- The dispute clause is decided at contract time: for foreign-related contracts you may choose arbitration in China (SHIAC, CIETAC and others) or offshore (HKIAC, SIAC); purely domestic contracts stay with PRC forums.
- A PRC arbitration clause must name a specific institution — a defective clause can put you in the very court you tried to avoid.
- Arbitral awards travel; court judgments travel less. China enforces foreign awards under the New York Convention, while recognition of foreign court judgments depends on treaties and developing reciprocity practice — one big reason arbitration remains the default for cross-border deals.
- Preservation wins cases: asset and evidence preservation orders, obtained early, are frequently what converts a paper victory into money.
- Chinese proceedings are document-driven and fast by international standards; there is no common-law discovery — the evidence you hold when the dispute starts is close to the evidence you will have.
Court or arbitration: how to choose 诉讼还是仲裁
| Chinese courts 法院诉讼 | Arbitration 仲裁 | |
|---|---|---|
| Fits best | Counterparty assets in China; debt collection; IP infringement (specialised IP courts); no valid arbitration clause | Cross-border contracts; confidentiality; foreign-language proceedings; need to enforce outside China |
| Speed | First instance often within months (domestic track); two instances standard; foreign-related cases may run longer | Single instance, award final; institutional timelines apply |
| Language / arbitrators | Chinese, PRC judges | Party-agreed language possible; foreign arbitrators available at major institutions |
| Enforcement abroad | Treaty / reciprocity dependent | New York Convention (170+ states) |
| Costs | Court fees scale with claim; generally lower | Institutional fees higher; still usually below major offshore litigation |
Two refinements experienced parties build in: a seat you can live with (a Hong Kong seat combines offshore neutrality with the mainland's interim-measures arrangement, under which parties to Hong Kong proceedings can seek asset preservation from mainland courts), and a realistic look at where the counterparty's assets are — an elegant award against an asset-less shell is stationery. Our Arbitration desk (Chinese) covers institution choice and clause drafting in depth.
Litigating in China: what foreign parties should expect 在华诉讼须知
Chinese civil procedure is document-centred: contemporaneous written evidence (contracts, chops, delivery records, payment flows, WeChat records properly preserved) outweighs witness testimony, and there is no discovery to fill gaps later. Foreign corporate documents used in litigation need notarisation and apostille/legalisation; budget time for it. Interim relief deserves emphasis — pre-action and in-action asset preservation freezes bank accounts and property on a bond, changes settlement dynamics overnight, and is granted with a speed that surprises common-law practitioners. Foreign-related commercial cases in Shanghai benefit from dedicated tribunals with genuine cross-border experience.
Costs behave differently too: court fees are ad valorem and modest, fee-shifting is limited, and damages are compensatory. The economics favour parties whose evidence was assembled before the relationship soured — which returns, as always, to the contract stage.
Turning a win into money: enforcement 执行
Domestic enforcement runs through the courts' enforcement divisions with meaningful teeth: account freezes, the judgment-defaulter blacklist (which blocks flights, high-speed rail and financing for the individuals responsible), and equity seizures. Cross-border, the asymmetry noted above governs planning: foreign arbitral awards enter through the New York Convention with a reporting system that pushes refusals up to the Supreme People's Court — refusal grounds are narrow and refusals genuinely rare; foreign court judgments depend on bilateral treaties or reciprocity, an area where practice has been developing case by case. If your only enforcement theatre is mainland China and your only instrument is a foreign judgment, revisit the dispute clause now rather than test the doctrine later.
- Civil Procedure Law of the PRC (foreign-related provisions as amended) 《民事诉讼法》 —— jurisdiction, service and procedure in foreign-related litigation, and enforcement of judgments; supports 在华诉讼须知 and 执行.
- Arbitration Law of the PRC 《仲裁法》 —— the requirements of a valid arbitration agreement and the arbitration route; supports 诉讼还是仲裁.
- New York Convention (PRC accession with commercial and reciprocity reservations) 《承认及执行外国仲裁裁决公约》 —— recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in China; supports 执行.
- Arrangement Concerning Mutual Assistance in Court-ordered Interim Measures in Aid of Arbitral Proceedings by the Courts of the Mainland and of the HKSAR 内地与香港仲裁保全安排 —— interim measures from mainland courts in aid of Hong Kong arbitration; supports 诉讼还是仲裁 and 执行.
- SPC provisions on the reporting system for refusals to enforce foreign awards 最高人民法院相关司法解释 —— the internal reporting requirement before enforcement is refused; supports 执行.
Validity note 效力提示：Rules cited as in force at the review date; the current official text prevails.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice on any specific matter. 本页为一般性法律信息，不构成对具体个案的法律意见。
