted as a change in CSCSE's policy for the recognition of online delivery more broadly.

Translation of CSCSE statement
Due to the global COVID-19 epidemic, some overseas countries have introduced restrictions on visas and entry requirements. Regular teaching delivery of some overseas institutions has been severely impacted and a large number of Chinese students studying abroad cannot continue their current studies in the standard way. Since the outbreak of the epidemicwe have been paying close attention to the development of the situation and are concerned about the safety of overseas students in overseas countries. Regarding the recognition and verification of degrees earned through overseas studies, we issue the following notice:

1. We express our understanding and support for measures taken by some overseas colleges and universities during the epidemic prevention and control period to assist Chinese students studying abroad by extending registration deadlines and new term dates, offering online courses and delivery, and arranging flexible graduation defenses.

2. Due to the impact of epidemic prevention and control, some Chinese students will be unable to return to school at the planned time and must take some of their courses online. In the situation that this leads to them not meeting the requirements for time spent abroad during overseas study, this factor will not affect the recognition of their qualifications.

3. Students studying abroad should actively follow the arrangements of their education institutions during the special period, prioritise health and safety, endeavour to overcome the influence of various unfavorable factors, and complete their relevant quantitative and qualitative academic requirements.

4. To respond to the concerns of overseas students, CSCSE will actively release information during the epidemic period through our official website (www.cscse.edu.cn). We have also set up an overseas qualification recognition hotline on +86 (0）10 6267 7800 and by email at renzheng@cscse.edu.cn .

Source:
CSCSE - Notes on the impact of New Coronavirus on the recognition of returning overseas students' degrees (in Chinese): http://www.cscse.edu.cn/publish/portal0/tab38/info16162.htm