Yes — But Without a Chinese Lawyer, the Chances of Success Are Extremely Low
Recent reports indicate that some Chinese Public Security Bureaus have begun accepting criminal reports from overseas victims through remote channels, including email, online communication, video interviews, or authorized representatives.
This is certainly a positive development.
However, many foreign victims misunderstand what this actually means.
Remote reporting does not mean remote case acceptance.
In practice, while it may now be technically possible to submit materials from overseas, obtaining a formal criminal case filing remains extremely difficult. Based on our experience, foreign victims who attempt to report a case remotely without assistance from a Chinese lawyer have little realistic chance of obtaining a criminal case filing.
The Biggest Misunderstanding: “I Paid Money, Therefore the Police Will Open a Case”
Many overseas buyers believe that once they prove they transferred money and never received the goods, the police will immediately investigate.
Unfortunately, Chinese criminal procedure does not work that way.
Most disputes involving suppliers arise from:
- Supply contracts
- Manufacturing agreements
- Purchase orders
- Advance payments
- Delivery delays
- Quality problems
From the perspective of Chinese law enforcement, these matters often appear to be contractual disputes rather than criminal fraud.
Simply suffering a financial loss does not automatically establish that a criminal offense has occurred.
Even Chinese Citizens Often Fail to Obtain a Criminal Case Filing
This is not a problem unique to foreigners.
In practice, even Chinese citizens frequently fail to persuade the police to open criminal investigations when a dispute involves a commercial contract.
Unless there is a complete and persuasive chain of evidence demonstrating that the supplier intended to commit fraud from the very beginning, many reports are declined and the parties are advised to pursue civil litigation instead.
The legal threshold for criminal case filing in commercial disputes is intentionally high.
Foreign Victims Face Even Greater Obstacles
For overseas victims, the difficulty increases significantly.
In addition to the already demanding legal standard, foreign victims must also overcome practical barriers, including:
- Language barriers.
- Difficulty identifying the police authority with jurisdiction.
- Unfamiliarity with Chinese criminal procedure.
- Evidence organized according to foreign legal practice instead of Chinese requirements.
- Contracts, invoices, emails, and chat records that have not been translated into Chinese.
- Inability to communicate directly with investigators when additional materials are requested.
Many foreign victims simply email hundreds of pages of screenshots and payment records to a police authority, hoping this will result in a criminal investigation.
In reality, this approach almost never succeeds.
Why a Chinese Lawyer Is Often Indispensable
A Chinese lawyer cannot guarantee that the police will accept a criminal report.
No ethical lawyer should ever make such a promise.
However, in practice, legal representation is often the difference between a report that receives meaningful consideration and one that goes nowhere.
An experienced Chinese lawyer can:
- Evaluate whether the facts are likely to satisfy China’s criminal filing standards.
- Distinguish criminal fraud from an ordinary breach of contract.
- Identify the evidence that investigators are most likely to consider persuasive.
- Organize hundreds of documents into a coherent evidentiary chain.
- Prepare a professional legal memorandum in Chinese.
- Communicate with investigators using appropriate legal terminology.
- Respond promptly to requests for supplementary materials.
- Advise whether criminal reporting is worthwhile or whether civil litigation offers a better prospect of recovery.
The issue is rarely the quantity of evidence.
The issue is whether the evidence is organized and presented in a way that satisfies the legal requirements for criminal case filing under Chinese law.
Remote Reporting Is a Tool, Not a Shortcut
The introduction of remote reporting is good news for overseas victims because it may eliminate the need to travel to China merely to submit materials.
It does not reduce the evidentiary standard.
It does not change the legal distinction between commercial disputes and criminal fraud.
And it certainly does not mean that every unpaid supplier dispute will become a criminal investigation.
Remote reporting simply provides another method of communicating with the authorities.
Whether a case is accepted still depends almost entirely on the quality of the evidence and the legal presentation.
Before Reporting, Obtain a Professional Legal Assessment
For overseas victims, submitting a criminal report without first obtaining legal advice often wastes valuable time and may even weaken later recovery efforts.
Before deciding whether to pursue a criminal complaint, it is usually advisable to have an experienced Chinese lawyer assess:
- Whether the facts are likely to constitute criminal fraud under Chinese law.
- Whether the available evidence is sufficient to support a criminal case filing.
- Whether additional evidence should be collected before contacting the authorities.
- Whether negotiation or civil litigation is likely to provide a more effective recovery strategy.
If criminal reporting is appropriate, professional legal assistance can substantially improve the quality of the submission.
If it is not, you can avoid pursuing a strategy that has very little chance of success and instead focus on legal remedies that are more likely to recover your losses.
Legal Contributors
Legal professionals contributing to this article and related legal analysis.
