Terms of Service

Last updated: 19 October 2026 · Operated by Huizhou Xiaoma Guohe Culture Technology Co., Ltd. ("we", "the Platform")

1. What you're buying

The Platform connects questioners ("Clients") with vetted individual experts ("Experts") who answer China-related questions based on their own knowledge, personal experience, and publicly available information. Each paid engagement is a written answer, a scheduled video conversation, or a compiled set of expert perspectives, as described on the Pricing page. The Platform acts as marketplace operator and payment facilitator; answers are the personal opinions and experiences of the individual Experts, not professional services of any kind.

2. Scope confirmation (mandatory)

Before payment, the Platform restates your question as a written scope: what the answer will cover and what is excluded. Payment is only requested after you approve that scope in writing. The approved scope is the sole standard by which delivery is judged — satisfaction with opinions or outcomes is not.

3. What we do NOT do

We will decline (before taking any payment) questions that require:

• Commissioned research or investigation — collecting data, interviewing third parties, site visits, market surveys, or producing research for your resale or internal reports. We answer what Experts already know; we do not act as your research agency.
• Representation or execution — contacting suppliers or officials on your behalf, making payments, signing or applying for anything (visas, licenses, registrations), negotiating for you, or logistics of any kind.
• Professional advice — legal, tax, accounting, medical, immigration, or investment advice. Answers are general information; consult a licensed professional for decisions that carry legal or financial consequence.
• Political, religious, or ethnic-contentious topics, and topics that involve confidential, proprietary, state-secret, or non-public information.
• Anything we reasonably believe exposes a Client, an Expert, or the Platform to legal risk, including sanctions-sensitive end uses.

Refunds for declined questions are processed before any charge, or in full if already paid.

4. No guarantee of outcomes

China-related information changes and is interpreted differently by different people. We guarantee process (vetted Experts, structured answers, scope compliance, honest limits) — not business, legal, financial, or travel outcomes. Reliance on any answer is at your own judgment.

5. Payment, refunds, chargebacks

Prices are one-time per engagement, collected through our payment merchant of record. There are no subscriptions or automatic renewals. After delivery, a written objection specifying which scope item was missed triggers one free revision; if the revised answer still misses the agreed scope, you receive a full refund. Absent a written objection within 72 hours of delivery, the engagement is deemed complete. Chargebacks filed without first using this process are treated as a breach and the account may be closed and its questions excluded from the public library.

6. Confidentiality & the public answer library

Questions and answers are not shared publicly unless (a) 30 days have passed since completion, and (b) a human editor has removed identifying details (names, companies, locations, amounts, contact data) and the Client has had an opt-out link in the delivery email. You may request permanent non-publication at any time. You grant the Platform a perpetual, royalty-free license to publish de-identified versions for educational and marketing purposes unless you opt out.

7. Expert relationships

Experts are independent contractors, not employees or agents. The Platform pays Experts a stated revenue share monthly, on completed, non-disputed engagements. Nothing between a Client and an Expert creates employment, agency, or partnership. Clients may not contact Experts outside the Platform for 12 months after an engagement (the Platform's lead); Experts may not take direct payment from Clients for answered questions.

8. Acceptable use

You may not: submit illegal or sanctions-sensitive requests; attempt to identify an Expert against their stated anonymity; scrape or resell our answer library; use answers to harass or defame identifiable persons; or misrepresent your purpose (we ask what the answer will be used for, and rely on your honesty).

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform's aggregate liability for any engagement is limited to the amount you paid for it. We are not liable for indirect or consequential losses arising from reliance on any answer.

10. Governing process & contact

These terms are governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China; disputes should first be raised in writing to hello@askmeaboutchina.com, where we have a good track record of making things right quickly. Continued use after changes posted on this page constitutes acceptance.