Debt Collection China

We are committed to resolving your debt collection in China as quickly as possible. Once you have submitted your case, we will do everything we can to contact your debtor in China. Our international debt collection specialists have extensive experience and knowledge of legislation and regulations in China. We ensure to have your debtor approached by phone and in writing in Mandarin, Cantonese or other dialects.

As a leading cross-border debt collection firm, we have access to global business databases and credit reports. Within these databases, we can view your debtor’s credit status, determine why the invoice was not paid, and refine our strategy accordingly.

During the extrajudicial phase, we work based on a contingency fee. That means our fee is directly proportional to the amount we recover. We also aim to recover the interest and collection costs from your debtor as much as possible in order to maximize your profits.

In the highly unlikely event that we do not collect anything, you will not have to pay us any fees. You can find a full overview of our fees on our fees page.

With our contingency-based debt collection in China you can expect the following:

Claims on Chinese debtors can be submitted to Bierens for an initial extrajudicial process in the same way as you would submit any other claim. The process is as follows:

If you want to hand over the collection of your unpaid invoices, you should firstly provide us with all relevant information, documentation and correspondence. You can do so via email, fax or post, as well as through the debt recovery form on our website.

We carefully review each submitted claim. Should we require additional information, then we will contact you. The first demand letter is sent to your debtor as soon as possible.

During the extrajudicial phase, we will investigate your debtor further to determine the company’s legal identity. Who are the owners? Is the company connected to the government? We will obtain up to date credit information to find out more about your debtor’s creditworthiness and the chance that they will be able to comply with a possible judgment in the future.

Our next step is to determine whether or not your debtor is able and willing to repay your claim. This is a crucial phase of the extrajudicial process. In the event of high claims, the lawyer will visit your debtor in person. We maintain pressure on your debtor at all times. Payment of a claim in China is more a matter of honor than of respecting the contractual provisions. This explains why we perform extensive debtor background checks: we want to make the debtor feel that they are responsible to pay. You will also be updated on a regular basis, in order to keep you informed of developments regarding the collection and to provide you with the results of visits to your debtor. This might result in the arrangement of a settlement, but most cases are settled during the extrajudicial phase.

In the event that legal proceedings are necessary, these will only be commenced upon receipt of your instructions. In China, the threat of commencing proceedings alone can be enough to achieve payment, as a lawsuit against one’s company can be perceived to harm a person’s honor. Therefore, it will come as no surprise that during this phase, in which the threat has been made, many cases are completed successfully as well.

The commencement of legal proceedings involves drafting a Statement of Claim, which shows the basis and the amount of the claim. This is then filed at the competent Court. Once the Court has acknowledged the matter, a Writ of Summons is sent to your debtor. This process takes approximately one week.

Roughly a month after submitting the claim to the Court, a first hearing will be planned. In general, you will not be required to attend the hearing in China. We will need to arrange a Power of Attorney so that our local colleagues are authorized to make decisions on your behalf. During the hearing, the Court will make one final attempt to amicably settle the matter. If the Court’s mediation during this hearing is successful, then the terms of settlement will be transposed into a judgment. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the lawsuit will continue and several other hearings (in most cases) will be arranged, during which the parties can exchange evidence. Eventually, a judgment will be pronounced by the Court. Depending on the complexity of the case, this process can take anywhere between 6 and 9 months.

Once a judgment is obtained, it can be executed by, for example, seizing the debtor’s bank accounts, seizure of property or transfer of rights.

If the claim is in Chinese currency, we will need to obtain approval from the Chinese State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) for the repatriation of funds to the foreign party. Our office will handle this as well.

After successfully concluding your case, we will close our file, and you will receive a written confirmation shortly thereafter. Naturally, we will also inform you in the event that the execution is unsuccessful.