China Trade Insights
China Supplier Legal Guides for Foreign Buyers
Practical guidance for checking Chinese suppliers before payment, responding when a supplier refuses a refund or changes the deal, and protecting contracts, evidence and commercial leverage around trade fair transactions.
Before Payment
Supplier Verification
Identify the Chinese legal entity, compare the licence, contract and payment account, and understand what platform badges do not prove.
How to Check a Chinese Supplier's Court and Enforcement Records
How to match the right company, distinguish lawsuits from enforcement and dishonest-debtor records, and read the pattern before paying.
Factory Audit vs Company Verification in China
A factory audit examines a site and its operating capability. Company verification identifies who signs, receives payment and remains legally responsible.
How to Read a Chinese Business License Before Payment
A field-by-field lawyer's guide to the Chinese legal name, 18-character code, capital, signatory, business scope and the checks the licence cannot replace.
Should You Pay a Chinese Supplier Through a Hong Kong Bank Account?
A Hong Kong account can work, but keep an operating mainland company bound to the contract and document the collection authority before payment.
Is Your Alibaba Supplier Legit?
A China lawyer's pre-payment check of the store owner, business licence, contract party, bank account, assessment report and Trade Assurance order.
How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before Payment
Seven practical checks for the business licence, official registry, bank account, litigation history and contract party before you send money.
Before You Sign or Pay
Supplier Contracts & Purchase Documents
Connect the Chinese seller, specifications, inspection, payment milestones and remedies before a purchase document becomes a dispute.
Before You Pay a Chinese Supplier: What I Check in the Contract
How I connect the Chinese seller, product specifications, inspection, payment milestones and remedies before a foreign buyer sends money.
Is a Canton Fair Pro Forma Invoice Binding?
The title “PI” does not decide legal effect. Check the seller, acceptance, company chop, payment account and later conduct before signing or paying.
After a Deal Goes Wrong
Supplier Disputes & Manufacturer Risks
Evidence-first guidance on refund refusal, post-payment price changes, defective goods, delayed delivery, court cases and manufacturer IP problems.
Is It Worth Pursuing a Chinese Supplier Dispute?
How to assess the evidence, responsible entity, forum, likely costs and recovery prospects before paying for the next legal step.
Chinese Supplier Changed Price or Shipping Cost After Payment
What to do when a supplier quotes one price, takes payment, then demands more for DDP shipping, freight, packaging, customs, or delivery before releasing the goods.
Chinese Supplier Disputes: Real Court Cases for Foreign Buyers
Real court and CICC case lessons on refund refusal, defective goods, delayed delivery, returned goods, evidence, and lawyer's letters.
What to Do When a Chinese Manufacturer Infringes Your IP
A practical response plan when a factory copies your product, uses your brand, registers a similar mark, or sells infringing goods through other channels.
How to Recover Money from a Chinese Supplier Scam
When a supplier takes your money and won't refund — a seven-step recovery playbook: evidence preservation, lawyer's letter, bank recall, CIETAC arbitration, and when to cut losses.
Trade Fair Deals
Canton Fair
Contract, supplier identity, payment and evidence issues foreign buyers should consider before signing or paying during a fair.