@lc2020 , as you have undoubtedly seen from this thread:
(a) there is general agreement that for federal purposes, existing and in-effect tax treaty between US and the other country ( China in your particular case ) dictates if the US can tax the foreign pension ( based on type of pension and past employment );
(b) NJ statutes do not clearly state whether exclusion eligibility ( i.e. pension eligible for exclusion ) extends to "foreign" pension -- as stated by @fanfare " even the DOR-NJ may not have a clear answer on this ". IMHO, foreign pensions are unlikely to have been considered while creating the statute.
Thus in the absence of clear guidance, it becomes a question of (a) seeking guidance from NJ-DOR or (b) just assume that "foreign " pension is the same as pension from any domestic source and thus eligible for exclusion.
I did go back and look at both NJ-DOR instructions / comments on pension exclusion eligibility and China Tax treaty language ( article 17 and 18 ), --- clearly NJ instructions are addressing domestic pension schemes. They are silent on foreign sourced private pension. So my above position/ suggestion stands.
pk
