There is no community property law in China. But you can find the relevant articles in “China’s Civil Code of China: Book V Marriage and Family“.
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The articles related to community property in the Chinese Civil Code include:
Article 1062 The following property acquired by the spouses during their marriage constitutes community property and are jointly owned by the spouses:
(1) salaries and wages, as well as bonuses and other remuneration, received from services rendered;
(2) proceeds obtained from production, business operation, and investment;
(3) proceeds arising from intellectual property rights;
(4) except as otherwise provided in Subparagraph (3) of Article 1063 of this Code, property acquired from inheritance or given as a gift; and
(5) other property that shall be jointly owned by the spouses.
Husband and wife have equal rights when disposing of the community property.
Article 1063 The following property constitutes separate property of one of the spouses:
(1) premarital property of one spouse;
(2) compensation or indemnification received by one spouse for injury inflicted upon him;
(3) property that belongs to only one spouse as provided in a will or gift contract;
(4) articles exclusively used by one spouse for daily life; and
(5) other property that shall be owned by one spouse.
Article 1064 Debts incurred according to the common expression of the intent of both spouses, such as a debt jointly signed by both spouses and a debt signed by one spouse and subsequently ratified by the other spouse, and debts incurred by one of the spouses in his own name during the marriage to meet the daily needs of the family, constitute community debts.
A debt incurred by one of the spouses in his own name during the marriage in excess of the daily needs of the family is not a community debt, unless the creditor may prove that such debt is used for both spouses’ daily life or for joint production and operation of the spouses, or such debt incurs according to the common expression of the intent of both spouses.
Article 1065 A man and a woman may agree that their premarital property and the property to be acquired by them during their marriage may be owned by them separately or jointly, or partially owned separately and partially owned jointly. The agreement shall be in writing.
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Contributors: Meng Yu 余萌
