Reciprocity in Recognizing and Enforcing Foreign Judgments in China

Summary 

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• Foreign court judgments may be recognized and enforced by Chinese courts under the principle of reciprocity.
• A foreign judgment must have six components to invoke reciprocity: reciprocal relationship, finality, jurisdiction, due process, no prior conflicting judgment, and public policy.
• The scope of application of the principle of reciprocity has become more precise and limited in China, reflecting a gradual convergence with international standards
• Recent judgments of the Chinese courts indicate a more focused and liberal approach towards applying reciprocity.

There are two routes by which a Chinese court may recognize and enforce a foreign court judgment. The court may consider the existence of bilateral treaties between China and the relevant foreign jurisdiction.  In the absence of a treaty providing for mutual recognition of civil judgments, the existence of a reciprocal relationship is a prerequisite for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in China.

There are no laws or regulations in China specifically addressing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

 The framework of reciprocity in China

There are no laws or regulations in China specifically addressing the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The legal basis for reciprocity exists mainly in the PRC Civil Procedure Law (the CPL) (中华人民共和国民事诉讼法), as amended in 2021 and the Supreme People's Court, Interpretation on the Application of the <PRC Civil Procedure Law> (the CPL Interpretation) (最高人民法院关于适用<中华人民共和国民事诉讼法>的解释). An application for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign court judgment by a Chinese court based on the existence of a reciprocal relationship requires all of the following conditions to be met.