What is the difference between a Professional Supervisory Unit and a Chinese Partner Unit (CPU)? Which entities in China are approved to work as CPUs?
Unlike Professional Supervisory Unites (PSUs), which are paired with foreign NGO representative offices in China and which must be selected from a list provided by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), Chinese Partner Units (CPUs) are organizations that work with foreign NGOs to carry out temporary activities. Article 16 of the Foreign NGO law, as translated by China Law Translate, describes CPUs as “state organs, mass organizations, public institutions, or social organizations.” This appears to mean that neither an individual nor a business can act as a CPU.
There is no list of approved CPUs, and the MPS has provided no official guidance on which specific organizations qualify.