Application of law for civil and commercial disputes between foreigners in China or between foreigners and Chinese

english.legalinfo.gov.cn Updated: April 2, 2018

According to relevant Chinese law, civil and commercial disputes between foreigners in China and between foreigners and Chinese belong to foreign-related civil disputes, and the application of law will be determined based on the provisions of General Principles of the Civil Law and Law on the Application of Law for Foreign-related Civil Relations. Generally Chinese law will be applied, and foreign law, international treaties and international practice may also be applied.

According to provisions of the General Principles of the Civil Law, laws of the People’s Republic of China shall be applied to civil activities within the territory and territorial waters and space of the People’s Republic of China, except as otherwise provided by law. The application of law in foreign-related civil relations shall be determined according to the above provisions. If any international treaty concluded or acceded to by the People’s Republic of China contains provisions differing from those in the civil laws of the People’s Republic of China, the provisions of the international treaty shall be applied, unless the provisions are ones on which the People’s Republic of China has announced reservations. International practice may also be applied to matters for which neither the law of the People’s Republic of China nor any international treaty concluded or acceded to by the People’s Republic of China has any provisions.