How to deal with international trade disputes in China?

The conventional ways to deal with international trade disputes in China can be summarized into four articles:

1.It shall be resolved by the two parties through negotiation. In this way, the two parties can reach an agreement, and many unnecessary disputes can be avoided, which is the best way to resolve disputes;

2. Mediation through a third party. In international trade disputes, it is largely settled through such negotiations.

3.If negotiation or mediation fails, litigation can be conducted in court or submitted to arbitration in accordance with the arbitration agreement. In China, disputes over sales contracts are generally under the jurisdiction of the court where the defendant is located. Arbitration means that before or after a dispute arises, the parties reach a written agreement to voluntarily submit the dispute to a third party agreed by the parties for trial, and the award is final and binding on all parties. In either case, if the losing party does not enforce the award, the winning party has the right to apply to the court for enforcement.

4.The parties may also reach agreement on matters such as hearings, submission of evidence, and statements of opinions, and design arbitration procedures that meet their special needs. Compared with judicial proceedings, arbitration is more flexible and has more freedom of choice. If there is no arbitration agreement, it may be resolved through legal procedures. Because the nationality of the parties to an international trade dispute is different, their domicile and the place of conclusion and performance of the contract may be in different countries or regions, and once a dispute arises, the question of which country should have jurisdiction is very important. The effectiveness of the trial is guaranteed by judicial means. The disadvantage is that the effect of judgments is regional. Foreign-related litigation should be the final settlement as opposed to negotiation, mediation and arbitration.

Although the parties can agree in a written contract that the handling will be handled by the court or arbitral tribunal of the foreign client, considering the difficulty of enforcing foreign judgments or arbitral awards, we recommend entrusting Chinese lawyers to handle the matter in China, which is not only convenient for litigation or application, but also convenient for the enforcement of final effective legal documents.