CHINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Hongyu Liu, Shuaifeng Wang, Dongda Wei and Chen Rong, King & Capital Law Firm
2.6 Cohabitation: Division of Assets Between Unmarried Couples In China, there are no specific laws for unmarried cohabiting partners; asset division is handled accord ‑ ing to general rules on co-ownership: if common ownership can be proven, division is based on the contribution ratio or agreement; otherwise, the asset belongs to the registered owner. The cohabitation relationship itself does not create property rights. The length of cohabitation does not affect asset divi ‑ sion. However, if the couple has children together, child support or compensation for contributions to the children can be claimed. Cohabitants do not automat ‑ ically acquire the rights and obligations of spouses. 2.7 Enforcement of Financial Orders If one party fails to fulfil the obligations of property division as stipulated in the effective judgment or mediation agreement, the other party should, within the statutory time limit (generally two years, calculated from the last day of the performance period specified in the legal document), submit an application for com ‑ pulsory enforcement to the original trial People’s Court or the People’s Court in the place where the property to be enforced is located. Once the case enters the enforcement procedure, the court will issue a “Notice of Enforcement” and an “Order to Report Property” to the person subject to enforcement, ordering them to perform their obli ‑ gations within a specified time limit and to truthfully declare their property status. If the person subject to enforcement fails to comply by the deadline or refuses to report their property, the court will take compulsory measures in accordance with the law. The court will locate and control the property of the person subject to enforcement through various means. • Online control system: The court may, according to law, utilise the nationwide online execution con ‑ trol system to inquire about bank deposits, online funds (such as Alipay or WeChat Pay), securities, vehicles, industrial and commercial registration information, and other assets under the name of the person subject to enforcement, and take direct measures such as freezing and transferring funds.
• Traditional investigation and compulsory measures: These include sealing up (posting seals to restrict disposal), seizing (transferring actual control of the item), auctioning and selling off real estate, vehi ‑ cles, equipment, etc (eg, judicial auction of real estate). For those who refuse to perform their obli ‑ gations, the court may take compulsory measures such as fines or judicial detention (for a maximum of 15 days). • Credit discipline: For persons subject to enforce ‑ ment who have the capacity to perform but refuse to do so, the court may include them in the list of discredited persons subject to enforcement, restricting high-consumption behaviours such as taking planes or high-speed trains, staying in star-rated hotels and purchasing real estate. If the circumstances are serious, it may constitute the crime of refusing to execute a judgment or ruling, and criminal liability may be pursued. International Enforcement Chinese courts recognise and enforce divorce prop ‑ erty division judgments made by foreign courts, pri ‑ marily based on international treaties (such as bilat ‑ eral judicial assistance agreements) or the principle of reciprocity. The procedure for applying for recognition and enforcement of a foreign court judgment usually involves two steps. • Step 1 – application for recognition: First, the party concerned must apply to the competent Intermedi ‑ ate People’s Court in China, requesting recognition of the effectiveness of the foreign court judg ‑ ment. The application materials usually include a notarised and authenticated copy of the judgment, a Chinese translation, etc. • Step 2 – application for enforcement: After obtain ‑ ing the Chinese court’s ruling on recognition, if the debtor still fails to perform, the creditor can apply to the Chinese court for compulsory enforcement based on this ruling. The subsequent enforcement procedure is basically the same as that for domes ‑ tic cases.
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