FOB, CIF, EXW, and other shipping terms can decide who bore the risk of loss, what records matter, and how the complaint, Hague service package, and damages proof should be organized.
Compare purchase orders, invoices, bills of lading, packing lists, forwarder emails, insurance records, and delivery exceptions.
Risk of loss can affect whether the claim is against the Chinese supplier, shipper, forwarder, warehouse, insurer, or multiple parties.
If shipping terms support the complaint, translate party names, delivery points, and Incoterms references consistently before Hague service.
When a shipment is damaged, short, late, or never arrives, the contract term may decide whether the seller had already completed delivery or still carried the risk. FOB, CIF, EXW, FCA, DDP, and similar terms should be reviewed together with the actual course of dealing.
Save the purchase order, pro forma invoice, commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, forwarder instructions, container tracking, customs entry, delivery receipt, warehouse exception report, insurance notice, and all refund or replacement messages.
The shipping records may identify a trading company, factory, exporter, freight forwarder, U.S. importer, or warehouse. Those records can affect who to sue, whether U.S. contacts exist, and whether service on one Chinese entity is enough.
If the complaint relies on shipping terms, quantity, destination, or delivery failure, those facts should be aligned before translation. A clean record reduces later arguments over service defects, default proof, settlement leverage, and damages.
Do not treat “FOB China” or “CIF U.S.” as a conclusion by itself. The signed terms, invoice language, actual shipment documents, and parties’ later conduct can point in different directions.
Contracts, purchase orders, invoices, shipment records, platform or logistics records, payment records, notices, damages evidence, and Chinese entity details usually matter most.
If the proper defendant is in mainland China and a U.S. lawsuit is filed, Hague Convention service usually needs to be planned unless a court-approved alternative applies.
The trading company, factory, exporter, invoice issuer, salesperson, platform storefront, forwarder, warehouse record, and payment beneficiary may differ. Naming the wrong party can weaken service, default, settlement, and collection strategy.