On June 23, the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court hosted a press conference for the release of ¡°Shanghai Bankruptcy Court: White Paper on Bankruptcy Adjudication (2024¨C2025) and Related Typical Cases.¡±

At the press conference, Pan Yunbo, Standing Member of the Adjudication Committee of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court, briefed attendees on bankruptcy adjudication carried out by the Shanghai Bankruptcy Court throughout 2024¨C2025. Xu Ziliang, Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Division (Shanghai Bankruptcy Court), presented twelve typical cases for 2025. Wu Jiong, Director of the Enforcement Department, and Ji Nuo, President of the Shanghai Bankruptcy Administrators Association, took part in the event. The press conference was moderated by Wu Yingzhe, Chief Judge of the Petition Review and Judicial Supervision Division (Research Office, Adjudication Management Office) and Press Spokesperson of the Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. Journalists representing several Shanghai media outlets attended the conference.

Case Volume Consistently Leads All Bankruptcy Courts Nationwide, Targeting Private Enterprises and MSMEs

Pan Yunbo stated that between 2024 and 2025, the Shanghai Bankruptcy Court received 9,973 cases covering bankruptcy proceedings, compulsory liquidation matters, and associated derivative litigation, of which 9,945 were closed. It took in 2,464 bankruptcy cases and closed 2,318 of them. The court topped the rankings among all bankruptcy courts nationwide in both aggregate case intake and closures, as well as intake and closures of bankruptcy cases specifically.

When viewed by debtor entities, private enterprises made up 91.45% of closed bankruptcy cases, and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) accounted for 90.44%. Bankruptcy adjudication is precisely oriented toward delivering relief to private enterprises and MSMEs, enabling them to operate free from heavy encumbrances.

¡°Rescue and Liquidation¡±: A Dual-Pronged Approach to Revitalize Assets and Resolve Debts

When it comes to rescuing distressed enterprises, 49 reorganization cases and 63 composition cases were closed between 2024 and 2025. These proceedings revitalized assets worth 33.178 billion yuan and resolved various debts totaling 88.961 billion yuan. High-profile reorganization cases involving enterprises including La X Apparel Company and Wei X Motor Company were successfully concluded. Meanwhile, the court explored a market-oriented rescue mechanism featuring ¡°prior out-of-court restructuring followed by judicial confirmation of reorganization,¡± and forged cooperative ties with three local out-of-court restructuring institutions. It closed Shanghai¡¯s first successful case where market-based out-of-court restructuring transitioned into judicial reorganization, yielding a replicable and generalizable practical model. In respect of cross-border bankruptcy, in the bankruptcy liquidation case of Sheng X Industrial Company, the High Court of Hong Kong recognized the mainland bankruptcy proceedings and the qualifications of the bankruptcy administrator.

When it comes to winding up inefficient enterprises, 2,206 bankruptcy liquidation cases were closed between 2024 and 2025, involving the disposal of assets worth 59.873 billion yuan.

Bankruptcy Adjudication Gathers Speed: Digital Empowerment Boosts Quality and Efficiency

In terms of boosting adjudication efficiency, the court has further refined the mechanism for separating complex and simple cases and adopting fast-track hearing procedures for simple matters. Around one-third of bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation cases were closed via the fast-track mechanism, and the average hearing duration for bankruptcy cases in 2025 was cut by 117 days compared with 2023. The linkage between enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings has been strengthened. The 2,318 closed bankruptcy cases facilitated the substantive clearance of roughly 30,000 enforcement cases. The court has actively explored the reorganization potential of enterprises under enforcement and has successfully rescued sci-tech enterprises including Zhong X Electric Vehicle Company through enforcement-to-reorganization conversion.

In terms of digital development, the court has fully rolled out online creditors¡¯ meetings, online asset auctions, and the online random selection of administrators, with nearly half of all cases filed online. It has advanced the effective implementation of the ¡°one-stop verification¡± mechanism for information on bankrupt enterprises, endeavored to break down inter-departmental data barriers, and substituted ¡°data circulation¡± for manual legwork. In respect of supporting administrators in performing their duties, the court has refined whole-process supervision as well as incentive and guarantee mechanisms for bankruptcy administrators. It has revised the measures governing case-specific performance evaluation of administrators and carried out regular oversight on key links including conflict-of-interest screening, remuneration collection, and administrator account supervision. Special assistance funds for asset-deficient bankruptcy cases have been put in place. Such measures enable administrators to discharge their duties in a more standardized and secure manner and ensure the orderly progress of bankruptcy proceedings.

Deepening Team Development and Cultivating a Bankruptcy Rule of Law Culture

In terms of team building, the court follows the guidance of Party building and strengthens professional capacity building. It has developed the distinctive Party-building brand ¡°Riding the Waves of Bankruptcy¡± to advance integrated development of Party building. This initiative was named one of the ¡°Top Ten Outstanding Cases¡± on integrated Party-building development of Shanghai Courts in 2024.

In terms of professional capacity building, the court conducts regular university-court cooperation and practical seminars, and has published Shanghai Bankruptcy Court: Selected Bankruptcy Adjudication Cases (2019¨C2024). Eight judges have been named adjudication experts or core professionals of Shanghai courts.

In terms of advancing the rule-of-law culture, the court has continued to expand judicial services and built the legal service brand ¡°Sunward.¡± It has delivered legal education lectures at industrial parks and enterprises and conducted regular follow-up visits to reorganized enterprises to bolster their subsequent development. Committed to delivering high-quality case adjudication while enhancing judicial publicity, the court has achieved notable results in case promotion. The bankruptcy restructuring case of Shanghai X Gang Company, which was converted from bankruptcy liquidation procedures, has been included in the case database of the United Nations Environment Programme. In the 2025 selection campaign for National Classic Bankruptcy Cases hosted by China Trial magazine and other institutions, four cases from the Shanghai Bankruptcy Court were shortlisted, accounting for 20% of the total.

12 Typical Cases Released, Covering Multiple Cutting-edge Areas

At the press conference, the Shanghai Bankruptcy Court released and interpreted 12 typical bankruptcy adjudication cases of 2025. The cases span multiple areas: liquidation of large corporate groups, reorganization of delisted private enterprises, relief for new energy vehicle manufacturers, out-of-court restructuring, cross-border bankruptcy, revitalization of sci-tech micro and small enterprises, and linkage between enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings.

From Liquidation to Rescue: Illustrating the Functional Value of the Bankruptcy Regime. For instance, in the case of La X Apparel Company, a private enterprise delisted on both the A-share and H-share markets, the court forged a path to align mainland bankruptcy proceedings with Hong Kong securities regulatory requirements. It facilitated investment introduction, delivered brand rejuvenation for the renowned apparel enterprise via reorganization, and safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of more than 7,000 small and medium-sized shareholders. In another case involving Fu X Payment Company, the court coordinated the reorganization with financial regulators. By approving the use of common benefit debts to supplement required regulatory deposits, it enabled the enterprise holding the scarce third-party payment license to resume normal business operations. In the reorganization case of Yi X Education Company, the court arranged for continued performance of the intellectual property licensing agreement, revitalizing hundreds of patents and copyrights and facilitating the transformation of the traditional education institution toward the AI education tool market.

Leveraging a Diverse Toolkit to Pursue Institutional Innovation. For example, in the out-of-court restructuring-to-reorganization case of Sheng X Technology Company, the court sourced strategic investors via the investor pool maintained by the out-of-court restructuring center. Following multi-party negotiations, a restructuring agreement was reached, and the outcomes embodied in the agreement were carried over into judicial reorganization proceedings. This marked Shanghai¡¯s first successful case featuring seamless connection between out-of-court restructuring and judicial reorganization. In the reorganization case of Cheng X Real Estate Company, the court leveraged common benefit debt financing and facilitated an arrangement whereby investors injected funds for project continuation in the form of common benefit debt, with secured creditors agreeing to subordinate their mortgage priorities to such debt, thereby clearing hurdles to revitalizing a commercial project left unfinished for a decade. In the reorganization case of Zhong X Real Estate Company, the court introduced a bankruptcy service trust and adopted the strategy of ¡°trading time for space¡± to address problems such as prolonged asset realization cycles, thereby balancing returns for patient capital and safeguards for short-term funds. In the enforcement-to-reorganization case of Zhong X Vehicle Company, the court adopted stalking horse bidding to establish a floor price for public investor solicitation, ensuring assets were sold at a premium and preventing fire sales at depressed prices.

Prioritizing Livelihood Protection to Safeguard Overall Social Stability. In the reorganization case of Wei X Motor Company, the court coordinated arrangements to guarantee uninterrupted connected vehicle services and ruled that connected vehicle service fees advanced during the reorganization period constitute common benefit debts entitled to priority repayment, preventing more than 100,000 vehicle owners from being disconnected from services. In the reorganization case of Zhong X Real Estate Company, the proceedings concerned over 1,000 relocated residents under an urban renewal initiative and more than 100 buyers of pre-sold commercial housing. The court facilitated the government¡¯s lawful land reclamation and compensation arrangements. Meanwhile, it brought in investors to honour the developer¡¯s premium finishing commitment made upon pre-sale, enabling the completion and handover of the stalled real estate project.

Deepening Judicial Exploration and Pushing Forward Cross-jurisdictional Collaboration. In the field of cross-border bankruptcy, for instance, in the bankruptcy liquidation case of Hao X Water Purification Company, both its mainland subsidiary and Hong Kong parent company entered insolvency proceedings. The court set up a collaborative communication platform and guided the mainland administrator to render substantial support to Hong Kong liquidators in discharging their duties, further advancing cross-border bankruptcy pilot work between the two jurisdictions. In respect of overlap between criminal and bankruptcy proceedings, take the bankruptcy liquidation case of Dong X Film and Television Company as an example. The court accurately defined the scope of bankruptcy assets and identified case-related criminal property in accordance with law. Distributions payable to criminal defendants under the bankruptcy proceedings were directly utilized for the enforcement of criminal property orders. Surplus assets entered the bankruptcy estate for fair distribution, enabling balanced protection of all parties under the law.