Do not ship more, do not wait for ‘next month’ — identify, freeze if needed, then paper the claim.
When a PRC company stops paying, the first week is operational not theatrical: stop further performance if the contract allows, capture WeChat/email, pull the USCC, list assets, check limitation, and decide whether a preservation application should beat a polite letter (letters tip flight). Then demand or file in the chosen forum. Criminal complaints are for fraud facts, not ordinary cash-flow. This is the first-moves page. The stack and the long collection guide stay beside it.
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.
Stop the bleeding?
Further goods, further IP, further credit.
StopWho and where?
USCC, LR, banks.
IDFreeze before they hear you?
Preservation vs letter.
FreezeLimitation diary?
Three-year default.
ClockWorking 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.
Should I fly in and confront them?
Usually no. Paper, freeze, counsel. A factory-gate scene rarely helps.
Is this the collection guide?
No. Collect debt chinese company foreign creditor for the full playbook.
Primary authorities
Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.