COVID-19 in Civil or Commercial Disputes: First Responses from Chinese Courts

Abstract This comment highlights the major civil or commercial (mostly contract) law provisions in 24 judicial documents newly released by the Supreme People’s Court or High People’s Courts in China in response to the outbreak of COVID-19 and assesses the significance of key changes to the pre-pandemic law. It concludes by noting the increased role of the doctrine of the change of circumstances and the ‘contract purpose’ test, the emphasis placed on consensual solutions (by way of mediation and contract renegotiation), and the flexibility and relatively clearer guidance afforded to lower courts in their adjudication of disputes arising in connection with COVID-19.