What Should You Do If Police in China Call and Ask You to “Cooperate with an Investigation”? — Confirm Your Status First: Summons, Questioning, and Interrogation

Bottom Line: Confirm Your Legal Status Before Deciding What the Call Means

If the police call and say, “We need you to cooperate with an investigation,” “Please come in to make a statement,” or “We need to verify something in connection with a case,” the first question many people ask is:

Do I have to go?

That question cannot be answered solely on the basis of the phrase “cooperate with an investigation.”

“Cooperating with an investigation” is not, by itself, a formal procedural status under Chinese criminal procedure law.

The same type of phone call may involve:

• asking a criminal suspect to appear for interrogation;
• asking a witness to provide testimony;
• asking a victim to undergo questioning;
• contacting a complainant or reporting person for additional information; or
• making preliminary inquiries about matters relevant to a case.

Different roles involve different procedures, rights, obligations, and potential legal risks.

The first questions to clarify are therefore:

Who is contacting me, what case or matter does the call concern, in what capacity am I being asked to appear, and what am I being asked to do?

This article mainly concerns situations in which a public security organ contacts a person in connection with a criminal case. Administrative cases are governed by different rules on summonses, questioning, and time limits and should not be treated as if the criminal-procedure rules discussed here automatically apply.

1. “Cooperating With an Investigation” Is Not a Formal Procedural Status

In ordinary communication, police officers may use expressions such as “cooperate with the investigation,” “help us understand the situation,” or “come in and answer a few questions.”

Once criminal procedure is involved, however, what matters is the person’s actual legal status.

If the public security organ considers that a person may have committed a crime, the questioning will ordinarily take the form of:

interrogation of a criminal suspect.

If the person knows facts relevant to the case but is not a criminal suspect, the procedure will ordinarily be:

questioning of a witness.

If the person has suffered harm as a result of the alleged crime, the procedure will ordinarily be:

questioning of a victim.

In everyday language, all of these may simply be described as “making a statement,” but their legal nature is different.

Accordingly:

The informal wording used during a phone call does not determine the person’s actual procedural status.

Especially at an early stage of an investigation, a person may initially be asked to provide information, while later developments may lead to a change in that person’s procedural status.

For this reason, neither of the following assumptions is sound:

“The police said I am only coming in to cooperate, so there is no possible criminal risk.”

or:

“The police called me, so I must already be a criminal suspect.”

The actual procedure matters more than the label used in the call.

2. What Should You Confirm When the Police Call?

Without obstructing the investigation, it is reasonable to clarify some basic information before attending.

1. Which public security organ or police unit is contacting you?

For example:

• a municipal or county public security bureau;
• a public security sub-bureau;
• a police station;
• a criminal investigation division;
• an economic crime investigation division;
• a cyber-security division; or
• another case-handling unit.

2. Who is contacting you?

You can ask for the officer’s name, unit, and contact details.

If there is a reasonable concern that the call may not be genuine, verify the information through an official public telephone number, official platform, or another independently obtained police contact channel rather than relying solely on the incoming telephone number.

In particular, if the caller also asks you to:

• transfer money;
• provide a bank password or SMS verification code;
• install remote-control software; or
• move funds into a so-called “safe account,”

do not act merely because the caller claims to be from the police. Verify the matter independently through official channels.

3. What matter or case does the call broadly concern?

This does not mean that the police must explain the entire case over the telephone.

The point is to understand:

Why are you being asked to appear?

4. In what capacity are you being asked to appear?

You can ask directly:

“Am I being asked to appear as a criminal suspect for interrogation, or as a witness or victim to provide information?”

You can also clarify:

• where you are expected to go;
• when you are expected to appear;
• which officer you should contact;
• whether you should bring identification; and
• what procedural formalities will be used.

What should generally be avoided is guessing your own legal status simply because “the police told me to come in.”

3. A Summons of a Criminal Suspect Is Different From a Notice to Question a Witness or Victim

This distinction is central to understanding what a police phone call means.

Criminal suspects

Under the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China, where arrest or detention is not necessary, a criminal suspect may be summoned for interrogation to a designated location within the city or county where the suspect is located, or to the suspect’s residence, subject to the required procedural formalities.

For criminal cases handled by public security organs, the Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs further specify that the suspect may be summoned to a law-enforcement case-handling facility of the public security organ within the city or county where the suspect is located, or to the suspect’s residence.

When formally summoning a criminal suspect, investigators are required to present the written summons and their police identification.

Where a criminal suspect is discovered at the scene, investigators may give an oral summons after presenting police identification and must explain the reason and legal basis for the summons.

Accordingly:

A formal summons of a criminal suspect in criminal proceedings is subject to specific procedural requirements.

Witnesses and victims

The procedure is different.

The current rules governing criminal cases handled by public security organs provide that, when necessary, witnesses and victims may be notified to provide testimony by:

• written notice;
• telephone; or
• notification given on the spot.

Questioning of a witness or victim also does not necessarily have to take place at a public security organ. Depending on the circumstances, it may lawfully be conducted at the scene, the person’s workplace, residence, or another location proposed by the witness or victim.

The Criminal Procedure Law also provides that persons who know the circumstances of a case have a duty to testify.

But an important distinction must be preserved:

The duty of a witness to testify does not mean that the rules governing the summons or compelled appearance of a criminal suspect can simply be applied to witnesses.

Therefore, where the person is a witness or victim, the absence of the type of written summons used for a criminal suspect is not, by itself, a basis for concluding that the notification has no procedural significance.

4. If the Police Only Call and No Written Summons Is Provided, Do You Have to Go?

There is no single answer for every situation.

If you are being contacted as a witness or victim

A telephone call is one of the methods expressly permitted under the current rules for notifying witnesses or victims to provide testimony.

It is therefore not correct to assume:

“There is no written summons, so I can simply ignore the call.”

Witnesses and victims are not governed by the criminal-suspect summons system in the first place.

If you have questions about:

• your legal status;
• the time of attendance;
• the place of questioning; or
• the manner in which the questioning will be conducted,

you can clarify these matters with the case-handling officers.

If illness, being out of town, or another genuine practical reason prevents you from attending at the requested time, it is generally more appropriate to explain the situation and discuss arrangements with the officers.

If the police regard you as a criminal suspect

Further clarification is needed.

There is a difference between:

• a telephone call asking you to attend voluntarily to explain a matter; and
• a formal decision to summon you for interrogation as a criminal suspect.

If a formal summons has been issued, the procedures applicable to the summons of a criminal suspect should be followed.

For that reason, the more reliable response to a police phone call is usually not simply:

“If there is no written summons, I am not going.”

Instead, first determine:

your procedural status and the nature of the procedure being used.

5. If You Have Been Formally Summoned, Can You Simply Refuse to Appear?

That should not be assumed.

Under the Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs, where the circumstances warrant it, the police may use compelled appearance (拘传) in relation to a criminal suspect who requires such a measure, including a suspect who has been summoned but fails to appear without a justified reason.

A summons and compelled appearance are not the same thing.

A summons primarily requires the criminal suspect to appear for interrogation.

Compelled appearance is a compulsory measure in criminal proceedings and is subject to the corresponding approval and execution procedures.

Accordingly:

A criminal suspect who has been lawfully summoned should not assume that failing to appear without a justified reason has no procedural consequences.

At the same time, the opposite conclusion should also be avoided:

A telephone call from someone claiming to be the police does not automatically amount to a formal criminal summons.

The person’s status, the content of the notification, and the procedures actually followed all matter.

6. Why Do People Often Refer to 12 Hours and 24 Hours?

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, the duration of a summons or compelled appearance generally may not exceed 12 hours.

Where a case is particularly serious and complex and criminal detention or arrest is necessary, the duration of a summons or compelled appearance may not exceed 24 hours.

The law also prohibits the use of repeated summonses or compelled appearances as a disguised form of detention and requires that the criminal suspect be provided with food and necessary rest.

Three distinctions are important.

First, 24 hours is not automatically available in every complicated case

It is not enough merely to say that a case is “complicated.”

The statutory condition concerns a case that is:

particularly serious and complex, and in which criminal detention or arrest is necessary.

Second, the expiry of the summons period cannot be used as a basis for continuing to restrict the person’s liberty in disguise

If the summons period expires and no other compulsory measure has lawfully been imposed, the summons should end.

Third, the 12-hour and 24-hour rules concern summonses and compelled appearances of criminal suspects

They should not be mechanically applied to every person who is asked to “go to the police station and make a statement,” including witnesses and victims.

7. Once You Arrive, How Can You Tell Whether You Are Being Interrogated as a Criminal Suspect?

If the case-handling authority has begun treating a person as a criminal suspect, the procedures and rights governing interrogation of criminal suspects should apply.

The Criminal Procedure Law requires interrogation of a criminal suspect to be conducted by investigators, and no fewer than two investigators must participate.

In practice, relevant indicators may include:

• how the officers identify your procedural status;
• whether criminal-suspect summons procedures are used;
• whether the written record is an interrogation record or a witness/victim questioning record;
• whether the rights of a criminal suspect are formally explained; and
• whether the questions are directly focused on whether you personally committed the suspected criminal conduct.

However:

A person should not determine his or her procedural status solely from one superficial feature.

For example, detailed questioning alone does not necessarily prove that you have become a criminal suspect.

Likewise, an officer’s informal statement that “we are only trying to understand what happened” does not, by itself, rule out a later change in procedural status.

What matters is:

the procedure actually being used and the stage the investigation has reached.

8. When Can a Criminal Defense Lawyer Be Formally Retained?

Under the Criminal Procedure Law:

A criminal suspect has the right to retain a defender from the date of the first interrogation by an investigative authority or from the date on which a compulsory measure is imposed. During the investigation stage, only a lawyer may act as defense counsel.

From that point, a defense lawyer may exercise the rights provided by law, including:

• providing legal assistance to the criminal suspect;
• meeting and communicating with a criminal suspect in custody in accordance with law;
• filing petitions or complaints on the suspect’s behalf;
• applying for modification of compulsory measures;
• learning from the investigative authority the suspected offense and relevant case information; and
• presenting opinions.

Two questions must nevertheless be distinguished:

whether a lawyer may formally participate in the case as defense counsel

and

whether the lawyer may sit beside the criminal suspect in the interrogation room while the police conduct the interrogation.

They are not the same issue.

For the ordinary interrogation of an adult criminal suspect during the investigation stage, current Chinese criminal procedure law does not establish a generally applicable right for defense counsel to be physically present during the police interrogation.

Accordingly:

The right to retain a lawyer does not mean that the lawyer will sit in the interrogation room while the suspect answers questions.

A defense lawyer may still perform important functions through meetings, legal advice, obtaining information about the case, presenting opinions, and applying for modification of compulsory measures.

A further distinction is also necessary.

Even before the formal statutory point at which the person may retain defense counsel as such, a person who has received a police call may still seek legal advice in advance to assess the nature of the matter and potential legal risk.

Obtaining pre-interrogation legal advice and formally acquiring the status of defense counsel in criminal proceedings are not identical concepts.

9. What Should You Pay Particular Attention to When Reviewing a Written Statement or Record?

Many people focus entirely on one question:

“How should I answer?”

But another issue is just as important:

What was actually written down in the record?

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, an interrogation record must be provided to the criminal suspect for review. If the suspect cannot read, the record must be read aloud.

If there are omissions or errors, the criminal suspect may request additions or corrections.

The suspect should sign only after confirming that the record is accurate.

Before signing, it is therefore important to check carefully:

• names and persons involved;
• dates and times;
• locations;
• amounts of money;
• quantities;
• who said what;
• who carried out which act;
• whether something was personally observed or merely heard from another person;
• whether an important condition or qualification has been omitted; and
• whether words such as “possibly,” “I think,” or “I heard” have been recorded as definite facts.

If you did not make a particular statement, do not disregard the discrepancy merely because:

“It is roughly what I meant.”

If your actual statement contained an important qualification that has not been accurately recorded, you may request that the record be supplemented or corrected.

Doing so is not a refusal to cooperate.

Reviewing the accuracy of the record is itself a procedural right provided by law.

Corresponding rules on review, correction, and supplementation also apply to records of questioning of witnesses and victims.

10. Does the Requirement to “Answer Truthfully” Mean That Every Question Must Be Answered?

No.

The Criminal Procedure Law provides that a criminal suspect must answer truthfully questions asked by investigators that are relevant to the case.

However:

The suspect has the right to refuse to answer questions that are unrelated to the case.

The law should therefore not be interpreted in either of two extremes.

It is not correct to say:

“I am a criminal suspect, so I can refuse to answer every question.”

Nor is it correct to say:

“If an investigator asks me something, I must answer every question about my private affairs.”

The relevant issue is:

whether the question relates to the case under investigation.

At the same time, the Criminal Procedure Law requires evidence to be collected in accordance with law, prohibits torture and the use of threats, inducement, deception, or other unlawful methods to obtain evidence, and provides that:

No person may be compelled to prove his or her own guilt.

That provision should not be read to mean that a criminal suspect may therefore refuse, as a general rule, to answer every question relevant to the case.

Current Chinese criminal procedure law must be read as a whole: a criminal suspect is required to answer truthfully questions relevant to the case and may refuse to answer questions unrelated to the case; at the same time, investigative authorities must obtain statements and other evidence through lawful procedures and may not use unlawful methods to force an incriminating statement.

These rules need to be understood together.

11. What Should You Do If the Police Ask for Your Phone, Chat Records, Bank Cards, or Other Materials?

This question should not be answered simply by saying:

“I can refuse.”

But it is equally inaccurate to assume:

Any oral request by an officer can be treated in exactly the same way without identifying what investigative measure is actually being used.

First determine what the police are asking to do, for example:

• provide a particular document or item;
• allow certain information to be viewed;
• produce evidence;
• extract electronic data;
• conduct a search; or
• seal, seize, or otherwise take custody of a phone, computer, or document.

One further distinction is important:

A phone or computer as a physical device is not exactly the same evidentiary object as the chat records, electronic transaction records, emails, and other electronic data stored on it.

A phone or computer may, where legally appropriate, be seized and sealed as the original storage medium for electronic data.

The electronic data stored on the device may also be collected, extracted, preserved, and examined through procedures specifically applicable to electronic evidence.

The Criminal Procedure Law provides that relevant entities and individuals have an obligation, when lawfully required by the People’s Procuratorate or a public security organ, to produce physical evidence, documentary evidence, audio-visual materials, and other evidence capable of proving a criminal suspect’s guilt or innocence.

Rules specifically governing electronic data also provide that People’s Courts, People’s Procuratorates, and public security organs may lawfully collect or obtain electronic data from relevant entities and individuals, who are required to provide such data truthfully.

Different investigative measures nevertheless remain subject to different procedural requirements.

For example:

Property and documents unrelated to the case may not be sealed or seized.

Property and documents that are sealed or seized must be inventoried and documented in accordance with law.

Where it is established that the relevant property, documents, or assets are unrelated to the case, the sealing, seizure, or freezing measure must be lifted within three days and, where applicable, the property or documents returned in accordance with law.

Accordingly, if the police deal with items such as:

• a mobile phone;
• a computer;
• a bank card;
• a USB drive;
• a contract;
• accounting books;
• chat records; or
• transaction documents,

you can pay particular attention to:

1. exactly what the officers are asking you to provide or what they are taking away;
2. whether the measure involves viewing, obtaining records, extracting electronic data, searching, or seizing;
3. which specific items are actually taken; and
4. whether the corresponding record, inventory, or other procedural documentation is prepared as required.

One point is especially important:

Do not delete, alter, conceal, or remotely erase relevant data merely because you are concerned that some of the information may be unfavorable to you.

Where electronic data becomes relevant to a criminal case, its original state, content, and the process by which it was collected, extracted, and preserved may all become important issues in later evidentiary review.

12. Before Going to the Police, Should You Delete Chats or Contact Others to “Get Everyone’s Story Straight”?

No.

After receiving a police call, some people become anxious and immediately:

• delete chat records;
• delete payment or transfer records;
• clean files from a computer;
• reset a phone to factory settings;
• instruct employees to delete materials;
• contact other persons involved to agree on what everyone should say; or
• ask a witness to change an earlier account.

That is different from properly organizing the facts.

An individual or company may preserve materials, prepare a timeline, review contracts and accounts, and organize existing factual information.

For example, it is entirely appropriate to organize:

• the chronology of events;
• existing contracts;
• bank transaction records;
• work records;
• emails; and
• objective electronic data.

It can also be useful to distinguish clearly between:

• facts personally experienced;
• information learned from another person; and
• inferences drawn from the available materials.

What should not be done is:

coordinate false accounts, destroy or fabricate evidence, or instruct another person to give a prearranged false statement in order to respond to the investigation.

The Criminal Procedure Law expressly treats destruction or fabrication of evidence, interference with witness testimony, and collusion in statements as factors relevant to the statutory assessment of social dangerousness.

Such conduct may therefore affect the authorities’ assessment of matters including:

• social dangerousness;
• whether a compulsory measure should be imposed; and
• whether an existing compulsory measure should be modified.

Depending on the specific conduct, additional legal liability may also arise.

The more appropriate approach is therefore:

Preserve the original materials and organize the actual facts, rather than manufacturing a “unified version” of events.

13. If a Family Member Went to the Police and Has Not Returned, What Should the Family Check First?

Do not immediately conclude from the passage of time alone that:

“The person must have been placed in criminal detention.”

The first task is to identify the person’s actual procedural status.

First possibility: the person is still undergoing a lawful summons and interrogation

If the person is a criminal suspect who has been summoned, the period generally may not exceed 12 hours.

Where the statutory conditions are satisfied — the case is particularly serious and complex and criminal detention or arrest is necessary — the period may extend to a maximum of 24 hours.

Second possibility: the summons has ended

If the summons period has expired and no other compulsory measure has lawfully been imposed, the summons should end.

The family should also determine whether:

the person has already left the public security organ but is temporarily out of contact.

Third possibility: another compulsory measure has been imposed

For example:

• criminal detention;
• bail pending trial (取保候审); or
• residential surveillance.

If criminal detention has been imposed, the procedural situation has materially changed.

Under the Criminal Procedure Law, after detention the detained person must be sent to a detention center immediately and no later than 24 hours after detention.

Except where:

• notification is impossible; or
• the person is suspected of an offense endangering national security or a terrorist offense and notification may impede the investigation,

the family must be notified within 24 hours after the detention.

Where the obstacle to notification ceases to exist, the family must be notified promptly.

Accordingly:

“The person went to the police and has not yet returned” and “the person has been placed in criminal detention” are two different factual situations.

The family can try to confirm:

• when the person arrived at the public security organ;
• which unit is handling the matter;
• who the case-handling officers are;
• in what capacity the person was originally asked to appear; and
• whether any compulsory measure has now been imposed.

If criminal detention has been confirmed, the family should promptly determine the suspected offense and the detention center where the person is being held and, depending on the circumstances, arrange for a defense lawyer to meet the criminal suspect in custody.

If the person is instead subject to bail pending trial or residential surveillance, lawyer involvement should be arranged according to that procedural status rather than automatically following the detention-center meeting route.

14. Frequently Asked Questions

1. The police called and asked me to come in, but I did not receive a written summons. Can I refuse to go?

The absence of a written summons does not answer the question by itself.

If you are a criminal suspect who is being formally summoned, the procedures governing summonses of criminal suspects apply.

If you are a witness or victim, the current rules already permit the police to notify you by written notice, telephone, or on the spot to provide testimony. The standard governing a written summons of a criminal suspect therefore cannot simply be applied to witnesses or victims.

The first step is:

Confirm your status and the nature of the notification.

If you are unsure about your status, the location, or the time, clarify these matters with the case-handling officers. If there is a genuine reason why you cannot attend at the requested time, communicate that promptly.

2. The police said they “just want to understand the situation.” Does that mean I am definitely not a criminal suspect?

No.

Expressions such as “understand the situation” and “cooperate with the investigation” are ordinary communication terms, not formal procedural statuses under the Criminal Procedure Law.

The answer depends on the procedure actually being used, what the police have formally told you, and how the investigation develops.

3. What can happen if I receive a formal summons and do not appear?

Where a criminal suspect has been lawfully summoned and fails to appear without a justified reason, the public security organ may, depending on the circumstances, use compelled appearance in accordance with law.

It is therefore generally inadvisable to disappear or deliberately evade attendance without a justified reason.

4. Can my lawyer sit beside me while the police take my statement?

For the ordinary interrogation of an adult criminal suspect during the investigation stage, current Chinese criminal procedure law does not provide a general right for defense counsel to sit in the interrogation room during questioning.

That does not mean a lawyer cannot participate in the case.

From the first interrogation or the imposition of a compulsory measure, a criminal suspect may retain a defense lawyer in accordance with law.

Accordingly:

“A lawyer may participate in the case as defense counsel” and “a lawyer may sit beside the suspect during police interrogation” are different questions.

5. The record has already been printed, but one sentence does not reflect what I actually said. Can I ask for it to be corrected?

Yes.

If an interrogation record contains an omission or error, a criminal suspect has the right to request supplementation or correction.

The record should be signed only after it has been checked and confirmed to be accurate.

The fact that it has already been printed does not mean it cannot be corrected.

6. Do I have to answer a police question that has nothing to do with the case?

A criminal suspect has the right to refuse to answer questions unrelated to the case.

That rule should not, however, be expanded into a right to refuse every question that is relevant to the case.

At the same time, investigative authorities must collect statements and other evidence lawfully and may not use unlawful methods to force an incriminating statement.

7. The police took my phone or computer. What should I pay attention to?

First determine what procedure is being used and exactly what items have been taken.

A phone or computer as a physical device and the electronic data stored on it are not identical evidentiary objects. Different procedures may be involved in seizing and sealing an original storage medium and in extracting electronic data from it.

Where an item is lawfully sealed or seized, the appropriate procedures should be followed, and property or documents unrelated to the case may not be sealed or seized.

Do not delete, modify, or remotely erase data from the device.

8. Someone has been at the police station for more than 12 hours and has not returned. Does that automatically mean the procedure is unlawful?

No.

For a criminal suspect, a summons or compelled appearance generally may not exceed 12 hours.

Where the case is particularly serious and complex and criminal detention or arrest is necessary, the period may lawfully extend to a maximum of 24 hours.

It is also necessary to determine:

whether criminal detention or another compulsory measure has already been lawfully imposed during that period.

The fact that the person has not yet returned does not, by itself, establish that the procedure is unlawful.

Conclusion: The Key Question Is Not Simply Why the Police Called, but What Procedure Applies to You

When the police call, people often fall into one of two extremes.

One is to become alarmed and immediately assume:

“The police contacted me, so I must already be suspected of a crime.”

The other is to hear:

“We just need you to cooperate.”

and assume that the matter carries no possible legal risk.

Both conclusions may be premature.

A more reliable sequence is:

Confirm the case-handling authority and officers
↓
Confirm the matter or case involved
↓
Confirm your procedural status
↓
Distinguish a suspect summons and interrogation from questioning of a witness or victim
↓
Cooperate lawfully while checking the relevant procedures and written record
↓
Preserve original materials; do not alter evidence or coordinate false accounts
↓
If the matter has reached the first interrogation or a compulsory measure has been imposed, consider timely involvement of a lawyer based on the circumstances

In Chinese criminal procedure, the real dividing line is often not:

“Did the police call me?”

but rather:

What is my procedural status, and what legal procedure is the case-handling authority actually using?

Principal Legal Authorities

1. Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China
   Relevant provisions concern the retention of defense counsel, the duty of witnesses to testify, summonses and interrogation of criminal suspects, interrogation records, collection of evidence, searches, sealing and seizure, criminal detention, and notification of family members.

2. Provisions on the Procedures for Handling Criminal Cases by Public Security Organs
   Relevant provisions concern summonses, compelled appearance and interrogation of criminal suspects, notification and questioning of witnesses and victims, and the procedures followed by public security organs during criminal investigations.

3. Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Collection, Extraction, Examination and Evaluation of Electronic Data in Criminal Cases
   Relevant provisions concern original storage media such as mobile phones and computers, and the collection, extraction, preservation, and examination of electronic data such as chat records, electronic transaction records, and emails.