What the review covers
Price, payment and performance
How the price is set and adjusted, when each payment falls due, and what each side must do by when.
Exclusivity, term and termination
What you are giving up and for how long, what you get for it, and what it takes to get out.
Cost and risk allocation
Liability caps, indemnities and warranties, read for where the commercial exposure sits, with the forum and governing law recorded as written for your lawyer.
Intellectual property and confidentiality
Who owns what is created or shared, and what the other side may do with it.
Language versions
Where the versions say different things, and which one the contract says prevails.
Negotiating points
What to ask for, what to offer in return, and the wording of the ask in Chinese.
How it runs
- Tell us about the contract in the form below: what it is, what you are trying to achieve and anything already agreed. We then arrange a secure way to receive it.
- Review. We read every clause, including any Chinese version, and work out where the commercial risk sits and what to negotiate.
- The letter. You receive a commercial advice letter and a clause-by-clause table, ordered by what matters most to your business.
Tell us about the contract
Do not paste or upload the contract here. Tell us what it is, and we will arrange a secure way to receive it.
If the points have to be won at the table
Negotiation support puts us in the room or on the call with you, on your brief, to press them.
Negotiation SupportCommon questions
- What if the contract has a Chinese version?
- We review it too. Differences between the two versions of a bilingual contract can be the most valuable findings, particularly where the contract says the Chinese text prevails: we note every place the two say different things and what that means for you commercially. Where one version is missing, or a bank or registry needs a certified rendering of the signed contract, we can prepare a certified translation alongside the review. See which language version of a bilingual contract prevails.
- What kinds of contract do you review?
- Commercial agreements with Chinese counterparts: distribution, agency and licensing agreements, service and cooperation agreements, joint venture and partnership term sheets, leases and similar. For a first read of your own, see what to check in a China contract before signing.
A consult, an advice letter or a contract review?
Three ways to get our commercial judgement, at three depths. The consult fee is credited against either of the other two.
| Option | You receive | From | Turnaround | Choose this when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45-minute consultation | A live conversation that maps your case and ends with a recommended route and a fixed quote | US$120 | Booked to the calendar | You want to talk the situation through and leave with a direction and a fixed quote |
| Commercial Advice Letter | A signed commercial advice letter | from US$1,000 | 5–10 working days | You have one commercial question and want a signed written answer you can circulate internally |
| Contract Commercial Review | Commercial advice letter with a clause-by-clause review table | from US$1,500 | 3–7 working days | There is a specific contract or term sheet in front of you, and you want every clause read before you respond or sign |
Often engaged together
Illustrative combinations from the programme examples on the pricing page. Each figure is the sum of the component floor prices; the written quote for your scope is what we charge.
- Negotiating a major purchase : Negotiation Support × 2 + Contract Commercial Review, from US$3,900
- Exhibiting, then closing what it started : Trade Fair & Exhibition Representation × 3 + Contract Commercial Review, from US$5,100
Read first
Short answers from our answers library to the questions that usually come before this service.
In depth
Longer reads from our insights on the work this service covers.
