European companies often send a translated version of their standard contract and assume the work is done. The translation is the easy part; the choices underneath it are what matter.
The four that decide everything
- Governing law and forum. A judgement from a European court is difficult to enforce against Chinese assets. Chinese law with a named arbitration venue is often more useful than it feels.
- Language of the binding version. If both language versions are binding, any divergence becomes a dispute. Name one.
- Who signs, and with which seal. The company chop carries more weight than a signature in Chinese practice. A contract without the right seal may not bind the company.
- What happens at the end. Who keeps the registrations, the customers, the tooling and the stock. Write this while everyone is friendly.
The clause people forget entirely
Verification of the counterparty's identity. The entity named in the contract should match the business licence, the bank account and the seal. A mismatch between these three is either an administrative accident or the beginning of a serious problem, and checking takes an hour.
Where to read it yourself
Official pages, opened and checked on 15 October 2026. Where a rule changes, these are the addresses that change with it — this article does not.