Direct answer

The secret is the non-public compilation and depth, not the fact that a company exists.

Chinese courts often protect customer lists that include contact persons, trading history, price, volume, preference and credit — information compiled with effort and not easily obtained from the public domain. A Employees who leave with WeChat business cards sit in a grey zone: personal relationships versus the employer’s compilation. Measures (CRM permissions, export logs, NDAs) and proof that the leaver took the deep list, not only memory of a few names, decide these cases.

The classification screen

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.

01

What fields are in the list?

Deep CRM vs a public name list.

Depth
02

Could a stranger rebuild it from public sources?

If yes, the secrecy limb is in trouble.

Public
03

Who could export it?

CRM rights, WeChat forwarding, Excel dumps.

Measures
04

What did the leaver actually take?

File copy vs memory vs their own prior relationships.

Taking

Working rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Public names only
Is the list just famous brands with generic emails?
Usually not a trade secret.
WeChat friends
Are the contacts on a personal WeChat that pre-dated the job?
Personal vs employer compilation is the fight.
No CRM lock
Could every salesperson download the whole database?
Measures limb fails even if the list is deep.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01List contentsFields, dates and how the compilation was built.
02Access logsWho exported or forwarded, and when.
03Employee dutyContract, handbook, non-compete and confidentiality.
04Use at the new employerSame contacts, prices or funnel appearing after the move.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

If a salesperson built the relationship, is it still our secret?

Often yes as to the employer’s compilation and terms. Personal friendships do not automatically legalise a CRM dump. Facts matter.

Do we need a non-compete as well?

A paid non-compete can stop the job itself. Trade-secret law stops use of the list. Many employers need both for senior sales.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

National laws database (NPC)
Anti-Unfair Competition Law (gov.cn)
Supreme People’s Court