How Can a Hong Kong Company Sue a Mainland Chinese Customer for Unpaid Debt?

Legal information notice

This article provides general legal information only. It is not legal advice for a specific matter and does not guarantee filing, preservation, settlement, judgment, enforcement or any other result. Qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction must assess the complete facts, documents, current rules and receiving authority requirements.

• Do not substitute this page for matter-specific verification
• No firm quote, duration, success rate or recovery rate is invented
• Statutory deadlines and strategic suggestions must be identified separately

Direct answer: Use the five-step recovery tree

A Hong Kong creditor should answer five questions in order: who owes the money, why it is due, which PRC court or arbitral forum can hear the dispute, what assets can be preserved, and how the final instrument will be enforced. This guide is confined to Hong Kong creditors and Mainland debtors. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 24, 35, 276 and 277 (contract and foreign-related jurisdiction)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本）；PRC Civil Code, Articles 188 and 195 (general limitation and interruption)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

• Use the five-step recovery tree
• Identify the Mainland debtor by unified social credit code
• Assess forum, preservation and enforcement together

1. Identify the contracting and receiving Mainland entity

A brand, store, contact or payer may not be the contractual debtor. Match the licence name, code, seal, signatory authority, receiving entity and payment entity. （依據：SPC Provisions on Evidence in Civil Proceedings, Articles 14, 16, 17 and 19 (electronic data, overseas-formed evidence and foreign-language materials)（最高人民法院：官方文本））

• Contract and seal
• Orders and acceptance
• Reconciliation authority

2. Close the evidence chain order by order

Match contract, delivery, acceptance, invoice, payment, return, credit and reconciliation for every balance. Preserve complete WeChat records and anticipate quality, delay and set-off defences. （依據：SPC Provisions on Evidence in Civil Proceedings, Articles 14, 16, 17 and 19 (electronic data, overseas-formed evidence and foreign-language materials)（最高人民法院：官方文本）；PRC Civil Code, Articles 188 and 195 (general limitation and interruption)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

• Principal by order
• Disputed and undisputed amounts
• Demands and acknowledgments

3. State the precise court or arbitral forum

An agreed Mainland arbitral institution must be checked first. For PRC litigation, identify the competent court through defendant domicile, performance or a valid written forum choice. Hong Kong status alone creates neither Hong Kong nor Shenzhen jurisdiction. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 24, 35, 276 and 277 (contract and foreign-related jurisdiction)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本）；PRC Arbitration Law (2025 Revision, effective 1 March 2026), Articles 5 and 27（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

• Arbitration clause
• Evidence of place of performance
• Written jurisdiction agreement

4. Treat preservation as an asset measure

Specific Mainland accounts, receivables, equity, property or equipment may support preservation assessment. The 48-hour urgent-decision and 30-day follow-on rules do not guarantee approval or recovery. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 103 and 104 (in-proceeding and pre-action preservation)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

• Specific property and ownership
• Security proposal
• Wrongful-preservation risk

5. Choose the instrument you can enforce

A final PRC judgment enters PRC enforcement. A qualifying Hong Kong civil or commercial judgment may use the arrangement implemented from 29 January 2024. Arbitral awards follow the applicable arbitral-award regime. （依據：Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, Articles 1, 7 and 29 (implemented from 29 January 2024)（香港特别行政区政府律政司：官方文本）；Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong, Articles 1 to 4（最高人民法院：官方文本））

• PRC judgment
• Hong Kong judgment under the arrangement
• Award by seat and enforcement venue

6. Order demand, negotiation and proceedings by risk

Where liability is admitted and the debtor operates, secured repayment terms may come first. Denial, limitation pressure or asset movement can require earlier procedural protection. A demand period is strategy, not a statutory deadline. （依據：PRC Civil Code, Articles 188 and 195 (general limitation and interruption)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

• Record acknowledgments
• Make settlement terms enforceable
• Do not demand past a limitation deadline

The verification pack to send counsel

Send a one-page chronology, party details, a core-document index, an amount or asset schedule, and the three questions you need answered. Add the remaining material after counsel identifies the decisive gaps.

• Hong Kong company and authority documents
• Mainland debtor registration
• Order-by-order balance schedule
• Contract, performance, objection and demand records

How this guide differs from related articles

This article is limited to Hong Kong creditors and Mainland debtors, including the two arrangements. Other foreign companies should use the native-English China debt recovery guide for foreign corporate documents and foreign judgments or awards.

• Use this page only for the first routing decision
• Recheck the forum, authority, current version and deadline before action
• Confirm scope, fee items and exclusions in writing before engagement

Legal information notice

This article provides general legal information only. It is not legal advice for a specific matter and does not guarantee filing, preservation, settlement, judgment, enforcement or any other result. Qualified counsel in the relevant jurisdiction must assess the complete facts, documents, current rules and receiving authority requirements.

• Do not substitute this page for matter-specific verification
• No firm quote, duration, success rate or recovery rate is invented
• Statutory deadlines and strategic suggestions must be identified separately

Frequently asked questions

Must a Hong Kong company always sue in Mainland China?

No. The contract, arbitration agreement and statutory connections must identify the exact forum. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 24, 35, 276 and 277 (contract and foreign-related jurisdiction)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本）；PRC Arbitration Law (2025 Revision, effective 1 March 2026), Articles 5 and 27（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

Can every Mainland customer be sued in Shenzhen?

No. A Shenzhen court needs a statutory or valid agreed connection; geographic convenience is insufficient. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 24, 35, 276 and 277 (contract and foreign-related jurisdiction)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

Is the general trade-debt limitation three years?

Often under PRC law, but accrual, interruption, instalments and special rules must be checked transaction by transaction. （依據：PRC Civil Code, Articles 188 and 195 (general limitation and interruption)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

Does a reconciliation statement prove the whole balance?

It depends on authority, amount, period and consistency with orders, acceptance and payment evidence. （依據：SPC Provisions on Evidence in Civil Proceedings, Articles 14, 16, 17 and 19 (electronic data, overseas-formed evidence and foreign-language materials)（最高人民法院：官方文本））

Can WeChat records support the claim?

Potentially, if complete records, identity, attachments and native context are preserved and corroborated. （依據：SPC Provisions on Evidence in Civil Proceedings, Articles 14, 16, 17 and 19 (electronic data, overseas-formed evidence and foreign-language materials)（最高人民法院：官方文本））

Should counsel send a demand first?

Only after checking limitation, evidence, assets and whether demand would help or merely create delay.

Can a Mainland account be frozen before filing?

Potentially where statutory conditions, specific clues and security are met; approval is case-specific. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 103 and 104 (in-proceeding and pre-action preservation)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

What follows a pre-action preservation measure?

An action or arbitration must be commenced within 30 days after the measure, or it should be lifted. （依據：PRC Civil Procedure Law, Articles 103 and 104 (in-proceeding and pre-action preservation)（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

My contract says CIETAC—can I sue the Chinese company instead?

Do not assume so. Validity, scope and institution must be reviewed first. （依據：PRC Arbitration Law (2025 Revision, effective 1 March 2026), Articles 5 and 27（全国人大常委会办公厅（国家法律法规数据库）：官方文本））

Can I enforce a Hong Kong court judgment against assets in Mainland China?

No. A qualifying judgment still requires a recognition and enforcement application under the arrangement. （依據：Arrangement on Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters, Articles 1, 7 and 29 (implemented from 29 January 2024)（香港特别行政区政府律政司：官方文本））

How is a Hong Kong award enforced in the Mainland?

Use the applicable award arrangement and select the competent PRC court by debtor or asset venue. （依據：Supplemental Arrangement Concerning Mutual Enforcement of Arbitral Awards between the Mainland and Hong Kong, Articles 1 to 4（最高人民法院：官方文本））

What if the debtor has no visible assets?

Recovery depends on executable property; update account, receivable, equity, real estate and business clues.

Is there a fixed Mainland lawyer fee?

No universal quote should be assumed. Scope assessment, demand, proceedings, preservation and enforcement separately.

What should be sent first?

Party details, one-page chronology, forum clause, balance schedule, performance, payments, demands and asset clues.