Can I sue Chinese companies in a district court in California, the U.S., or in Paris, France, and then enforce a judgment in China from those courts?
Most likely, you don’t want to have to go so far away as to sue a Chinese company. You may just want to take your case in the court on your doorstep because you are more familiar with your home state.
However, you are also aware that the vast majority or all of the assets of the Chinese company are located in China. As a result, even if you have won the lawsuit at home, you still need to have your judgment enforced in China.
This concerns the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in China.
China has adopted a more friendly attitude towards the enforcement of foreign judgments in China since 2015, with a handful of successful cases concerning recognition of judgments of several countries, including the United States, Singapore and South Korea.
On this basis, China’s Supreme People’s Court(SPC) has started applying new rules in 2022 that will make foreign judgments as likely to be recognized and enforced in China as they are in common-law countries or civil-law countries like Germany.
To date, foreign judgments rendered from the following jurisdictions can or are very likely to be recognized and enforced in China.
i. France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Vietnam, the UAE, Poland, Mongolia, Romania, Belarus, Ukraine, Cuba, Egypt, Bulgaria, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Morocco, Tunisia, Laos, Lithuania, North Korea, Kuwait, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Algeria, Bosnia, and Herzegovina: these countries have concluded bilateral treaties with China.
ii. The US, the UK, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand: judgments rendered in these countries have already been recognized in China based on reciprocity.
iii. Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the British Virgin Islands, and New Zealand: these countries and regions have recognized Chinese judgments and are waiting for China to confirm the reciprocity in future cases.
Contributors of China Justice Observer (CJO)（Guodong Du, Meng Yu, Yahan Wang, Béligh Elbalti, etc.）maintain their focus on this field, and endeavor to share updates on the latest developments with the international community. In addition, Guodong Du and Meng Yu lead a team of attorneys from multiple Chinese law firms, providing legal services in recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments.
For Foreign Judgments Collection Service and more resources, please click here.
For 2022 Guide to Enforce Foreign Judgments in China, please click here. For more countries' guides, please click here.
For the time and expenses in recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in China, please click here.
For the List of China’s cases on recognition of foreign judgments, please click here.
For the List of China's Bilateral Treaties on Judicial Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters (Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Included), please click here.
Sat, 18 Apr 2020 Insights Guodong Du 杜国栋 , Meng Yu 余萌
To date, we have collected 57 cases involving China and 20 foreign States and regions in the field of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. (Note: Foreign divorce judgments are excluded.)
Fri, 03 Apr 2020 Insights Yahan Wang 王雅菡
The Arnhem Leeuwarden Court of Appeal, Netherlands, ruled in 2015 to recognize and enforce a Chinese judgment, which marks the first time that a Dutch court has recognized a Chinese monetary judgment.
Sun, 08 Mar 2020 Insights Meng Yu 余萌
The case also marks the first time that a Singapore judgment has been recognized in China since the signing of China-Singapore Memorandum of Guidance in 2018.
Tue, 04 Feb 2020 Insights Meng Yu 余萌
The Case of Huizhi Liu is the third Chinese judgment recognized in the U.S. and the first in New York.
Sat, 18 Jan 2020 Insights Meng Yu 余萌
Interim measures may not be available until the foreign arbitral awards/judgments are recognized, awaiting enforcement.
Sun, 12 Jan 2020 Insights Béligh Elbalti
China and Japan should avoid the passive ''wait-and-see'' attitude and should be prepared, in the light of the recent development in China, to be ready to take the decisive step that will end with the current stalemate.
Sat, 07 Dec 2019 Insights Meng Yu 余萌
A court in Shanghai ruled in April 2019 that a judgment made by the United Arab Emirates shall be recognized.
Sun, 17 Nov 2019 Insights Meng Yu 余萌
Dr. Meng Yu, as the panelist of the symposium of ''Exploring New Horizons in Caribbean-China Trade and Investment Relations'' held in Barbados in November 2019, talked about the possibility and feasibility for China and the Caribbean (in particular, the Caribbean offshore financial centers) to cooperate in mutual recognition and enforcement of court judgments.
Tue, 06 Aug 2019 Insights Guodong Du 杜国栋 , Meng Yu 余萌
Dr. Meng Yu, as the panelist of the seminar “Enforcing the Judgment: Convergence of Asian Business Laws to Facilitate Certainty for Investment and Trade” organized by the Asian Business Law Institute (ABLI), Singapore, talked about the portability of judgments in Asia from China’s perspective.
Sun, 04 Aug 2019 Insights Guodong Du 杜国栋 , Meng Yu 余萌
When I apply to Chinese courts for recognition of foreign judgments, do I need to provide evidence to prove that there is a reciprocal relationship between China and the country where the judgment was rendered?