Ask for consular notification promptly — then still retain PRC criminal counsel; the consul is not your defender.
Bilateral consular conventions and PRC practice provide for notifying a detainee’s consulate and arranging visits, subject to procedures and timing. Notification is not automatic release, evidence suppression, or a substitute for a licensed PRC defender. Families should track what was notified and when visits occurred. Some nationals have different treaty practice. This page is the consular layer. Foreign-nationals-detained is the broader checklist. Exit bans are a separate restriction after or beside the case.
4 questions before you choose the route.
This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.
Was notification requested/recorded?
Paper trail.
NotifyWhich consulate/embassy?
Correct post.
PostPRC counsel parallel track?
Meetings.
CounselVisit vs legal defense confused?
Separate roles.
RolesWorking rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.
The signal ledger.
These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.
Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.
Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.
Questions people ask before they build.
Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.
Can the consul attend interrogations?
Generally not as defense counsel. Local lawyer meetings are the defense channel.
Does notification delay arrest approval?
Do not assume. Procedure clocks still matter.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.