Facing prosecution in China? Understand three things first

If either the act or the consequence of the alleged offence occurred within Chinese territory — including on board a Chinese ship or aircraft — Chinese criminal law applies. There is no rule exempting foreign nationals from Chinese criminal law. Your nationality, your knowledge of Chinese law, and whether you speak Chinese are all irrelevant to jurisdiction.

The sole exception concerns the very small number of persons entitled to diplomatic privileges and immunities, whose criminal responsibility is resolved through diplomatic channels.

Note: Residents of Hong Kong and Macao, China are Chinese citizens. When suspected of an offence on the mainland, Chinese criminal law applies and the procedure is the same as for mainland residents. The same applies to residents of the Taiwan region of China.

This is the most misunderstood and most critical point in foreign-related criminal cases: a foreign lawyer cannot appear before a Chinese court as defence counsel. At both the investigation and trial stages, defence counsel must be a lawyer holding Chinese legal qualifications and practising at a law firm in China.

If the defendant is in custody, the following may appoint counsel on their behalf:

1. their guardian; 2. their close relatives; 3. the embassy or consulate of their state of nationality in China.

Where a guardian or close relative appoints counsel, valid proof of the relationship is required. Such proof generally must be notarised in the country of origin, authenticated by the central foreign affairs authority of that country (or its authorised body), and then legalised by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country — unless a mutual exemption agreement applies.

If no counsel has been appointed, the people's court may notify a legal aid body to assign a lawyer to provide defence.

Right of counsel to meet the detainee: Where defence counsel presents a practising certificate, a law firm letter and a power of attorney, the detention centre must arrange the meeting promptly and in any event within 48 hours. Meetings between counsel and the detainee are not monitored. Exception: in cases involving endangering national security or terrorist activities, meetings during the investigation stage require the permission of the investigating authority.

The question families ask most often is: "how long before sentencing?" The statutory time limits are:

Crucially: one day in custody counts as one day of the sentence. Where the defendant was held in custody before the sentence is executed, each day in custody is credited against one day of fixed-term imprisonment. Time spent in pre-trial detention is therefore not "wasted".

Yes. Where a foreign suspect is granted release pending trial or residential surveillance, or is detained or arrested, the provincial-level public security department notifies the embassy or consulate of the state of nationality and reports to the Ministry of Public Security. Once the case reaches the courts, notification is handled by the high people's court.

Time limits: Where a bilateral consular treaty applies (commonly 4 or 7 days), notification is made within the treaty period. Where no treaty applies, notification is made as soon as possible with reference to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and international practice, and in any event no later than 7 days. Where the case proceeds to a hearing, the date of the hearing is notified at least 7 days in advance.

Content of notification: name, gender, date of entry, passport or travel document number, time and place of the case, the principal alleged facts, and the coercive measures imposed and their legal basis.

The person concerned may request in writing that their embassy or consulate not be notified, but this requires a written statement signed by them personally.

1. Engage a Chinese lawyer as early as possible. This is the only channel through which the detainee can be visited, the facts of the case learned, and legal submissions made. Families abroad may appoint a Chinese lawyer directly, or request the embassy or consulate of the detainee's state of nationality to do so on their behalf. 2. Prepare proof of relationship and complete the legalisation chain: notarisation in the country of origin → authentication by the central foreign affairs authority → legalisation by the Chinese embassy or consulate in that country. 3. Visits. During the trial stage, consular officials seeking to visit apply to the high people's court in the locality of the court handling the case; the court arranges the visit within the time limit set by the applicable treaty, or as soon as possible where no treaty applies. Guardians and close relatives seeking to visit apply to the same court and must provide proof of relationship. If the defendant refuses the visit, this requires a written statement from them personally. 4. Correspondence. Letters exchanged with the embassy or consulate of the state of nationality are promptly forwarded in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the applicable bilateral consular treaty. Letters exchanged with relatives are subject to inspection. 5. Return of illicit gains, compensation and seeking the victim's forgiveness. These are among the factors with the most significant practical effect on sentencing in the Chinese system. In economic and property offences, returning all illicit gains and obtaining the victim's understanding can substantially reduce the sentence and may affect whether a suspended sentence is available. 6. Do not: attempt to contact witnesses, transfer assets, destroy evidence, or offer bribes to officials handling the case. Such conduct constitutes separate offences (e.g. obstruction of testimony, money laundering, bribery) and will seriously worsen the situation.

The basic structure of sentencing in China is: statutory range → starting point → base sentence → adjustment for circumstances → pronounced sentence.

1. Statutory range: Set out for each offence in the Special Part of the Criminal Law, usually in two or three tiers (for example, "fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance"; "not less than three and not more than ten years"; "not less than ten years or life imprisonment"). 2. Determining the tier: Primarily by amount, quantity, consequences and gravity of the circumstances. High courts of each province publish local monetary thresholds (for example, the thresholds for "relatively large", "huge" and "especially huge" amounts in fraud differ between provinces). 3. Mitigating circumstances (statutory or discretionary): - Voluntary surrender (zishou): A lighter or reduced punishment may be imposed; where the offence is relatively minor, punishment may be remitted. - Confession (tanbai): Truthfully confessing one's offence may result in a lighter punishment; where the confession prevents especially serious consequences, the punishment may be reduced. - Leniency for admitting guilt and accepting punishment: A person who voluntarily and truthfully confesses, admits the alleged facts and accepts punishment may be dealt with leniently in accordance with law. - Secondary party (accessory): A lighter or reduced punishment shall be imposed, or punishment may be remitted. - Attempt: A lighter or reduced punishment may be imposed by comparison with completion of the offence. - Meritorious service: A lighter or reduced punishment may be imposed. - Returning illicit gains, compensating the victim, obtaining the victim's understanding: These have significant practical impact on sentencing. 4. Suspended sentence: A person sentenced to criminal detention or fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years may be granted a suspended sentence where the circumstances of the offence are relatively minor, they show repentance, there is no danger of reoffending, and the suspension would not have a significant adverse effect on the community.

A foreign national who commits an offence may be sentenced to deportation either independently or additionally.

- Independently: Deportation is imposed as the sole penalty, without any other principal punishment. - Additionally: Deportation is imposed in addition to a principal punishment (such as fixed-term imprisonment) and is carried out after the principal punishment has been served.

For the person concerned, this means that even a short sentence may be followed by removal from China and a bar on re-entry. Note that in practice a case in which additional deportation is likely affects the assessment of "social danger", which in turn affects the prospects of obtaining release pending trial.

以下概念在英美法中不存在准确对应词，不可直译：

各罪名的具体量刑幅度与各省数额标准，请以最新有效的法律、司法解释及本省高级人民法院实施细则为准。

For the specific sentencing ranges and provincial monetary thresholds, always refer to the currently effective laws, judicial interpretations and implementation rules of the high people's court of the province concerned.

The Rudun Sentencing Dictionary (mini-program: 罪名量刑查询) estimates sentencing ranges by offence, amount, circumstances and province, showing its working and legal basis. All results are estimates and are neither a prediction of nor a promise as to the outcome of a case.

Disclaimer

This guide is based on the laws, judicial interpretations and administrative rules in force as at 5 September 2026; the authoritative text is the latest official version. This guide does not constitute legal advice and is no substitute for professional advice on a specific case. For any specific case, engage a lawyer holding Chinese legal qualifications and practising in China.

Prepared by the Rudun Sentencing Dictionary.