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Chinese Supplier Took Your Money ： Civil Dispute or Criminal Fraud?

Supplier took payment but didn't deliver? Learn how Chinese lawyers distinguish civil disputes from contract fraud, when to file a police report, and why supplier due diligence in China matters before you pay.

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Chinese Supplier Took Your Money ： Civil Dispute or Criminal Fraud?

A Chinese supplier has taken your money and not delivered the goods. Is this an ordinary commercial dispute or criminal fraud?

There is no standard answer. In Chinese legal practice, the line between a commercial dispute and an economic crime is often less clear than foreign buyers expect. The key question is the supplier's intent when it took the money, and the nature of its subsequent conduct. That judgment must be made by experienced Chinese lawyers based on specific evidence.

1. Do Not Rush to Call a Trade Dispute Fraud

Many foreign buyers, when faced with a supplier's breach, immediately conclude "I've been scammed" and rush to file a police report. In reality, the vast majority of non-delivery cases are civil disputes, not criminal matters.

A factory short of cash, production delays, rising raw material costs, or substandard goods can all cause late delivery or a failed transaction—but none of these, standing alone, constitutes fraud. If the evidence does not show that the supplier intended to illegally appropriate the money from the start, the police will usually not open a criminal case and will instead direct the party to civil litigation or arbitration.

2. But If Fraud Is Suspected, Act Immediately

What kinds of circumstances may constitute criminal fraud? For example: the supplier collects full payment but forwards only a small portion to the factory while retaining most of the funds; it provides false production and shipment updates for months; it goes silent, transfers assets, or deregisters the company after being chased; or it never had real production capacity and obtained orders through forged qualifications and factory photos.

These acts go beyond ordinary breach of contract and may constitute the crime of contract fraud under Chinese criminal law. Once such signs appear, time is critical. Evidence can be deleted, funds transferred, companies deregistered, and people can disappear. By then, the chances of recovery drop dramatically.

3. The Most Important Step Is Due Diligence Beforehand

Many fraud cases happen because the buyer never verified the other party's true identity before paying. The company receiving the money is not necessarily the one making the goods; a warm reception and impressive factory photos do not prove a factory exists; an English invoice and a contract do not prove the counterparty has the ability to perform.

Proper due diligence should confirm the counterparty's exact registered Chinese name, actual controller, business scope, real factory address, and production capacity—and verify that the entity receiving payment matches the entity signing the contract. If an intermediary is involved, the relationship between the intermediary and the factory must be clarified, to avoid paying money to a shell company with neither production capacity nor assets worth pursuing.

This work costs little before payment. After a problem arises, it is often too late.

4. How We Can Help

We can assist you with supplier due diligence in China—verifying company identity, shareholding structure, operating status, and actual production capacity—to help you identify risks before payment. If a dispute has already arisen, we can help to assess the nature of the case, evaluate whether to pursue civil litigation, arbitration, or a criminal report to public security authorities, and help chart the next steps.

Thai Woman Found Dead in Taichung Freezer After Taipei Disappearance

A 36-year-old Thai woman visiting Taiwan was found dead in a freezer at her boyfriend's Taichung workplace, about 160 km from her Taipei hotel. Police arrested Wu, 43, on September 18 on suspicion of murder; he claims he strangled her during an argument over a breakup. The investigation is ongoing.

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Thai Woman Found Dead in Taichung Freezer After Taipei Disappearance

Source: OT-Team(G), 潇湘晨报

A 36-year-old Thai woman who went missing during a visit to Taiwan was found dead inside a freezer at her boyfriend’s workplace, about 160 kilometers from the hotel where she was last seen.

Police arrested a 43-year-old Taiwanese man, identified by his surname Wu, on the evening of September 18 after investigating the woman’s disappearance. He is suspected of killing her and transporting her body in a large suitcase to the technology company in Taichung where he worked.

According to police, the woman traveled to Taiwan from Thailand on September 2 to visit Wu, whom she had met in Thailand last year. She planned to stay for 14 days.

After her family lost contact with her and noticed that she had not returned to Thailand as expected, they asked a friend in Taiwan to report her missing.

Large Suitcase Seen Leaving Taipei Hotel

Police traced the woman to a hotel on Chengdu Road in Taipei’s Ximending area, where she had been staying.

Security footage reportedly showed Wu entering the hotel late on September 12. In the early hours of September 13, he was seen leaving with a large suitcase. The woman was not seen again afterward.

Thai Woman Found Dead in Taichung Freezer After Taipei Disappearance

Investigators suspect that Wu killed her at the hotel and then drove to Taichung, a journey of roughly 160 kilometers, with her body inside the suitcase.

Police later found the woman’s body inside a freezer at Wu’s workplace.

Wu reportedly worked in administrative and logistics operations, with some reports identifying him as a purchasing employee at the technology company.

Wu Claims He “Lost Control”

According to investigators, Wu told police that he had argued with the woman after she said she wanted to end their relationship. He allegedly said he was unhappy about the breakup and accidentally strangled her during the confrontation.

Wu reportedly claimed that he had not intended to kill her and that he acted after losing control of his emotions.

However, police have questioned whether the killing was premeditated.

Investigators noted that Wu had a 30-inch suitcase with him, which he said he had originally purchased to help his girlfriend pack her belongings. A freezer at the company had also been purchased earlier in the month, although Wu reportedly said it was intended for a company barbecue.

Police are investigating whether these circumstances were connected to the killing.

Wu was taken into custody on September 18 and is being investigated on suspicion of murder. The investigation remains ongoing.

Chinese Man, 71, Gets $59,000 Pension After 21 Years Homeless

A 71-year-old man in Changde, Hunan, received over 420,000 yuan (about US$59,000) in accumulated pension after 21 years living on the streets, with future monthly payments of about 3,700 yuan.

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A 71-year-old Chinese man who spent 21 years living on the streets and collecting recyclable materials has finally received the pension he never knew he was entitled to — more than 420,000 yuan (about US$59,000) that had accumulated in his social security account over more than a decade.

Mr. Ru, from Zhuzhou in central China’s Hunan Province, was overcome with emotion when staff from a local social assistance center handed him his social security card on September 24.

“I’m so happy. I never imagined this could happen,” Ru said, thanking the rescue center and government departments that helped him recover the money.

Ru had worked for more than 30 years at a state-owned retail company after graduating from a technical school in the 1970s. But in the early 2000s, the company went bankrupt and he was laid off under a restructuring arrangement commonly described in China as “buying out years of service,” in which workers received a one-time compensation payment when their employment ended.

Ru soon spent the money and eventually became estranged from relatives after borrowing money from them. He began living on the streets and collecting discarded materials to survive.

For the next 21 years, he continued this lifestyle.

Things changed in the winter of 2024, when staff from the Changde Social Assistance Center encountered Ru during an outreach campaign for people living on the streets. He was staying in an abandoned building corridor and initially refused to move into a shelter.

Chinese Man, 71, Gets $59,000 Pension After 21 Years Homeless

Screenshot from 潇湘晨报

According to Wu Jinhui, a staff member who helped him, Ru was highly independent and stubborn. Workers began visiting him every week with supplies and continued talking to him for several months before he finally provided his personal information.

When officials checked his records, they made an unexpected discovery.

Ru had more than 30 years of employment history and had actually met the requirements to retire and receive a monthly pension of approximately 3,700 yuan (US$520). He had been eligible to retire as early as 2015.

Screenshot from 潇湘晨报

Because he had never applied for the pension, the payments had accumulated in his account for more than 10 years, eventually reaching over 420,000 yuan.

Ru had believed that after being laid off, he had to continue making pension contributions himself until retirement age before he could receive anything. Because he had no money to make those payments, he simply gave up on the idea of receiving a pension.

Chinese social security rules provide that people who have participated in basic pension insurance and accumulated at least 15 years of contributions can receive a basic pension after reaching the statutory retirement age.

Ru's case, however, was complicated. Processing his retirement involved records from different cities and multiple government departments. For more than a year, assistance workers repeatedly traveled between Changde and Zhuzhou to verify his employment history and complete the necessary procedures.

On September 24, Ru finally received the social security card containing his accumulated pension. His future monthly pension payments will also be deposited into the account, and officials said his medical insurance benefits would be arranged as well. Staff warned him to protect the card carefully and remain alert to financial scams.

Chinese Man, 71, Gets $59,000 Pension After 21 Years Homeless

Screenshot from 潇湘晨报

Despite finally receiving a substantial sum of money, Ru has not yet changed his lifestyle completely. He is still living in a building corridor and collecting recyclables, although he says he now plans to rent a room.

Ru has lived in Changde for around 13 years and says he has grown attached to the city. For now, he plans to remain there for several more years before eventually returning to his hometown, where his younger sister still lives.

Ru’s story also raises a question relevant to the millions of foreigners working in China: can foreign employees receive a Chinese pension?

Yes. Foreign nationals who are legally employed in China and have the required work and residence documents generally participate in China's social insurance system. Employers are required to register eligible foreign employees for social insurance, including basic pension insurance, and both employers and employees contribute according to local rules.

Generally, a foreign employee must have accumulated at least 15 years of contributions to China's basic pension insurance for employees and reach the applicable statutory retirement age. The standard retirement ages are currently 60 for men and 55 for women, although local or industry-specific rules may apply.

Foreign employees who leave China before retirement do not necessarily lose their contributions. Their individual social insurance account can generally be retained, with contribution periods continuing to accumulate if they later return to work in China.

Alternatively, eligible foreigners can apply in writing to terminate the social insurance relationship and receive the balance of their individual account as a lump sum, subject to the applicable rules.

China also has bilateral or multilateral social security agreements with several countries, including Japan, Germany, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands, which can exempt eligible workers from certain contributions for specified periods.

Source:

Editor: Yuna

Shanghai French School ： French Baccalaureate, 100% Pass Rate, Global Universities

Shanghai French School (LFS) offers the French Baccalaureate as an alternative to IB, A-Levels, and AP. 2026 cohort: 100% pass rate, 97% honors. Tuition RMB125,000–208,080 for 2026–27.

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Shanghai French School ： French Baccalaureate, 100% Pass Rate, Global Universities

For many families in Shanghai, IB, A-Levels, and AP are the most familiar international academic pathways.

The French Baccalauréat, by comparison, remains less widely understood. The clearest measure of its reach: where students go next.

Over the last 10 years (2016–26), Shanghai French School (LFS) has followed over 830 graduates. One graduate in six studies at a top-50 ranked university.

Many graduates study at institutions ranked in the global top 10, including Imperial (2nd), Oxford (4th), Cambridge (6th), UCL (8th).

Other top-50 universities include McGill (30th), EPFL (22nd), King's College London (37th), Toronto (32nd), and HKUST (33rd).

Others pursue studies at respected institutions beyond the rankings: Sciences Po, Bocconi, IE University, Sorbonne, École Polytechnique.

This consistency—McGill and UCL appearing in the data every single year for a decade—is not luck. It's a system.

Shanghai French School prepares graduates to belong everywhere they choose to go.

Doors open everywhere—geographically.

Geographically, after graduation 54% of students studied in France and 46% elsewhere.

The most frequent international choices, in descending order, were the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Spain, Switzerland, and the USA—across 20 countries and 5 continents.

No single path dominates—academically.

Academically, there is no monoculture.

Of the 831 graduates, 25% pursued business and management; 14% entered the selective preparatory classes for the Grandes Écoles in France; 13.5% studied engineering and science; 13% chose arts and design; and 12% went into law and political science.

The remainder spread across general university programs and health.

At Shanghai French School, no single discipline dominates and no pathway is predetermined—because every door is already open.

Recognition at the highest level.

In 2026, Shanghai French School earned for the first time recognition in the HSBC × Forbes China International Schools Selection—a landmark ranking that assesses international schools across academic achievement, teaching quality, campus environment, and innovation.

Among foreign passport schools in China, LFS entered the top 10 of international schools in Shanghai.

More significantly, LFS is the only school in the ranking offering an alternative to IB, A-Levels, or AP.

But the real measure of excellence is in the outcomes: All 66 students in the 2026 cohort successfully earned the French Baccalauréat—a 100% pass rate.

Of those, 97% graduated with honors, and 50% achieved the highest distinction.

This performance places Shanghai French School in the top three international French schools across Asia.

Built for diversity. Designed for everyone.

LFS operates within a French-English-Chinese trilingual learning environment that extends beyond language lessons.

Students learn and communicate across different linguistic and cultural settings throughout their school experience.

Over the past 30 years, LFS has grown to welcome more than 1,160 families in 2026—its largest community to date—representing 60 nationalities.

More than two-thirds of families have European roots, representing 23 European countries including France, while more than one-third are Franco-Chinese binational families.

The school offers General, European, International American, and International Chinese pathways.

Integrating students from all backgrounds.

The Shanghai French School FLSco program for non-French speakers supports students who arrive with little or no French, helping them progressively integrate into the French curriculum.

Non-French-speaking students can join LFS at any level from K3 through Grade 7.

Currently, around 18% of the school community receives French-language support, ranging from intensive classes to a few hours of French per week, depending on each student’s needs.

This accessibility extends to tuition. Shanghai French School is a non-profit institution governed by its Parents' Association.

For 2026–27, annual tuition ranges from RMB125,000 to RMB208,080 per student, depending on grade level and language stream.

Revenue is reinvested entirely in teaching, staff, and academic programs—a structure designed to prioritize education over profit.