After a port jam, a power cut, or a sudden holiday extension, some suppliers reach for one sentence: force majeure. Used correctly, it is a narrow door — a listed event, a duty to notify, and a pause on the affected obligation. Used as a slogan, it is how a late shipment is explained after the fact, with no dates and no list of what actually counts.
This piece is about what that clause has to say on a China manufacturing PI if you want it to mean something on both sides.
1. What the phrase does not do by itself
Writing “force majeure applies” does not freeze the ship date for every inconvenience. Typical commercial practice — and what Chinese counterparties will argue — is closer to this:
- the event must be outside the party’s reasonable control
- it must actually prevent performance, not merely make it more expensive
- the affected party must notify the other side and show the link
Price spikes, a worker shortage you could have staffed, or “Chinese New Year, as everyone knows” are weak as surprise force majeure if the calendar was visible when you signed. A typhoon that closes the load port for a documented week is a different fact pattern.
2. Name the events — and name what is out
A usable clause lists examples and exclusions rather than one vague noun. Buyers often want on the list: war, embargo, epidemic control orders, government stop-work, fire, flood, earthquake, port closure by authority. They often want off the list: the supplier’s own cash problems, ordinary material inflation, missing a subcontract booking, and seasonal holidays that were already on the factory calendar.
If you leave the list empty, the factory will fill it in during the delay. If you copy a European template that talks only about “acts of God,” you will fight over whether an export-license hold or a city-wide stop-work order is in or out.
3. Notice, proof, and how long the pause lasts
Three operational lines matter more than the poetry:
- Notice: written notice within a set number of days of the event, not after you ask where the goods are
- Proof: a chamber certificate, official notice, or port advisory — not a WeChat voice note
- End date: extra time equal to the documented interruption, or a right to cancel if the stop runs past X days
Without an end date, “force majeure” can become an open delay. Without a cancel option, you wait while your season ends.
4. Who still pays what
The clause should say which money moves during the pause: deposit already paid, goods already finished, storage, and whether the buyer can take partial cargo. A factory that has already molded your parts will want to keep the deposit. You will want unfinished work not billed as if it had shipped. Write the split. Do not leave it to goodwill in week five of a shutdown.
5. A short set of lines worth putting on the PI
- listed events and a one-line exclusion for commercial and calendar risks
- notice deadline and form (email to a named address)
- what document counts as proof
- extra time vs. cancel-after-X-days
- treatment of deposit and finished-but-unshipped goods
The bottom line
Force majeure is a dated, evidenced pause for listed events — not a general pardon for being late. If the PI only says the words, the supplier will define them when you are already waiting. Put the list, the notice, the proof, and the exit on the page before the line stops.
If you need a force majeure clause written into the PI in English and Chinese, I can prepare the clause and issue a stamped set under our bilingual translation company seal when you need one. See what this covers.
Force majeure wording and evidence rules depend on the governing law and the facts of the delay. This article is general sourcing guidance, not legal advice.