The judgment is in hand.The assets are in China.
China has recognised foreign arbitral awards under the New York Convention since 1987, and since 2022 its courts have taken a far more workable view of reciprocity for foreign judgments. The law is no longer the principal obstacle. Time is: the assets must be found and frozen before they move. We conduct the matter in English from assessment to recovery, with PRC-licensed counsel in court.
Four matters to weigh before enforcing in China
None of this is a reason not to proceed. All of it bears on the pace at which to act.
China has applied the Convention since 1987, with the reciprocity and commercial reservations. A lower court minded to refuse recognition of a foreign award must first refer the case up to the Supreme People’s Court. Refusals are accordingly uncommon.
Without a bilateral judicial-assistance treaty, reciprocity applies. Since 2022 the courts have asked whether the courts of the originating state would, as a matter of law, recognise a Chinese judgment, not whether they already have. The Civil Procedure Law as amended from 1 January 2024 sets out the grounds for refusal in far clearer terms.
An application to enforce must generally be made within two years of the last day set for performance. For foreign holders, it is the deadline most often discovered too late.
Mainland courts can freeze bank accounts, shareholdings and real property, and must rule on an urgent pre-action application within 48 hours. Where the arbitration is seated in Hong Kong, mainland interim measures are available before the award; for other seats, preservation is normally sought with the recognition application.
What we handle in China
Court work is conducted by law firms licensed in mainland China. We assess the matter, select and supervise counsel, arrange funding, and report in English.
Commercial matters before the People’s Courts and institutions such as CIETAC, SHIAC and BAC — contract, investment, shareholder and IP disputes. Where the debtor is a Chinese company and the contract is governed by PRC law, proceeding in China often produces an enforceable result sooner than obtaining judgment abroad and enforcing it here.
Foreign awards under the New York Convention; foreign judgments under a bilateral treaty or on reciprocity; separate arrangements for judgments and awards from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Locating assets through lawfully available corporate, property, litigation and enforcement records, and using them to support asset, conduct and arbitration-related preservation applications.
Filing claims for foreign creditors, attending creditors’ meetings, voting on reorganisation plans, and following cross-border insolvency assistance.
China has applied the Apostille Convention since November 2023, so foreign evidence now needs an apostille rather than consular legalisation. We also handle evidence-taking and service.
Our record in China
Parties and economics withheld, as counterparties require; dispute type, forum, duration and result as they stand.
All disclosable mattersDual-track enforcement of an offshore award in the PRC and Hong Kong
The claimant held an HKIAC award against a private group whose assets sat across mainland China and a Cayman structure. Nothing had been recovered in two years.
JV equity repurchase and valuation adjustment dispute
An offshore financial investor sought repurchase under a valuation adjustment clause; the founders resisted, arguing the shortfall was not attributable to them.
Funding an administrator's avoidance action
In a manufacturing insolvency, the administrator identified core equipment transferred to related parties without consideration within a year before filing — but the estate could not fund the action.
What it costs, and in which language
Every progress report, cost estimate and hearing note reaches you in English, with the Chinese original alongside. PRC courts accept filings only in Chinese, so translation of pleadings and evidence is budgeted from day one.
On receipt of the award, we will set out the route through China.
The initial assessment is without charge, creates no obligation and is held under NDA. If the enforcement deadline is known, please include it; it determines how quickly we begin.