The Debt Collection Environment in China
Under the huge trade scale, there are, inevitably, considerable purchase payment or advance payment defaults.
Under the huge trade scale, there are, inevitably, considerable purchase payment or advance payment defaults.
International business partners are getting increasingly accustomed to using WhatsApp or WeChat to reach an agreement, send orders, modify transaction conditions and confirm performance.
Although Chinese companies do not have legal names in English, they may file a standard name in English with the competent Chinese authority.
Compared with debtors in your own country, when debtors in China do not pay, you will encounter many different challenges and consequences.
If you contract with a Chinese company, you’d better have its legal representative sign the contract. This is because he/she holds the core power of the company and will also be responsible for the company.
In China, the Certificate of Registration for Chinese companies is also called Business License (营业执照, Ying Ye Zhi Zhao).
You can check the Company’s Capital in China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
Problems faced by trade dispute settlement are uncertain and therefore more complex, while debt collection only concerns the collection of a specific undisputed debt.
A Chinese company with larger registered capital, especially paid-in capital, usually has larger scale and stronger ability to perform contracts. However, its registered capital or paid-in capital isn’t necessarily equal to its actual assets at a certain point of time.
You can find a Chinese company’s registration information on China’s national enterprise credit information publicity system via the link below.
International debt collection can be a complex, drawn-out process, particularly when you don’t understand Chinese, can’t come to China, and know nothing about China’s legal and judicial system.
The Registration Number for Chinese companies is called in Unified Social Credit Code in China. It is a unique 18-digit alphanumeric (letter and number) code.
Before bringing a lawsuit, you could first consider negotiation, complaint, and debt collection.
If the company does not have a business license, or an official seal, or cannot be retrieved in China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, then it is definitely a fake company.
Collecting debts from international clients is hard enough, but the process becomes even harder when trying to collect a debt from a Chinese business partner whose culture and language are completely different from yours.
You should avoid dealing with a company in suspension, revocation, liquidation or deregistration because it is incapable of performing contracts. Otherwise, you will be exposed to substantial losses and probably fail to claim damages from such a company.
When you decide to sue a Chinese company, where will you file the lawsuit? China or your own country, provided that both have jurisdiction over your case?
You should terminate the contract before considering whether to claim compensation from him.
You need to find the legal Chinese name of the Chinese company, otherwise you cannot be sure who is dealing with you and whom you should ask to execute your contract.
You can find the information of this company on the official website of the Chinese company registration authority.