Judgment Standards of Chinese Courts when Impediments to Performance of Contracts Arise in International Trade Contracts

Purpose : The purpose is to analysis of the tendency of court decisions and application of laws in China, on contract disputes arising from COVID-19 pandemic on international trade activities. International trade enterprises and the obstacles to contract performance arising from international trade with China provide some guidance and tips on the application of the law. Research design, data and methodology : This paper adopts a case study approach by analyzing the application of legal provisions in the judicial practices of the China court in international contractual disputes over goods in this epidemic. And also try to summarize the laws and analyze the reasons, and provide some legal suggestions for international trade enterprises in the practice of international sale and purchase of goods. Results : According case analysis COVID-19 constitutes an impediment to contract performance in international trade in the China and China courts still follow the principle of first looking at whether there is a force majeure clause in the contract between the parties. Conclusions : This paper shows that COVID-19 pandemic has many uncertainties, in order to better protect the interests of both parties to the contract. Therefore, it is necessary to write specific contractual provisions relating to hardship and force majeure in order to establish the intended allocation of contractual risk well in advance.