Step 4 — Evidence & Hearing

Overview

Chinese civil procedure is fundamentally document-driven. Unlike common-law systems built around oral testimony and cross-examination, a Chinese court or tribunal decides the case overwhelmingly on the written record. Understanding this — and preparing evidence accordingly — is the single most important way to improve your chances.

Types of evidence

The Civil Procedure Law recognises these categories:

• Documentary evidence (书证) — contracts, invoices, delivery notes, correspondence. The workhorse of commercial disputes.
• Physical evidence (物证) — the goods, the defective product, the samples.
• Electronic data (电子数据) — WeChat messages, emails, spreadsheets, and database records. Widely used, but authenticity must be shown.
• Witness testimony (证人证言) — admissible but given less weight in practice than documents; witnesses rarely appear live in the common-law sense.
• Expert opinion / appraisal (鉴定意见) — forensic, technical, or accounting appraisal, often court-appointed.
• Audiovisual material and inspection records.

Burden of proof

The general rule is "he who asserts must prove": each party bears the burden of proving the facts it relies on. In contract disputes, the claimant must prove the contract, the breach, causation, and loss; the respondent must prove any defences (such as payment or set-off). In a few statutory areas the burden shifts or is reversed.

Preparing foreign evidence

• Translation — all foreign-language evidence must be translated into Chinese by a qualified translator.
• Authentication — formal foreign documents should be notarised and legalised (or apostilled, since China joined the Apostille Convention in November 2023).
• Electronic evidence — authenticate WeChat or email records, ideally by notarising the live account view or using a recognised evidence-preservation platform.

Evidence exchange and cross-examination (质证)

Before the hearing, the parties exchange evidence and the court or tribunal schedules a cross-examination of evidence (质证), at which each side challenges the authenticity, relevance, and probative value of the other's documents. This is the functional equivalent of cross-examination of witnesses — but directed at the documents.

• Challenge authenticity — is the signature or seal genuine? Is the electronic record untampered?
• Challenge relevance and weight — does the document actually prove what the other side claims?
• Timing — late-submitted evidence may be excluded, so evidence should be front-loaded at filing.

Witnesses and experts

• Witnesses — can provide written statements and, if the court permits, appear. Live witness examination is far less prominent than in common-law systems, and in practice witnesses may not be cross-examined at all.
• Experts / appraisal (鉴定) — in technical or financial disputes (quality, causation, damages), the court or a party may commission an appraisal from a qualified institution. A party-appointed expert report carries less weight than a court-appointed appraisal, so strategic use of appraisal requests matters.

How the hearing works

• No jury — cases are decided by a judge (or a three-judge panel, or a three-arbitrator tribunal).
• Bench-trial style — the judge or tribunal leads the process, directing the parties and questioning them, rather than passive adjudication of lawyer-led advocacy.
• Multiple sessions — a commercial case may involve several hearings and evidence-exchange sessions rather than one continuous trial.
• Arbitration flexibility — arbitral tribunals typically allow greater flexibility on language, document production, and hearing procedure than the courts.

Practical guidance

• Build a complete, organised documentary record from the moment of contracting — it is your case.
• Authenticate electronic evidence promptly; screenshots alone are weak.
• Front-load evidence at filing to avoid exclusion for lateness.
• Use appraisal strategically where quality, causation, or damages are contested.
• Don't expect common-law-style live cross-examination — prepare for a document-centric proceeding.