(A Practical Guide to Filing a Complaint Against a Company in China: Navigating Chinese Civil Litigation)
If your Chinese supplier fails to ship to you or ships poor or insufficient goods, resolving trade disputes in China can feel overwhelming for you as a foreign businessman unfamiliar with local practices. Filing a complaint against a company in China requires careful adherence to legal protocols. As experienced Chinese lawyers specializing in cross-border disputes, we’ve prepared this step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process effectively while avoiding common pitfalls.
Step 1: Appoint a Chinese Lawyer
Under China's Civil Procedure Law, foreign individuals or companies must appoint a Chinese lawyer to file litigation. Self-representation is not permitted. When learning how to file a complaint against a company in China, securing legal representation is your first critical step.
Step 2: Identify the Defendant
Gather the defendant’s legal details:
For companies: Business registration number, address, and license.
For individuals: ID card number (the court will not file a case without the defendant's ID number. Lawyers in China can assist in investigating the defendant's ID card number).
Pro Tip: Expand the defendant scope if possible. For example, sue both a debtor company and its sole shareholder to increase recovery chances.
Proper identification is crucial when filing a complaint against a company in China to ensure compliance.
Step 3: Determine Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction depends on:
Legal Provisions: If there is no jurisdiction clause agreed in the contract, cases are usually filed in the defendant’s local court, or where the contract was signed/executed. For different cases, the China’s Civil Procedure Law has corresponding specific provisions on jurisdiction.
Contract Clauses: If there is a jurisdiction clause agreed in the contract and the clause is valid, follow agreed terms (e.g. arbitration at CIETAC or a specific court).
Understanding jurisdiction is key to successfully file a complaint against a company in China under the Civil Procedure Law.
Step 4: Prepare Documents & File a Case
Submit these documents to the court:
Complaint letter
Evidence list and evidence (e.g. contracts, communication records, inspection reports)
Translation by a qualified translation company (Chinese courts only work in Chinese)
Critical Action: Whether in litigation or arbitration, apply for property preservation (freezing the defendant’s assets, such as bank accounts and real estate) before filing the case to secure recovery.
Accurate document preparation is essential when filing a complaint against a company in China to avoid delays.
Pro Tip:
Property preservation usually helps to force the defendant to agree to mediation, and can provide higher certainty for the outcome of enforcement of judgment.
Property preservation will result in additional costs beyond court fees for filing a case: property preservation fees.
Generally speaking, if the defendant's bank account is known, most plaintiffs will choose property preservation because the amount of property preservation fees is small compared to the claim amount.
Step 5: Evidence Submission & Trial
Evidence Submission: When filing the case, the plaintiff needs to submit initial evidence with the complaint. After receiving the formal notice of case filing and paying the court fees or arbitration fees, there is usually a time limit for the plaintiff to submit supplementary evidence, and the defendant can also submit defense opinions and rebuttal evidence within this time limit.
Trial: After submitting evidence, the court/arbitration court usually arrange a court hearing, and lawyers represent the parties in the court hearing. Court hearings rarely require personal attendance.
Step 6: Judgment & Appeal
After the court hearing, the court/arbitration court will issue a judgment:
If it is arbitration, the judgment is final and there is no opportunity for appeal.
If it is a litigation, both the plaintiff and defendant have the right to appeal, and then the second instance court will conduct another trial. Generally speaking, in China's legal system, the second instance judgment is the final judgment.
Step 7: Enforcement
If the defendant refuses to pay after the judgment, the plaintiff can apply to the court to initiate an enforcement case:
The court will use its system to search for the defendant's assets. If the court finds the assets, it will take enforcement measures, such as deducting funds from the bank account or auctioning off real estate to pay the plaintiff.
If the court cannot find the defendant's assets, the enforcement case may be terminated. Then the plaintiff can apply to the court to list the defendant as a dishonest debtor and on the restricted high consumption list, thereby restricting the defendant and forcing the defendant to pay.
Why Foreign Buyers Trust Our China Legal Team
With offices in 34 cities including Shenzhen, Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hangzhou, we’ve resolved 1,200+ cross-border disputes since 2015. Our Chinese lawyers combine local court experience with fluency in English, ensuring your complaint gets heard – and heeded.
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