Defined Research Engagements
Custom Research
Custom case-level research on China’s export controls, Customs enforcement, companies, products, transactions and destinations.
WTS Institute draws on its structured enforcement data, judicial records, corporate ownership research and official public sources to investigate defined institutional questions.
Research Principle
Your question may begin with a regulation. Our research does not stop there.
Policy tells you the intent. Law defines the authority. Enforcement reveals the reality. A legal text tells you what authorities are allowed to do. It does not tell you which agencies act, against which companies or goods, how often they act, or what outcomes follow. Analysis that stops at policy statements and legal texts can therefore create a false sense of certainty and misread practical risk.
Policy → Rules → Enforcement → Companies → Trade Flows
Case-Level Research
Investigating specific companies, products and transactions at case level.
We connect Chinese Customs administrative penalties, judicial records, corporate attributes, ownership structures and government materials to reconstruct the facts of a defined matter and compare it with relevant enforcement evidence. The service is deliberately narrow: it is designed for questions where WTS Institute’s existing data and source base can add meaningful value.
WTS Institute accepts engagements where the research question is clearly defined and our existing data, source base and methodology can add meaningful value.
What We Investigate
A focused scope around China export-control enforcement.
- Chinese Customs administrative penalties and no-penalty decisions
- Customs enforcement records associated with a specified company
- Comparison with prior criminal judgments and public judicial records
- Corporate attributes, shareholders, ownership structures and related entities
- Enforcement cases involving a defined product, material or technical characteristic
- Enforcement patterns involving a specified destination or region
- Comparison of a defined matter with WTS Institute’s accumulated case base
- Case-level connection of administrative records, judicial records and corporate information
At present, custom engagements are concentrated in this field rather than general market, consumer or broad competitive research.
Typical Research Questions
Questions that require more than a search result.
These are examples of research questions, not promises of a particular legal or factual conclusion. Findings depend on the availability and quality of public evidence.
Evidence Base
Research built from connected evidence, not isolated documents.
Administrative penalties, no-penalty decisions and WTS Institute’s structured enforcement case data.
Published judgments, rulings and other judicial materials from Chinese courts and prosecutorial bodies.
Corporate registration, shareholders, ownership, controlling interests and related entities.
Regulatory releases, procurement, tender notices and materials relating to inspection and analytical capacity.
Other official or primary public materials needed to establish the facts of a defined case.
Confirmed, uncertain and inferred information are distinguished so findings can be traced back to supporting sources.
How We Work
A defined path from question to evidence.
Scope Definition
Define the question, period, companies, products, transactions or destinations in scope.
Source Review
Review WTS Institute’s existing data alongside relevant primary public sources.
Case Reconstruction
Connect enforcement records, judicial materials and corporate information at case level.
Comparative Analysis
Compare related cases, Customs offices, products, company attributes and destinations.
Delivery
Deliver findings with source references, evidentiary limits and clearly bounded analysis.
Typical Deliverables
Deliverables are designed around the research purpose.
A project may include one or more of the following. The combination is agreed during scoping; not every engagement includes every deliverable.
A focused memorandum setting out verified facts, relevant comparisons, evidence and limitations for a defined question.
A fuller analytical report for matters requiring multiple lines of evidence, case comparison, methodology and limitations.
Comparable case-level fields such as Customs office, date, product, violation and enforcement outcome.
Corporate attributes, shareholders, ownership, related entities and transactional role where publicly verifiable.
Comparison of relevant public judicial cases across facts, legal track, procedural posture and other supportable dimensions.
A structured reference set of principal primary sources used in the engagement.
A concise briefing for decision-makers summarizing verified findings, issues to watch and evidentiary limits.
Current Scope
Specialist work, by design.
Current focus
China’s export controls, Customs enforcement, administrative penalties and no-penalty decisions, judicial records, corporate attributes and related case-level public evidence.
Generally outside this service
General market research, consumer research, broad competitor surveys, routine corporate credit checks, preparation of legal opinions, and acting as an agent for export licensing or Customs procedures.
Research and analysis, not legal advice. WTS Institute provides information and analytical research services. It does not provide legal advice or legal opinions. Where a transaction requires a legal determination, appropriate qualified counsel should be consulted.
Engagement & Terms
Clear scope. Proportionate contracting.
We match the engagement process to the scale, complexity and confidentiality of the assignment. Defined, routine work may be agreed through a quotation, invoice and email confirmation; more substantial engagements may use a Statement of Work (SOW) and WTS research engagement terms.
The subject, period, deliverables, timing and fee are defined before work begins. Material additions or changes beyond the agreed scope are separately discussed and quoted.
Public records may be unavailable, unpublished, removed or incomplete. WTS does not guarantee that a particular fact, record or conclusion will be found. Performance is based on carrying out the agreed research using reasonable methods.
Pre-existing WTS data, databases, taxonomies, research methods, analytical methods, templates, know-how and research infrastructure do not transfer to the client through a custom research engagement.
Public-source information and generalizable analysis, insights and methods that do not contain client-confidential information may be used in future WTS research, database development or Research Editions. Exclusivity or a defined non-publication period can be agreed separately.
Detailed terms are confirmed, as appropriate, in the quotation, Statement of Work, research engagement terms or other project-specific agreement. Where project-specific terms expressly differ from standard terms, the project-specific terms govern that engagement.
Engagement Range
Custom Research — Five-figure institutional engagements
Institutional research engagements typically begin in the five-figure USD range, depending on scope, number of companies or cases, depth of source verification, complexity and timing. Larger or continuing engagements are quoted separately.
Unlike a pre-built Research Edition, each engagement is scoped around a defined institutional question and may require fresh case reconstruction, source verification and comparative work.
Quoted after scope review. Larger multi-company, multi-jurisdiction or continuing projects are priced separately.
For Japan-based clients, project-specific JPY quotations may be issued. No web-published exchange rate is used.
Research Engagement Inquiry
Discuss a defined research question.
Please outline the institutional question, subject and intended decision. We review inquiries for fit with our current research scope, data and methodology before accepting an engagement.
Custom Research & Institutional Intelligence
One defined engagement, or continuing visibility.
A one-off engagement designed around a defined company, product, transaction, destination or enforcement question.
A continuing service for organizations that need recurring observation, updating and interpretation of a defined enforcement or policy theme.