We have entered into employment agreements with our executive officers. Each of our executive officers is employed for a continuous term, or a specified time period that will be automatically extended unless either we or the executive officer gives prior notice to terminate such employment. We may terminate the employment for cause, at any time, without notice or remuneration, for certain acts of the executive officer, including, but not limited to, the committing of any serious or persistent breach or nonobservance of the terms and conditions of the employment, conviction of a criminal offense other than one which in the opinion of the board does not affect the executive’s position, willful disobedience of a lawful and reasonable order, misconduct being inconsistent with the due and faithful discharge of the executive officer’s material duties, fraud or dishonesty, or habitual neglect of his or her duties. An executive officer may terminate his or her employment at any time with written notice three to six months prior.
Each executive officer has agreed to hold, both during and after the employment agreement expires or is earlier terminated, in strict confidence and not to use or disclose to any person, corporation or other entity without written consent, any confidential information or trade secrets. Each executive officer has also agreed to disclose in confidence to us all inventions, intellectual and industry property rights and trade secrets that they made, discovered, conceived, developed or reduced to practice during the executive officer’s employment with us and to assign to our company all of his or her associated titles, interests, patents, patent rights, copyrights, trade secret rights, trademarks, trademark rights, mask work rights and other intellectual property and rights anywhere in the world that the executive officer may solely or jointly conceive, invent, discover, reduce to practice, create, drive, develop or make, or cause to be conceived, invented, discovered, reduced to practice, created, driven, developed or made, during the period of the executive officer’s employment with us that either are related to our business, actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development or any of our services being developed, manufactured, marketed or sold, or are related to the scope of the employment or make use of our resources. In addition, all executive officers have agreed to be bound by
non-competition
and
non-solicitation
restrictions set forth in their agreements. Each executive officer has agreed to devote all his or her working time and attention to our business and use best efforts to develop our business and interests. Moreover, each executive officer has agreed not to, for a certain period following the termination of his or her employment or the expiration of the employment agreement, (i) carry on or be engaged, concerned or interested in, directly or indirectly, whether as shareholder, director, employee, partner or agent, or otherwise carry on, any business in direct competition with us, (ii) solicit or entice away any of our business partners, representatives or agents, or (iii) employ, solicit or entice away or attempt to employ, solicit or entice away any of our officers, managers, consultants or employees.
For the year ended December 31, 2021, we paid an aggregate of RMB8.4 million (US$1.3 million) in cash and benefits to our executive officers. We have not set aside or accrued any amount to provide pension, retirement or other similar benefits to our executive officers and directors. Our PRC subsidiaries and VIEs are required by law to make contributions equal to certain percentages of each employee’s salary for his or her pension insurance, medical insurance, unemployment insurance and other statutory benefits and a housing provident fund.