Adrian Liu · China-side litigation and arbitration
Suing a Chinese Supplier: Court or Arbitration in China
If the supplier and its assets are in mainland China, a Chinese judgment or a China-seated arbitration award is usually what reaches the money. The case turns on four things you can check before filing.
- Asset freeze
- About 10 days through a court, about two weeks through arbitration
- First-instance judgment
- About six months, if no expert appraisal is needed
- Case assessment
- US$1,950, credited against representation if you instruct within 30 days
- Representation
- From US$15,000 fixed, or a lower fixed fee plus a success fee
Still deciding whether to pursue the supplier at all? Start with the dispute assessment →
What decides the case before it is filed?
Four points decide most of these cases before a judge reads the file. Each one can be checked in the assessment.
- The right defendant. The Chinese company that signed or accepted the order, under its registered Chinese name. An English trading name, a Hong Kong invoicing company or the person who took your WeChat messages may be a different party. See from an English name to a Chinese company.
- The forum the contract chose. A valid arbitration clause sends the case to arbitration; without one, the claim goes to a Chinese court. A clause naming a foreign court can stop a Chinese court from hearing the case.
- Something to freeze. A bank account, receivables, equipment or property in the supplier's name. A judgment against a company with nothing left collects nothing.
- Time. A claim filed after the limitation period can fail on that ground alone.
How long does a case against a Chinese supplier take?
A first-instance court case without an expert appraisal is usually decided in about six months from filing. An expert appraisal, a jurisdiction objection or difficulty serving the supplier adds time.
| Stage | Typical time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Preparing the file | Depends on your documents | Complaint, evidence list and translations. The apostille or legalisation of your company documents is usually the longest wait; see instructing a Chinese lawyer from abroad |
| Asset freeze | About 10 days (court), about two weeks (arbitration) | Applied for with the claim, or before filing in urgent cases |
| First instance | About six months | Service on the supplier, exchange of evidence, hearing, judgment |
| Appeal window | 30 days for you, 15 days for the supplier | A party without a domicile in China has 30 days to appeal (Civil Procedure Law Article 286) |
| Enforcement | Depends on the assets | If the supplier does not pay, the court can freeze, transfer and sell its assets |
Arbitration has no appeal: the award is final, and a court can only set it aside or refuse enforcement on limited grounds. Arbitration institution fees are usually higher than court fees.
What does it take to freeze the supplier's assets?
A freeze needs an asset lead and a guarantee. The court may require the applicant to provide security. For an application made during the case, that security does not exceed 30% of the amount to be frozen; before filing, it is normally the full amount (Supreme People's Court Provisions on Property Preservation, Article 5; Civil Procedure Law Article 104). Instead of posting cash, you can ask a Chinese insurer to issue the guarantee under a preservation liability policy (Provisions, Article 7), for a premium that is a small fraction of the amount secured.
In arbitration, the application goes through the arbitration institution to the court. Since 1 March 2026 the Arbitration Law also allows a party to an arbitration agreement to apply directly to a court before starting the arbitration in urgent cases (Arbitration Law 2025, Article 39).
A freeze is not free of risk. If the application is wrong, the applicant must compensate the supplier for the loss it caused (Civil Procedure Law Article 108). Losing part of the claim does not by itself make a freeze wrongful; courts ask whether the claim and the amount frozen were reasonable when you applied. Freeze the right company, and an amount your documents support. Three recent judgments show how courts decide whether a freeze was wrongful.
What does the court charge?
Court fees are separate from legal fees. The case acceptance fee rises with the amount claimed and is normally borne by the losing party in the judgment. The preservation application fee is capped at RMB 5,000 (Measures on the Payment of Litigation Costs, Article 14). For a sense of scale, a published 2026 judgment of a Jinan court on a claim of US$114,800 records an acceptance fee of RMB 11,998 and an application fee of RMB 4,695, both ordered against the supplier; see the Jinan case. Translation, notarisation or apostille of your documents, the preservation guarantee premium and any expert appraisal are additional costs.
What do I charge?
There are two plans. In both, the fixed part covers the work; the success fee in the second plan is a smaller share, because enforcing against a Chinese supplier that will not pay takes time and cost of its own.
| Work | Fixed-fee plan | Success-fee plan |
|---|---|---|
| Written case assessment | US$1,950, credited against representation if you instruct within 30 days | |
| First instance, claim up to US$200,000 | From US$15,000 | From US$12,000 plus 5% of the amount actually recovered |
| First instance, claim US$200,000 to US$1 million | From US$25,000 | From US$20,000 plus 5% of the amount actually recovered |
| Arbitration (for example CIETAC) | From US$18,000 or US$30,000 by claim size | Quoted case by case |
| Asset freeze with the claim | Add US$3,000 | |
| Appeal | From US$10,000 | |
| Enforcement | From US$5,000 | |
| Claims above US$1 million | Quoted case by case | |
The success-fee plan is available for claims above US$100,000 and is agreed in a separate written contract. The fixed part is not refundable. PRC rules cap the total fees under such a plan as a percentage of the amount recovered; the contract states the cap. Court fees, translation, notarisation or apostille, guarantee premiums, expert appraisal and travel are not included in either plan.
When would I advise you not to sue?
- The claim is small. Below about US$50,000, representation fees can reach a third of the claim. A demand letter or a negotiated repayment is usually the better first step; see when a demand letter helps.
- There is nothing to collect. The supplier has been deregistered, or holds no assets, and nobody else is liable for its debts.
- The only party that signed is outside mainland China. A trading company in Hong Kong or a free zone may need to be pursued where it is. See which company to contract with.
- The contract points to a forum you cannot use. A foreign court clause or an invalid arbitration clause has to be dealt with first.
What this service does not cover
I act in Chinese courts and in arbitration conducted under PRC law. I do not appear in courts outside mainland China. Expert appraisal, asset investigation by specialists and enforcement of a Chinese judgment abroad are separate work. An assessment or a filed case is not a promise of recovery.
Questions from overseas buyers
Should I sue in China or in my own country?
If the supplier and its assets are in mainland China, usually in China. A judgment from your own court then has to be recognised and enforced by a Chinese court, which is slower and less certain. An arbitration award from most countries can be enforced in China under the New York Convention; see where a Gulf judgment or award can be enforced.
Court or arbitration: who decides?
The contract does. If it contains a valid arbitration clause, the case goes to arbitration and a court will not hear it. If it contains no dispute clause, the claim goes to a Chinese court, usually where the supplier is based or where the contract was performed. Arbitration is private and final; a court case is public and can be appealed once.
Can I recover my legal fees from the supplier?
Only if the contract says the losing party pays them, and only if you can prove you paid them. In the Jinan case above, the buyer recovered its notarisation costs but not its lawyer's fees, because the contract had no such clause.
What happens if the supplier still does not pay after the judgment?
You apply for enforcement. The court can freeze, transfer and auction the supplier's assets, and can restrict its legal representative's spending and list the company as a dishonest judgment debtor. Enforcement is a separate stage and is quoted separately.
Do you work on a no-win, no-fee basis?
No. The success-fee plan lowers the fixed part and adds a percentage of what is actually recovered, for claims above US$100,000. The fixed part is still paid, because a case against a supplier that refuses to pay has real costs whatever the outcome.
Find out whether the case is worth filing
Send the contract or order, the payment record, the Chinese company name and the amount in dispute. The written assessment tells you the forum, the defendant, the time limit, what can be frozen and what the case will cost, before you commit to proceedings.
General information about the service, not advice on a particular dispute. Send a non-confidential outline first; documents follow after the conflict check.