Judiciary answers to 14 Difficult Questionsabout Foreign-related Commercial Trials By Ningbo Intermediate People's Court, Zhejiang Province, PRC 

Answer: If the plaintiff did not provideevidence of the existence and domicile of the overseas defendant when filing a lawsuit, and only listed the defendant's name, domicile and other information in the complaint, the court should deal with them separately according to different circumstances: 1. If the defendant cannot be served according to the legal means of service (excluding public service) according to the conditions listed in the complaint, and it is impossible to confirm whether the defendant exists, it can be determined that there is no clear defendant, Ruled to dismiss the plaintiff's lawsuit in accordance with the provisions of Article 119 (2) of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China; 2. If the defendant can not be served according to the legal service channels (excluding public service) according to the conditions listed in the complaint, but can be confirmed to exist, the defendant can be served by public announcement and heard in a substantive manner according to law, and the defendant shall not be dismissed on the grounds that the defendant is not clear; 3. If the defendant can be served according to the legal service channels (excluding public service) according to the conditions listed in the complaint, it shall be deemed that the plaintiff's lawsuit has a clear defendant and the substantive trial shall be conducted.