If a stranger demands money in a remote area, hand over cash, avoid any confrontation, note their features, and call police after escaping

The cash you have on you. The real challenge is keeping your temper in check.

Your life is worth more than money, while the offender risks a serious conviction for a few hundred yuan. Article 263 of China’s Criminal Law punishes robbery of public or private property through violence, threats, or other means with 3–10 years’ imprisonment and a fine. Armed robbery, home invasion, causing serious injury or death, and other aggravating circumstances carry 10 years or more, up to death. Article 20 protects self-defense to stop an ongoing unlawful attack. The 2020 guidance from the Supreme People’s Court, Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and Ministry of Public Security says that even after property has been taken, the attack may still be ongoing if pursuit or interception can recover it. Whether an act is self-defense also depends on the circumstances and the purpose of stopping the attack. Excessive defense requires both a clear excess over necessary limits and serious harm. The robber turning away with the money does not alone mean self-defense has ended. For your own safety, do not risk fighting or chasing over money. Once free, immediately record appearance, accent, license plate, and escape direction and call 110.

全国人大 (2020 年修正). 刑法（第二十条、第二百六十三条）. https://jtgl.beijing.gov.cn/jgj/jgxx/flfg/fl/11033925/index.html（北京市公安交管局转载整合文本）；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2020). 关于依法适用正当防卫制度的指导意见，第 6、8、11 点. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/251611.html

Rated C because there is no direct literature showing that paying without resisting is safer; statutes only establish the other person’s legal risk and your boundaries. Whether it is self-defense still requires investigation; before that determination you may be investigated or detained. For the costs of the process, see section 8, item 11 (You may resist an unavoidable attack). Do not follow them to an isolated place to “get money.” Do not give them your phone password. Do not get into their car. Paying first applies only when physically cornered face to face and your personal safety is threatened; still report to the police after escaping. Online demands involving private photos or nude-chat recordings are the opposite: pay nothing; see Section 8, Item 32 (someone demands money using compromising material). Do not rely on a baton, stun device, or dagger carried with you: carrying them outside can itself attract penalties; see Section 9, Item 26 (do not buy batons or stun devices for self-defense).