Yes, the People's Republic of China (PRC) generally allows the United States (US) to enforce US judgments in China. The PRC's Civil Procedure Law was amended in 2023 to provide clearer criteria for enforcing foreign judgments, including those from the US.
How are US judgments enforced in China?
- Reciprocity
China enforces US judgments under the principle of reciprocity. This means that China will only enforce a US judgment if the US enforces Chinese judgments in a similar way.
- Federal vs. state judgments
Chinese courts treat federal and state court judgments from the US equally for reciprocity purposes. However, federal court judgments are generally easier to enforce.
- Case-by-case basis
A Chinese court may decide not to enforce a US judgment if it finds that the judgment was obtained by fraud, the respondent was not properly represented, or the judgment violates China's public interests.
What are the requirements for enforcing a foreign judgment in China?
- The judgment must be accompanied by a duplicate of the judgment or certification of the judgment-rendering court.
- The judgment must have been served on the parties according to the law of the place where the judgment is rendered.
- The judgment must have come into effect.