Whether a Chinese court can hear a dispute depends on more than a clause saying “courts in China.” Parties must consider subject-matter jurisdiction, court level, territorial connections, exclusive-jurisdiction rules, and the special framework for foreign-related cases. A clause can fail if it identifies no workable court, conflicts with exclusive jurisdiction, or ignores an arbitration agreement.
China's 2023 Civil Procedure Law amendment, effective 1 January 2024, expanded and clarified foreign-related jurisdiction, written choice of Chinese courts, submission by appearance, parallel proceedings, exclusive jurisdiction and forum non conveniens. The correct filing court still depends on the parties, claim, amount, location, property and local allocation rules.
When this guide applies
Use this guide for civil or commercial disputes with a possible Chinese court connection. It addresses ordinary and foreign-related cases. Maritime, intellectual-property, ecological-environmental, insolvency and other specialized matters may follow separate allocation rules.
Start with four jurisdiction questions
- Does the dispute belong in a people's court rather than arbitration or another forum?
- Which level of court has first-instance jurisdiction?
- Which location has territorial jurisdiction?
- Is the matter subject to exclusive or specialized jurisdiction that the parties cannot change?
A valid arbitration agreement may require the court to decline the merits, although courts can still have roles in preservation, validity review and enforcement.
Domestic territorial jurisdiction
The defendant's domicile is a common starting point. Contract disputes may also connect to the place of performance, while tort and property disputes use their own statutory connections. Online activity, multiple defendants and branch operations can complicate the analysis.
Parties should preserve registration records, contract-performance evidence, delivery records, payment paths and property-location evidence. A jurisdiction challenge is often decided early, before full merits discovery.
Court level and specialized allocation
Basic people's courts hear many first-instance civil cases, but intermediate or higher courts may take cases based on amount, complexity, foreign-related status, impact or specialized subject matter. The Supreme People's Court's rules allocate foreign-related civil and commercial cases by amount and region and allow approved cross-regional concentration.
The correct court can therefore change even when two disputes use the same contract clause. Confirm the thresholds and local allocation rules at the time of filing.
Written choice of a Chinese court
The amended foreign-related provisions allow parties to a foreign-related civil dispute to choose a Chinese court by written agreement. Draft the clause to identify a court or an objectively determinable place. Check court level, specialized jurisdiction and exclusive-jurisdiction restrictions; contractual wording cannot create subject-matter competence that the selected court lacks.
For domestic contracts, the statutory connecting-point and exclusive-jurisdiction framework also requires careful drafting. Do not copy a foreign template that names a city without confirming the competent court.
Submission by appearance
If a defendant does not object to jurisdiction and responds on the merits or brings a counterclaim, the court may be treated as having jurisdiction, except where level or exclusive jurisdiction is violated. A defendant considering a jurisdiction challenge should therefore coordinate its first procedural response and avoid merits conduct that may amount to submission.
Foreign-related connecting factors
For a claim against a defendant without a domicile in China, jurisdiction may arise from Chinese connections such as the place of contract formation or performance, the location of the subject matter or attachable property, the place of a tort or its result, a representative office, or another appropriate connection recognized by the amended law.
The existence of a Chinese affiliate does not automatically make it the correct defendant or establish jurisdiction over a foreign group company. Map the contracting chain and alleged conduct precisely.
Exclusive jurisdiction
Foreign-related exclusive jurisdiction includes disputes concerning the establishment, dissolution or liquidation of entities formed in China and the validity of their organizational resolutions; disputes concerning the validity of intellectual-property rights examined and granted in China; and disputes arising from specified China-performed joint-venture, cooperative-development and natural-resource contracts.
Separate domestic exclusive-jurisdiction rules can apply to real property, ports, succession and other matters. An inconsistent foreign-court clause may not displace them.
Parallel proceedings and foreign-court clauses
Chinese and foreign proceedings can sometimes continue in parallel. The amended law addresses exclusive foreign-court agreements, stays based on earlier foreign proceedings, recognition of foreign judgments, and circumstances in which a Chinese court may resume proceedings.
Do not assess a foreign-court clause only at the filing stage. Consider service, evidence, interim measures, final-judgment recognition and asset enforcement.
Forum non conveniens
A Chinese court may direct a claimant to a more convenient foreign court only when the statutory conditions are met, including lack of a Chinese-court agreement, absence of exclusive Chinese jurisdiction, no sovereignty, security or public-interest concern, and substantially greater foreign convenience. If the foreign court refuses jurisdiction or fails to act within a reasonable period, a Chinese court may later accept the dispute.
Documents to gather
- Executed contract and every forum or arbitration clause.
- Corporate registration and domicile evidence for all parties.
- Contract-formation and performance records.
- Location of goods, property, accounts and attachable assets.
- Tort-location and online-activity evidence.
- Related Chinese or foreign pleadings and judgments.
- Claim amount and basis for court-level allocation.
- Chinese translations and legalization or authentication materials where required.
Risk flags
- Litigation and arbitration clauses conflict.
- The clause names an institution or court that does not exist.
- The selected court lacks level or subject-matter competence.
- A merits response is filed before preserving a jurisdiction objection.
- Parallel foreign proceedings are ignored.
- The chosen forum has no practical route to assets or interim relief.
Primary sources and update note
- 2023 Decision Amending the Civil Procedure Law: https://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c2/c30834/202309/t20230901_431419.html
- Current Civil Procedure Law text: https://gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/886331ece0f6611a370642e89f08c6.html
- Supreme People's Court Provisions on Jurisdiction of Foreign-Related Civil and Commercial Cases: https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/379181.html
- Supreme People's Court Interpretation of the Civil Procedure Law: https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/353651.html
Review date: 8 September 2026. Court thresholds, local allocation and the procedural posture must be checked at filing. General information only; this guide is not advice on a specific dispute.
