- When an FIE is insolvent or clearly lacks the ability to pay, judicial bankruptcy under the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law is the formal path distinct from administrative simple/compulsory deregistration.
当外资企业资不抵债或明显缺乏清偿能力时，依据《企业破产法》进入司法破产，是与行政简易/强制注销不同的正式退出路径。- A debtor, a creditor, or a liquidation obligor can file; foreign-related assets are caught by the extraterritorial reach of a bankruptcy opened in China.
债务人、债权人均可提出申请，已解散未清算且资不抵债的清算责任人亦须申请；在中国开始的破产程序对债务人在境外财产发生效力。- The administrator (管理人) is central: it takes over assets, investigates claw-back of fraudulent transfers, and runs liquidation or reorganization.
管理人居核心地位：接管财产、追查撤销恶意转移、主持清算或重整。- A 13-agency opinion (发改财金规〔2021〕274号) streamlines deregistration, account takeover, tax clearance and credit repair so an FIE can actually exit.
十三部门意见（发改财金规〔2021〕274号）打通注销、账户接管、税务清结与信用修复，使外资企业得以真正退出。- Cross-border creditors must file claims within the statutory period; recognition of foreign judgments follows treaties and the reciprocity principle.
跨境债权人须在规定期限内申报债权；外国判决的承认与执行依条约与互惠原则审查。- Tax clearance matters: the tax bureau issues a clearance certificate on the strength of the court’s termination ruling and writes off “dead debts.”
税务清结是关键：税务机关凭法院终结裁定即时出具清税文书并核销”死欠”。- Foreign investors should weigh reorganization versus liquidation early, preserve books, and plan the exit before distress becomes irreversible.
外国投资者应尽早权衡重整与清算、妥善保存账册，并在困境不可逆转前规划退出。
Foreign-invested enterprises in judicial bankruptcy: a China exit playbook for insolvent FIEs | 陷入困境的外资企业：中国司法破产退出实操指南
Overview: Two exits, one statute
Most foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) leave China through the administrative route — simple or compulsory deregistration under the Company Law. But when an FIE cannot pay its debts as they fall due, and its assets are insufficient to cover all debts or it is clearly unable to pay, the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the PRC (adopted 27 August 2006, President Order No. 54, effective 1 June 2007) governs a judicial exit. This article explains that path for foreign shareholders, directors and cross-border creditors who face a distressed China subsidiary.
The legal basis
The operative statute is the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the PRC. Article 2 defines the trigger: an enterprise legal person that cannot satisfy due debts while assets are insufficient, or is clearly lacking the ability to pay, shall have its debts liquidated under the law; where it faces those circumstances or has a clear possibility of losing the ability to pay, it may undergo reorganization. The Supreme People’s Court has, in its 2026 work report, emphasized bankruptcy’s “exit” function — in 2025 courts applied bankruptcy liquidation to some 29,000 “zombie enterprises,” and pushed “enforcement–bankruptcy linkage” to free frozen assets.
Who may file, and where
Article 7 permits three filers: (1) the debtor (the FIE itself) may apply for reorganization, compromise or bankruptcy liquidation; (2) a creditor may apply for the debtor’s reorganization or bankruptcy liquidation where the debtor cannot pay due debts; (3) where an enterprise legal person has been dissolved but liquidation has not started or finished and assets are insufficient, the person with liquidation responsibility must apply for bankruptcy liquidation. Article 3 vests jurisdiction in the people’s court at the debtor’s domicile.
Extraterritorial reach and foreign judgments
Article 5 is critical for foreign parties: a bankruptcy commenced under the law takes effect against the debtor’s property outside China’s territory. Where a foreign court’s effective bankruptcy judgment or ruling concerns the debtor’s property within China and recognition/enforcement is sought, the people’s court examines it under China’s concluded or acceded international treaties, or on the reciprocity principle, recognizing and enforcing it where it violates no fundamental legal principle, breaches no state sovereignty, security or public interest, and harms no legitimate rights of domestic creditors.
The administrator: the engine of the case
The administrator (管理人) is appointed by the court and takes over the debtor’s property, investigates the business, recovers assets and runs the procedure. Under Article 15 the debtor and its officers must cooperate and submit books. The 13-agency opinion 发改财金规〔2021〕274号 (“Opinions on Promoting and Safeguarding Administrators’ Performance of Duties in Bankruptcy Proceedings to Further Optimize the Business Environment,” issued by the NDRC, the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Finance, the tax authority, the market-supervision authority, the banking and insurance regulator and others on 25 February 2021) makes banks, registries and tax bureaus legally obliged to cooperate with the administrator’s takeover, investigation, management and disposal of assets.
What the 274 opinion unlocks for an FIE exit
The opinion directly attacks the “hard to exit” problem:
- Status publicity: on acceptance, the National Bankruptcy Reorganization Case Information Network pushes bankruptcy status to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
- Simplified deregistration: the administrator may apply for cancellation with the court’s termination ruling; market-supervision departments may not add extra conditions.
- Account takeover: with the acceptance ruling and administrator appointment, banks must let the administrator take over accounts, activate abnormal accounts, and query transaction and credit records.
- Tax clearance: the tax bureau must supply invoices needed for the procedure and, on the strength of the court’s bankruptcy-termination ruling, issue a clearance certificate instantly and write off “dead debts” without demanding full recovery.
- Credit repair: after a reorganization or compromise plan is approved, the administrator may apply to repair the enterprise’s tax credit.
Cross-border creditors: filing and recognition
Foreign creditors must file claims within the period announced by the court; late filing risks subordination. Where a foreign judgment or award concerns China-seated assets, recognition follows Article 5 (treaties/reciprocity). For arbitral awards, the New York Convention path covered in our separate article on enforcement remains available. Administrators are also empowered to pursue claw-back of fraudulent or preferential transfers to protect the creditor pool — a priority given the Supreme People’s Court’s 2025 typical cases against “escape of debts.”
Reorganization vs. liquidation: the early choice
An FIE with going-concern value should consider reorganization (Chapter VIII) or compromise (Chapter IX) before liquidation. The 274 opinion encourages financial institutions to vote efficiently and extends credit to reorganizing firms that meet industrial-policy direction, and supports bad-asset funds and private-equity participation. Foreign shareholders weighing a restart should engage the administrator early and model a viable plan.
Practical steps for foreign investors
- Read the distress signals: inability to pay due debts plus insufficient assets or clear inability to pay.
- Preserve books and seals; cooperate with any administrator to avoid penalties under Article 15.
- Engage counsel on filing, claim submission, and, if a creditor, timely proof of debt.
- Plan tax clearance with the administrator using the 274 opinion’s instant-clearance rule.
- Decide reorganization vs. liquidation before value erodes.
- Map cross-border assets and, where relevant, seek recognition of foreign proceedings under Article 5.
Related reading
Administrative simple and compulsory deregistration for FIEs (Company Law route) is covered in a separate article; this piece is the judicial-bankruptcy briefing plus the action list.
陷入困境的外资企业：中国司法破产退出实操指南
概览：两种退出，一部法律
多数外资企业（FIE）通过行政路径——新《公司法》下的简易注销或强制注销——离开中国市场。但当企业不能清偿到期债务，且资产不足以清偿全部债务或明显缺乏清偿能力时，规范”司法”退出的是《中华人民共和国企业破产法》（2006年8月27日通过，主席令第五十四号，2007年6月1日施行）。本文为面临中国子公司困境的外国股东、董事与跨境债权人讲解这条路径。
法律依据
现行依据是《中华人民共和国企业破产法》。第二条界定了触发条件：企业法人不能清偿到期债务，并且资产不足以清偿全部债务或者明显缺乏清偿能力的，依照本法规定清理债务；有前述情形或者有明确丧失清偿能力可能的，可以进行重整。最高人民法院在2026年工作报告中强调破产的”出清”功能——2025年人民法院对约2.9万家”僵尸企业”依法适用破产清算，并推进”执破衔接”盘活被查封冻结的财产。
谁能申请、向何处申请
第七条规定了三类申请人：（1）债务人（即外资企业本身）可申请重整、和解或破产清算；（2）债务人不能清偿到期债务的，债权人可申请对其重整或破产清算；（3）企业法人已解散但未清算或未清算完毕、资产不足以清偿债务的，依法负有清算责任的人必须申请破产清算。第三条规定管辖法院为债务人住所地人民法院。
域外效力与外国判决
第五条对外国当事方至关重要：依照本法开始的破产程序，对债务人在中华人民共和国领域外的财产发生效力。对外国法院作出的发生法律效力的破产判决、裁定，涉及债务人在中国领域内财产的，人民法院依中国缔结或参加的国际条约，或按互惠原则审查，认为不违反中国法律基本原则、不损害国家主权安全与社会公共利益、不损害境内债权人合法权益的，裁定承认和执行。
管理人：案件的引擎
管理人由人民法院指定，接管债务人财产、调查经营、追回资产并主持程序。第十五条规定债务人及其有关人员应当配合并提交账册。十三部门意见《发改财金规〔2021〕274号》（”关于推动和保障管理人在破产程序中依法履职进一步优化营商环境的意见”，由国家发展改革委、最高人民法院、财政部、税务总局、市场监管总局、银保监会等十三部门于2021年2月25日印发）使银行、登记机关与税务机关负有法定配合义务，支持管理人接管、调查、管理和处分破产企业财产。
274号意见为外资企业退出打通的环节
该意见直击”退出难”：
- 状态公示：受理后将破产信息通过全国企业破产重整案件信息网推送至国家企业信用信息公示系统。
- 简易注销：管理人可凭法院终结裁定申请注销，市场监管部门不得额外设条件。
- 账户接管：凭受理裁定与指定决定书，银行须配合管理人接管账户、激活非正常户、查询交易与征信。
- 税务清结：税务机关须保障程序所需发票供应，并凭法院终结裁定即时出具清税文书、核销”死欠”，不得要求全额受偿。
- 信用修复：重整或和解计划获批准后，管理人可申请修复企业纳税信用。
跨境债权人：申报与承认
外国债权人须在法院公告的期限内申报债权，逾期可能劣后。涉及中国境内财产的外国判决或裁定，依第五条（条约/互惠）承认。仲裁裁决则可沿用本站的承认与执行专文所述的《纽约公约》路径。管理人亦有权撤销恶意或偏颇转移以保全债权人 pool——在最高法2025年惩治”逃废债”典型案例背景下尤为重要。
重整还是清算：尽早抉择
有持续经营价值的外资企业应清算前考虑重整（第八章）或和解（第九章）。274号意见鼓励金融机构高效表决，并向符合国家产业政策方向的重整企业提供信贷支持，支持不良资产基金与私募股权参与。有意重整的外国股东应尽早与管理人接洽并设计可行方案。
外国投资者的实操步骤
- 识别困境信号：不能清偿到期债务且资产不足或明显缺乏清偿能力。
- 保管账册印章，配合管理人以免触发第十五条处罚。
- 聘请律师处理申请、债权申报，债权人一方及时举证。
- 规划税务清结，借助274号意见的即时清税规则。
- 在价值蒸发前决定重整或清算。
- 梳理跨境资产，必要时依第五条申请承认外国程序。
延伸阅读
外资企业行政简易/强制注销（公司法路径）本站另有专文；本文为司法破产简报加行动清单。
Sources