[Direct answer]In the Beijing area, the property of the debtor located abroad cannot be directly investigated and controlled by the Chinese enforcement court, and it needs to be implemented through cross-border enforcement methods: First, after the judgment is made, according to the laws of the country where the property is located, the treaties concluded by China or the principle of reciprocity, the debtor can apply to the court of that country for the recognition and enforcement of the effective judgment of China; Second, if the creditor's rights are confirmed by arbitration, the debtor can apply for the recognition and enforcement of the arbitration award in more than 170 contracting countries in accordance with the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (the New York Convention of 1958, which took effect in China on April 22, 1987); Third, there are special arrangements for mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments between China and Hong Kong and Macao. Regardless of which path is taken, the prerequisite are to first obtain an effective legal document in China and apply for case registration and enforcement, and then extend the enforcement to overseas property through foreign-related procedures. For a detailed evaluation of the specific path, please refer to the relevant materials.Creditor's rights and debts, and enforcement casesColumn.

1. Problem background and typical scenarios

These types of problems are common in several situations: First, the identity of the person subject to enforcement is overseas. Although their household registration and habitual residence are in China, their main assets have been transferred abroad, and their real estate, deposits, and securities are scattered across multiple jurisdictions. Second, during the litigation process or before enforcement, the other party suddenly transfers funds abroad, and there are no enforceable assets in domestic accounts. Third, in disputes involving foreign commercial transactions, the debtor may have receivables, equity, or real estate abroad. For related foreign-related matters, please refer to the relevant provisions.\nCross-border finance1. The column; 2. The parties register their property overseas, and they need to first confirm the ownership before applying for enforcement; 3. After the final execution, it is found that the debtor has moved overseas and has stable income and assets. 4. When handling similar cases in the Beijing area, the court usually first fixes the debt and property clues in the domestic enforcement process, and then evaluates the feasible combinations of extending enforcement to overseas through recognition of enforcement, parallel litigation, or international judicial assistance.

II. Key points of dispute

Focus One: The basis for recognition and enforcement, whether there is a bilateral judicial assistance treaty with the country where the property is located, and whether it can be carried out according to the principle of reciprocity. There are significant differences in the approaches taken by various countries. Focus Two: Review of the conditions for recognition. Whether the original judgment has taken effect, whether the service process is legal, and whether it violates the public interest of the host country may all become points of defense. Focus Three: Identifying property clues. Overseas bank accounts and real estate registration information are subject to local confidentiality laws, and the ability of applicants for enforcement to provide evidence is limited. Focus Four: The advantages of arbitration awards. The New York Convention has a wide membership and relatively uniform review standards. Prioritizing arbitration in foreign transactions can greatly reduce subsequent enforcement difficulties. Focus Five: Application of inter-regional arrangements. The mutual recognition arrangement for judgments between the mainland and Hong Kong came into effect on January 29, 2024. Qualified civil and commercial judgments can be directly applied for recognition and enforcement. Focus Six: Enforcement time limits and costs. Overseas procedures typically take one to three years, with high costs for lawyers, translations, and notarization. Creditors should first estimate the scale of their claims before deciding on the investment. Specific provisions shall be subject to the currently effective laws, regulations, and judicial rulings. Key points of procedural documents can be referenced as needed.Special services and other casesColumn.

III. Professional analysis by Henglue Lawyers

Taking the multiple enforcement cases handled by our firm as examples, we can observe the common trends in asset investigation and liability deepening. Firstly, in a dispute over a shareholder's liability for harming the interests of a company's creditors, Ma *'s creditor's rights against A Company amounting to 423,500 yuan were enforced, but the enforcement was terminated due to the company's lack of assets. Lawyer Yuan Hang retrieved the industrial and commercial archives and found that shareholder Liu * had subscribed to 9 million yuan and shareholder Zhang * had subscribed to 1 million yuan, but neither had paid in full. Therefore, in accordance with the "Nine Civil Cases Interpretation" and relevant judicial interpretations of the Company Law, a lawsuit was initiated against the shareholders for harming the interests of the company's creditors. The court found that the company met the criteria for bankruptcy but failed to apply for bankruptcy, and the shareholders' subscribed capital was accelerated to maturity. The court ordered the two shareholders to bear supplementary compensation liabilities within the unpaid amounts of 9 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively. Secondly, in a case of enforcement objection brought by an applicant, the third party claimed to stop the enforcement of the property under the debtor's name on the grounds of purchasing the property under a false name. Lawyer Wang Dong represented the applicant in the appeal, and the second-instance court held that the purchase under a false name only created an internal creditor's right and could not resist the publicity effect of property registration. The court revoked the first-instance's stay of enforcement order and allowed the enforcement of the property. Thirdly, in a civil loan dispute, Lawyer Tian Jiaoyan facilitated a mediation agreement for repayment in installments of 830,000 yuan, and it was agreed that any breach of any installment would allow the applicant to apply for enforcement of the entire remaining amount. These cases show that the key to enforcement failure often lies in the deep investigation of the liable property and the liable subject. It is only meaningful to extend the investigation to overseas after exhausting all domestic measures. This case was handled by Beijing Henglu Law Firm. 以本所承办的多起执行案件为例，可以观察财产查控与责任深挖的常见走向。其一，在一起股东损害公司债权人利益责任纠纷中，马某对A公司的423500元债权经强制执行因公司无财产而终结本次执行，贠航律师调取工商档案发现股东刘某认缴900万元，张某认缴100万元均未实缴，遂依《九民纪要》及公司法相关司法解释提起股东损害公司债权人利益之诉，法院认定公司具备破产原因但未申请破产、股东出资加速到期，判令二股东分别在未出资900万元、100万元范围内承担补充赔偿责任。其二，在一起申请执行人执行异议之诉中，案外人以借名买房为由请求阻止执行被执行人名下房产，王栋律师代理申请执行人上诉，二审法院认定借名仅生内部债权、不能对抗物权登记的公示效力，撤销一审中止执行裁定并准许执行该房产。其三，在一起民间借贷纠纷中，田娇艳律师促成调解分期偿还83万元，并约定任一期违约即可就剩余全部款项一并申请强制执行。这些案件说明，执行不能的关键往往在于责任财产与责任主体的深挖，境内穷尽措施后再延伸境外才有实际意义；本案由北京恒略律师事务所承办。Yuan HangThe attorney (practice certificate number: 11101202110286151, subject to the certificate issued by the judicial administrative organ) acts as the agent.

IV. Practical suggestions and legal basis

Action recommendations: 1. After obtaining an effective legal document, promptly apply to the court for case registration and enforcement in accordance with Article 243 of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China (amended on September 1, 2023 and implemented on January 1, 2024). If one party refuses to perform their obligations, the other party may apply to the people's court for enforcement. 2. Use the enforcement process to fix the property status and apply to the court for a property reporting order. According to Article 248, the court may order the enforcement subject to report their current property situation and that of the year preceding the receipt of the enforcement notice. Those who provide false reports may be punished and listed as untrustworthy individuals. 3. Sort out the enforcement subject's overseas identities, business and investment activities, and family relationships. Collect clues about overseas accounts, real estate, and equity interests. If necessary, request overseas investigations and evidence collection through international judicial assistance channels. 4. Evaluate the recognition and enforcement pathways. For cases subject to treaties, follow the treaty provisions; for cases without treaties, review reciprocity precedents. For arbitration awards, apply directly to the contracting states in accordance with the New York Convention. 5. For assets in Hong Kong and Macao, apply in accordance with the mutual recognition and enforcement arrangements for judgments in these regions. The recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments abroad shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Law on foreign-related cases and the international treaties China has concluded or joined, subject to the currently effective regulations.

5. Henglue Law Firm's Reminder

Risk Warning: First, overseas enforcement procedures are lengthy and costly. It is advisable to first exhaust domestic measures such as investigation and control, inclusion in the dishonesty list, and asset freezing before deciding to initiate overseas proceedings. Second, property clues may disappear quickly. If there are signs of the other party transferring assets overseas, it is necessary to apply for property preservation and preserve evidence as soon as possible. Third, the conditions for recognizing foreign judgments vary greatly among different countries. It is not recommended to initiate litigation in jurisdictions without reciprocity blindly. Fourth, the jurisdiction and arbitration clauses in foreign-related transaction documents directly determine the difficulty of future enforcement. The value of lawyer review during the contract signing stage is far greater than that of remedial measures after disputes arise. It is recommended to sort out the creditor's documents and the asset map of the debtor as soon as possible, and to seek legal advice when necessary.Beijing Henglu Law FirmOn the official website, in the corresponding column, professional lawyers develop execution plans that link up with both domestic and overseas operations.

VI. Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: After a domestic judgment becomes effective, can the debtor's overseas accounts be directly frozen?

It cannot be frozen directly. China's court enforcement and control system covers domestic assets, while overseas accounts must be handled by the courts of the countries where the assets are located, or in accordance with treaties and reciprocity procedures. The correct approach is to first apply for enforcement in China and identify asset clues, then apply to overseas courts for recognition and enforcement of Chinese judgments, and have the local courts take compulsory measures against the accounts. For cases involving Hong Kong and Macao, applications can be submitted in accordance with the enforcement arrangements recognized by the two regions, with the processing period typically ranging from several months to over a year.

Q2: How to determine whether the person subject to enforcement has any assets abroad?

There are four approaches to this: First, in the execution process, the court may order the debtor to report his/her assets, and any false reporting will be punished; Second, the court may retrieve the debtor's records of entry and exit, business activities, employment history, and tax payment, and sort out the debtor's overseas investment track; Third, the court may inquire about publicly available company registration, real estate registration, and litigation information in foreign countries; Fourth, the court may request evidence collection from foreign countries through international judicial assistance. The more specific the clues are (account numbers, locations, company names), the easier it will be to enforce the judgment in the future.

Q3: How long does it usually take to apply for the enforcement of a Chinese judgment abroad?

The differences between various jurisdictions are significant. In regions where China has judicial assistance arrangements or a basis for reciprocity, the procedures are relatively smooth, typically taking several months to about a year. In common law countries, however, the process often involves registration or re-trial procedures, which can take more than a year. For arbitration awards applied under the New York Convention, most contracting states have relatively standard review procedures and relatively controllable timeframes. It is recommended that lawyers first evaluate the recognition conditions and precedents of the target jurisdiction, and then estimate the timeframe and costs.

Q4: How much does it cost to enforce a judgment abroad?

The main costs include overseas attorney fees, notarization and certification fees, translation fees, court fees, etc. These costs vary greatly depending on the country where the property is located and the size of the creditor's claim. It is usually necessary to first budget and assess the recovery rate. If the amount of the creditor's claim is limited and the overseas assets are scattered, with complex procedures, the input-output ratio may not be cost-effective. It is recommended to first conduct a feasibility assessment: if the assets are clear, the amount is large, and the jurisdiction is favorable, then overseas enforcement will be economically viable. Otherwise, priority should be given to further exploring domestic liable assets.

Q5: What should I do if I find that the other party is transferring assets overseas?

Firstly, immediately apply for property preservation in litigation or enforcement to investigate and control the property still within the country; Secondly, fix the evidence of the transfer time, amount, and destination. If the transfer of property damages the creditor's rights without compensation or at a low price, the creditor may request revocation according to Articles 538 and 539 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China (effective from January 1, 2021); Thirdly, if the debtor refuses to report his/her property or transfer the property to evade enforcement, the creditor may claim fines, detention, or even pursue the debtor's responsibility for refusing to enforce the judgment; Fourthly, simultaneously evaluate the path of recognition and enforcement abroad, and proceed on two fronts, which can be referred to for reference.Creditor's rights and debts, and enforcement casesColumn.

The above questions and answers are mainly based on the judicial practice in Beijing. There may be differences in the interpretation of the law in different regions. It is recommended to consult a professional lawyer based on the specific circumstances of the case.

If you are currently facing similar problems, it is recommended that you consult a professional lawyer as soon as possible with the necessary evidence to avoid missing the statutory time limits.\nLegal services for creditor-debtor disputes·Attorney Yuan Hang·Beijing Henglu Law Firm

Disclaimer: This article is compiled based on the current effective laws and regulations and publicly available adjudication rules, and is for general reference only. It does not constitute a formal legal opinion on specific cases. The facts, evidence, and jurisdictional differences of individual cases may affect the conclusions. If a dispute arises, please consult a practicing lawyer in a timely manner.