Whether foreigners have to get written permission from their Chinese employers to terminate their contracts?

I helped several foreigners to reivew their employment contracts these days. Almost all contracts have such kind of article: foreginers cannot terminate their contracts without written permission from their Chinese employers.

I said that many foreigners know little about employment contract law of China, which is used by some Chinese employmers. The aforementioned article is used by employers to deprive the rights of foreign employees.

According to Chinese employment law, Employees, including foreigners, do not have to get writtem permission from their employers. Therefore, the written permission article is illegal. Pls check whether there is such article in your employment contract and then discuss it with your employer.