Apologies if this is answered on one of the 80+ other threads on visas (many of which I trawled through before giving up!).
Is there a difference between a Foreign Experts Certificate (which a University would typically arrange for a teacher) and a "Z visa / Residents Permit" (which a private language school would typically arrange for a teacher). Or are they alternative names for the same thing? If they are different, how easy is it to convert from one to another. Thanks for any insights.

Z visa gets you into the country and gives you the right to accept the foreign Experts Certificate or Residents Permit which the university or school can arrange for you after you get here.

Bit of a clarification on what Alien posted.

Z visa does get you into country first time.

Foreign Experts certificate says you are allowed to work at the specific job

Residents permit is given after FEC & says you're allowed to live here!

Some of us get Alien employment licences (work permits) instead of an FEC.

Hotwater said: "Some of us get Alien employment licences (work permits) instead of an FEC."

This is the basic gist of it. If you're working in education or certain technical fields, you apply for a FEC. Other stuff, such as managerial work, requires an Alien Employment Permit instead. The requirements may differ in some small ways, but they are essentially the same.

Everyone needs a residence permit. Once you get the FEC or AEP, you then apply for a Z visa to enter the country. You then go to the PSB to process a Residence Permit, which can be one to three years (almost always one), depending on the contract.

@ Xiefei, cheers.

Though when I got my Z visa a couple of years ago to work in Guangzhou it went something like this:
1. Company got alien employment to allow them to employ & issued me an invitation letter
2. I then applied for Z visa in the UK.

3. After entering china on the Z visa the company then got me the AEL
4. Then got residence permit (luckily 3 year one! Engineering position)

I don't know which order it works on an FEC.

@Hotwater: Pretty much the same for me a few years ago, but what I got was (1) invitation letter from a university here in Kunming, (2) with it I got a Z visa in Hong Kong, and then (3) back in Kunming, I got a 1-year residence visa (asked for the FEC but never got it - useful but not so important these days, so I dropped the issue). The university nearly screwed me up by, rather carelessly, not telling me all the papers I'd need in Hong Kong, but I was able to get them to fax them to me - so be careful that your employer is careful about this. Was for a teaching position - I think you can still do this through Hong Kong, but I don't know for sure now.

Thanks all. Much clearer. I've had an annually-renewed Residents Permit in my passport for years, but never seen a Foreign Experts Certificate. I suspect my employing school keeps it safe as I never need it anyway. Is it a piece of paper, or a booklet or ...?

So if I transfer from a private language school to a state Uni, the FEC needs to change to reflect the new employers, but I presume there's no need to leave the country or get a new Z visa or anything?

The only thing you really have to have is the Residence Certificate - I don't know the rigamarole involved in changing jobs, but you may have to go to Hong Kong, get a Z visa to re-enter, then get new Residence Certificate, etc. - the university should take your passport, submit it to the appropriate cops & get it for you. But don't worry too much about the FEC.