Checking out a Chinese supplier is one of those tasks where the amount of work you need to do depends on how big the order is — but the basic process stays the same. Think of it as a layered system: cheap checks first, more involved ones as the commitment grows. Here are seven steps, calibrated so you know exactly how deep to go based on what's at stake.

In this guide
  1. 01Get the right documents from the supplier
  2. 02Verify against the government registry
  3. 03Confirm export qualifications
  4. 04Check credit and litigation history
  5. 05Verify the bank account matches the entity
  6. 06Do a physical or virtual site verification
  7. 07Tie everything together before you commit
Step 01

Get the Right Documents from the Supplier

Before you can verify anything, you need the raw material. Ask for the Business Licence (营业执照), which every legitimate mainland Chinese company has. The modern version is a single page showing a Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码) — an 18-character alphanumeric string that functions like a corporate ID number.

You also want:

Signal to watch for: If the supplier hesitates, or sends something that looks like a screenshot with fields missing, treat that as a red flag in itself. Legitimate companies share this document routinely.

For export transactions, also ask whether the entity holds its own export licence. Not every Chinese manufacturer can export directly — some route through trading companies or export agents, which isn't inherently problematic, but it changes who your counterparty actually is on the paperwork.

Step 02

Verify Against the Government Registry

This is the single highest-value check — and it's free. China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn is the official government registry. Enter the company name or Unified Social Credit Code, and the system returns: establishment date, registered capital, legal representative, shareholders, business scope, and any administrative penalties or abnormal operation flags.

🔍 gsxt.gov.cn — Official Registry 📊 Qichacha 企查查 📊 Tianyancha 天眼查

The site is in Chinese — use a translation tool or a Chinese-speaking colleague. What you're checking is whether the information the supplier gave you matches the registry exactly: company name, address, legal representative, and Unified Social Credit Code must all line up. A mismatch anywhere deserves an explanation before you proceed.

Commercial databases like Qichacha (企查查) and Tianyancha (天眼查) aggregate the same government data and add litigation history, IP filings, and corporate relationships — usually with better English interfaces. For orders above a few thousand dollars, the modest subscription fee pays for itself.
Step 03

Confirm Export Qualifications

If you're buying from a manufacturer who claims to export directly, they should be registered with China Customs as a Consignor/Consignee of Import and Export Goods, which gives them a Customs Registration Code (海关注册编码) — a 10-digit number you can cross-check on the China Customs website or through the commercial databases above.

Contradiction to resolve: If the business scope on the licence doesn't include import/export activities (进出口) and the supplier claims to ship internationally, that's a mismatch worth resolving — usually it means they route through a third-party export agent, and you'll want to know who that agent is, because they become a link in your legal chain.

For regulated product categories — medical devices, food, cosmetics, electronics with wireless modules, children's products — there are additional certifications to verify. These are product-specific rather than general, so the check depends on what you're buying, but the pattern is the same: ask for the certificate, look up the issuing body's registry, and confirm the certificate number matches a live record.

Step 04

Check Credit and Litigation History

Tianyancha and Qichacha both surface civil litigation, enforcement actions, tax irregularities, and whether the legal representative appears on the Supreme People's Court list of dishonest judgment debtors (失信被执行人名单).

A company with a pattern of contract disputes as defendant — especially ones involving unpaid suppliers or failure to deliver — is telling you something. A single dispute means little; a pattern means a lot.

For larger commitments, a paid credit report from Sinosure (China's export credit insurance agency), Dun & Bradstreet China, or a specialised due diligence firm will give you financial health indicators, a site visit summary, and sometimes trade reference checks. Expect to spend a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars depending on depth.

Rule of thumb: if the cost of the credit report is less than one percent of your first order value, it's almost always worth doing.
Step 05

Verify the Bank Account Matches the Entity

This is where a significant amount of fraud actually happens — and it's frequently overlooked. The bank account you wire money to must be registered under the exact legal name on the business licence, and must be a corporate account at a mainland Chinese bank.

Common red flags:

If there's any mismatch: Stop and demand written explanation on company letterhead with the company chop (公章) before wiring anything. Fraudsters often impersonate real suppliers precisely at this step — intercepting email threads and substituting their own bank details.
Step 06

Do a Physical or Virtual Site Verification

For any meaningful order, someone should see the factory. A factory audit confirms the address on the licence is actually a factory matching the scale of what's being promised — not a sales office with a rented warehouse.

One of the more common patterns worth knowing about: a trading company that presents itself as a manufacturer, using someone else's facility for photos and videos. An in-person or third-party audit resolves this quickly.

If you can't visit in person, third-party inspection companies (SGS, Bureau Veritas, Intertek, or local Guangdong-based firms) can conduct a factory audit on your behalf, typically within a few days of booking and at a few hundred dollars for a standard report.

Step 07

Tie Everything Together Before You Commit

The verification only protects you if the contract you sign names the entity you verified. Before executing anything, confirm:

The chop (公章) in particular matters under Chinese practice. A red circular seal with the full Chinese company name is often treated as more definitive than a signature alone. Get a clear photo or scan of it on the executed contract.

A useful mental model for the whole process: you're trying to confirm that a single entity — one name, one social credit code, one address, one bank account, one chop, one signatory — is consistently the same across every document and every step. Fraud almost always shows up as a mismatch somewhere in that chain. Legitimate suppliers will have no trouble matching up; problematic ones start introducing explanations for why the pieces don't quite align.

Calibrate Depth to Risk

Not every order warrants the same level of scrutiny. Here's a practical guide:

Order Size Recommended Checks
Samples / small trial order
Under $2,000		 Free government registry check + confirm bank account matches licence
Mid-size order
$2,000 – $20,000		 Steps 1–5 above + commercial database subscription (Qichacha / Tianyancha)
Significant order
$20,000 – $100,000		 All above + paid credit report + third-party factory audit
Ongoing supply relationship
Repeat orders		 All above + periodic re-checks annually. Past cleanliness doesn't guarantee future performance — registered information changes.

The verification process described here isn't legal formality — it's commercial common sense. The good news is that most of it is free, and all of it is faster than recovering from a bad order. Running these checks before you commit is, in most cases, a few hours of work that closes off the most common routes through which trade fraud and supplier failure actually occur.

If you need help running any of these checks, interpreting Chinese-language registry results, or turning your findings into a contract that holds up — that's exactly what I do.

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