There are five things you need to do to get ready: 1) find the legal Chinese name of the Chinese company, 2) decide whether to sue in China, 3) if yes, hire a local Chinese lawyer, 4) evaluate the costs and benefits of litigation, and 5) prepare in advance evidence that Chinese courts would like.
You have three ways to investigate Chinese companies: legitimacy verification, due diligence, and on-site investigation.
In China, courts charge much less than arbitration institutions. But if there is an appeal, the cost of litigation is not much cheaper than the cost of arbitration.
If a Chinese company affixed a fake official company seal when signing a contract with you, probably you are in a scam.
If a Chinese supplier commits any default or fraud, there are four measures you can take to get your money back: (1) negotiation, (2) complaint, (3) debt collection, and (4) litigation or arbitration.
If you have a dispute with a Chinese company, would you choose litigation or arbitration in China? Perhaps you should first understand the advantages and disadvantages of litigation and arbitration in China.
You need to get a photocopy or a scanned copy of its business license and then check the company’s information in China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
The most important thing is to get the Chinese company to stamp the contract. In addition, it is better to have the contract also signed by the legal representative whose name is on the company’s business license.
You should prepare sufficient documentary evidence prior to filing a lawsuit, preferably provided or presented by the other party. In some cases, you can also rely on the court to collect evidence for you.
Roughly speaking, if you claim USD 10,000, the court cost is USD 200; if you claim USD 50,000, the court cost is USD 950; if you claim USD 100,000, the court cost is USD 1,600.
Chinese company registration status is divided into several types. Except for existence, all others are abnormal operating status.
You can terminate the contract with this supplier so that you can claim back your paid amount.
No. In fact, it won’t be any harder than if you were to sue any other company.
When your Chinese suppliers or distributors defraud or default, where will you file the lawsuit? China or somewhere else (eg. the place of your domicile), provided that both have jurisdiction over your case? To answer these questions, we need to compare the litigation in China with that in other countries.
If you are required to pay a deposit or make a prepayment before you can get the goods delivered by a Chinese supplier, then you’d better do a due diligence on the Chinese supplier beforehand.
How Do I Know If a Chinese Company Exists Legally? You can search the information of the enterprise in China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
If you are required to pay a deposit or make a prepayment before you can get the goods delivered by Chinese suppliers, then you need to beware of moral hazard. The best way is to find a trustworthy company and sign a good contract.
You can claim debt recovery from its shareholders. Normally, due to the very nature of companies (legal persons), it is very difficult for you to claim debt recovery from a Chinese company’s shareholders. Once the company is canceled, however, you will have opportunities to do so.
You are entitled to unilaterally terminate a contract with a Chinese company only if the conditions for rescission as agreed in the contract or under Chinese law mature. Otherwise, you can only terminate the contract with the consent of the other party.
Can I initiate arbitration proceedings against Chinese companies in my country and then have the awards enforced in China? You probably don’t want to go to faraway China to sue a Chinese company, and you don’t want to agree in the contract to submit the dispute to an arbitration institution that you don’t know about.
