When Business Disputes In China Turn Criminal

In the United States and Europe, it is uncommon for a dispute between two businesspeople to become a matter for criminal law enforcement. In China, things work differently.

If you are doing business in China, you need to understand two things:

1. The scope of economic crime there is far broader than you probably expect.
2. The Chinese party on the other side of your deal is far more likely to pursue a criminal complaint than you would imagine.

China's Expansive Economic Crime Laws

China has built an extensive set of laws on economic crimes that operates alongside its civil law system. The breadth is striking. The Chinese legal textbook on economic crimes that our lawyers most often consult is over 1,500 pages long and covers 105 separate crimes across eight categories.