Business Professionals

How to become an Auctioneer

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 拍卖师

Plans, organises and runs auctions and bidding events.

Main tasks

Talking with bidders and sales staff to understand who plans to bid
Planning how auctions and bidding events will be run
Setting the starting price, bid increments and online bidding process
Running auctions and bidding in the room or online
Controlling the bidding, warning of bidding risks and handling the unexpected
Signing and confirming paper or electronic legal auction documents

Ways in

University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 105 universities in China Related undergraduate subject classes in the Ministry of Education catalogue (2025): Business Administration (1202); E-commerce (1208); Logistics Management and Engineering (1206); Economics and Trade (0204); majors such as E-commerce, Marketing, Marketing Education, Retail Management, Logistics Management, Procurement Management. Matched to the occupation by Peernovo.
Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied French (570211). Vocational major 570211 Applied French (应用法语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Tour Guide Qualification.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied German (570213). Vocational major 570213 Applied German (应用德语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Tour Guide Qualification.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Japanese (570206). Vocational major 570206 Applied Japanese (应用日语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Korean (570204). Vocational major 570204 Applied Korean (应用韩语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Russian (570210). Vocational major 570210 Applied Russian (应用俄语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Cross-border E-commerce Multi-platform Operations.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Spanish (570212). Vocational major 570212 Applied Spanish (应用西班牙语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Tour Guide Qualification.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Thai (570214). Vocational major 570214 Applied Thai (应用泰语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Vietnamese (570215). Vocational major 570215 Applied Vietnamese (应用越南语), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).
National qualification: Licence to practise: Auctioneer. You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Auctioneer (拍卖师), run by China Association of Auctioneers. Peernovo links it to this occupation.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥80,100 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥55,300 to CN¥127,700. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥202,900.
This is the figure for the mid group Economic and Financial Professionals, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥102,810 a year (2025), middle half CN¥65,874 to CN¥146,990.
This is the figure for the minor group Business Professionals, not for this job alone.
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Economic and Financial Professionals holds 2.2% of everyone employed in China; 71% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
50.4% are under 35, 45.7% are 35 to 54 and 3.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 30 to 34.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Auctioneer?

Ways in include: Business & Commerce degrees; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied French (570211); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied German (570213).

How much does an Auctioneer earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥80,100 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Economic and Financial Professionals. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥102,810 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Auctioneer?

Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026