Chinese Company Won’t Send You Money: Don’t Blame the Chinese Company

China has all sorts of rules that apply to foreign conversions and remittances. In this post I look at some basic due diligence that can identify or avoid defaults or delays in money transfers out of China.

If you don’t get paid, ask yourself these questions before you rush to blame the Chinese company:

1. Do you have any idea what taxes should have been paid by the Chinese company and what taxes should be deducted from the remittance itself?

2. Was your contract exempt from the kind of prior registrations required by the tax authorities?

3. Do you even have an enforceable contract against the Chinese company in China?

4. Has an independent person gone down to the Chinese company’s bank branch to confirm what their particular requirements and concerns are?

5. Did you withhold any deliverables until you received all or substantially all of the money out of China?

6. Did you ask the Chinese company to provide examples of previous successful foreign remittances?

7. Does the business license of the Chinese company allow for foreign trade and thereby indicate that foreign remittances would not be unusual in the ordinary course of business?

8. If you’re dealing with a State Owned Entity (SOE), or a very large company of any kind, did you understand all of the internal approvals that company would require before a payment could be authorized and did you appreciate how long this might take?

If the answer to any one of these questions is “no”, don’t blame the Chinese company.

We will be discussing the practical aspects of Chinese law and how it impacts business there. We will be telling you what works and what does not and what you as a businessperson can do to use the law to your advantage. Our aim is to assist businesses already in China or planning to go into China, not to break new ground in legal theory or policy.