How to verify a Chinese supplier before placing an order

The supplier sent a business license, you found their 18-digit code in the Chinese registry, and the company's status is active. This only means that a legal entity with this code exists. The registry will not tell you whether this company actually manufactures your goods, who receives the money, what packaging will be used, or whether the factory will attach the labels without which the shipment cannot be cleared in Russia. Therefore, verification takes place in two stages. Before paying the advance, you cross-check the paperwork, which you can do yourself. Before paying the remaining balance, the cargo itself is inspected, requiring a person on site at the factory; we dispatch our own inspector there.

The 18-digit code is on the license and must be in the contract

Since October 2015, every company in China has been assigned a Unified Social Credit Code upon registration. It serves as a unified tax identification and business registration number. It is used to look up the company in registries and is included in contracts and on official seals. Companies registered earlier were assigned codes during a transition period that ended in 2017.

According to the plan for implementing the unified code approved by the State Council of the PRC in 2015, the code consists of 18 characters and five parts. The first character indicates the registering authority, the second indicates the organization type, characters three through eight represent the administrative division code where it was registered, characters nine through seventeen are the organization's unique code, and the eighteenth character is a check digit. Verifying a Chinese counterparty by registration number begins with obtaining this number directly from the supplier rather than searching by name, as there may be multiple Latin spellings for the same name, but only one code.

The code is printed at the top of the business license (in Chinese: 营业执照). Ask for a scan before discussing pricing. Under Chinese law, an electronic license is equivalent to a paper one, so a PDF from an official app is acceptable, but details from any scan should later be verified against the registry. Request that the same code be stated in the contract, and verify that the company name in the contract and invoice matches the license. A supplier unable to send a license for a week has already answered the question of whether it is worth proceeding.

Where to check a Chinese company online and what is available for free

If you need to verify a company from China, there is one primary source: the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn. How to check a Chinese company by registration number: enter the code into the search bar on the home page; the interface is Chinese-only, and searches are free. The answer to how to check a Chinese company's reliability for free is the same, as commercial services rely on the same registry data.

Aggregators that compile corporate ties and court rulings into a single profile make online company verification more convenient. We recommend using them as guidance, while verifying a Chinese company's registration number, name, and status via the official state system. For basic company due diligence, this is usually sufficient.

Active status in the registry confirms the legal entity, not the supplier

Registration details, penalties, and license amendments are recorded in the registry by the state. The annual report is submitted by the company itself, which is solely responsible for its accuracy under the Interim Regulations of the PRC on Enterprise Information Disclosure. Revenue, headcount, and contact details in the report are stated on a self-reported basis.

What you should examine closely in the registry is the list of abnormal operations (经营异常名录). Companies are listed there, for instance, for failing to submit an annual report or providing false information. A supplier on this list is a red flag for us to pause until they explain the reason and are removed from it.

The registry will not show everything critical to your deal. We verify according to this rule: before the advance payment, the license code must match the registry, the company name must match across the registry, contract, and proforma invoice, the payment beneficiary must be the contracting party, your goods must fall under the business scope, and the company must not be listed as abnormal. Before paying the balance, the batch is inspected at the factory; before shipping to Russia, labels and quantities are verified. Paperwork can be checked in an evening, but inspecting the batch and checking labels requires personnel in China.

The business scope on the license distinguishes a factory from a trading company

The license includes a line indicating the business scope (经营范围). For a factory, it contains characters like 生产 (production), 加工 (processing), or 制造 (manufacturing) alongside the product category. If the line only lists sales, wholesale, and import/export, you are dealing with a trading company, regardless of how many workshop photos they provide. Checking a Chinese license by this criterion is possible via both the scan and the registry; the registry is more reliable, as scans can be doctored.

The second check in that same line relates to your specific product. If a company is registered to manufacture furniture but offers you electronics, it is either reselling third-party goods or operating outside its registered scope.

A trading company is not inherently a reason to walk away. It can consolidate smaller orders from several factories and handle communication. However, in that case, clarify which factory actually manufactures your goods and send the inspector there rather than to the intermediary's office.

Funds must be received by the company that signed the contract

Do not pay immediately if the supplier requests payment to their Hong Kong affiliate's account, a partner company, or a manager's personal card. If one company is named in the contract while another receives the payment, you have no contract with the payee. The seller named in the contract can later claim they never received the money.

Online due diligence will not help here; a direct document reconciliation is required. The seller in the contract, the seller in the invoice, the recipient in the banking details, and the company with the code on the license must all be the exact same legal entity. If the supplier insists on a different beneficiary, request that the contract and invoice be reissued under the company receiving the funds, and run checks on that entity instead. The same applies when paying an advance payment against a proforma invoice. The amount and banking details must later match the commercial invoice for the shipped batch.

In the documentation submitted to us prior to dispatch, we verify the seller in the contract against the invoice. However, by that time the funds have already been transferred, so you should perform this check before making the payment.

The batch is inspected before the remaining balance is paid

No registry will show how circuit boards are assembled or how they will be packaged for transit. A client found a new supplier of PCBs, sensors, and microcontrollers for robotics and had doubts about build quality and packaging. The order was worth nearly 4 million rubles, and paying blindly for such an amount was too risky.

Before the invoice was paid, we dispatched our inspector to the factory. He inspected the batch against technical specifications, recorded a photo and video report for each board type, and reviewed supplier documentation. The concern was justified: the factory packaging was fragile. Following confirmation, we transferred the goods to our warehouse, completely repackaged them using shock-absorbing cushioning inside rigid wooden crating, and delivered the 350 kg shipment in 18 days without damage. Read the full story in our case study on factory inspection before invoice payment. The client continues to work with this supplier regularly: packaging was upgraded after the inspection, while keeping the same factory.

We conduct factory inspections in China, India, and Southeast Asian countries through our network of agents and surveyors. The key advantage is that an inspector examines the batch while you still hold the unpaid balance. This leaves time to reinforce substandard packaging and return defective units before the factory has collected full payment. Once full payment is made, resolving such issues becomes far more difficult.

What the supplier must do for the cargo to be cleared in Russia

For an importer in Russia, verifying a supplier in China does not end at the factory floor. The supplier must prepare prerequisites without which the cargo may not be released by customs: correct tags and labeling required for your goods (e.g., fabric composition and country of origin for garments), quantities matching the invoice, and brand authorization if the goods are trademarked. Paperwork alone does not verify this.

A garment shipment from Guangzhou arrived at our consolidation warehouse, containing hoodies, T-shirts, and jeans from several factories. Some items lacked tags entirely, while others had tags only in Chinese, omitting country of origin, fabric composition, and manufacturer details. The physical count did not match factory invoices. Under such conditions, customs release would have been outright denied. We halted dispatch, recounted each SKU, applied compliant labeling under CU TR 017/2011 right in Guangzhou, and harmonized the invoice descriptions. The shipment arrived in 26 days without inquiries or physical inspections, saving the client up to 15% of the cargo value in customs fines and bonded warehouse storage fees.

Quantities in the boxes, the invoice, and the packing list must match exactly. We have covered separately how to reconcile the packing list with the invoice prior to factory dispatch.

When cargo originates from multiple suppliers, verifying it at a single hub is the most effective approach. This is achieved via warehouse cargo consolidation. We operate consolidation facilities in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, handling piece counting and labeling locally before cargo reaches the Russian border.

Trademarks require special attention. Data on trademarks and rights holders is recorded in the Customs Intellectual Property Register (TROIS) maintained by the FCS. If a brand is listed and the importer lacks authorization from the rights holder, customs may suspend clearance. When we handled branded power tools from Ningbo, our customs brokers secured an official authorization letter from the trademark owner in China in advance. An empty container was positioned at the factory only after this approval was received, and customs clearance in Vladivostok took just one business day. If a supplier sells third-party branded goods, clarify before paying the advance whether the brand owner will provide authorization and if the supplier can facilitate this.

Another sign of an unreliable supplier is identifiable prior to ordering: an offer to declare an undervalued invoice price to lower customs duties. We have published a detailed breakdown of the risks of undervaluing customs value. We do not handle such shipments, because the legal and financial fallout falls squarely on the Russian importer, while the Chinese supplier remains unaffected.

When a paperwork check is sufficient

Not every procurement requires comprehensive supplier verification with an on-site inspector. If you are purchasing a trial batch for an amount your business can afford to risk, verifying the registry, license, and payment beneficiary is sufficient. Samples are easier to receive and evaluate on your own. Labeling and quantities must still be checked prior to shipment, as trial batches require them just like commercial shipments.

With an established supplier, you do not need to check the registry before every single order. If the supplier changes banking details, cross-check them against the license and contract. However, cargo inspection is recommended whenever a batch is large or involves a new product. A factory that successfully delivered the first batch may subcontract the second.

We do not conduct legal due diligence on Chinese companies for long-term joint ventures or corporate mergers. Court records and ownership ties can be checked independently on aggregators, but analyzing insolvencies, corporate disputes, and contracts under Chinese law is the domain of legal counsel involving different timelines and fees. We focus on verifying the factory, the physical batch, and the customs compliance documentation.

Verification procedure by transaction stages

Before transferring an advance payment, it is advisable to calculate customs duties and taxes for your shipment. The supplier's quotation only translates into the landed cost after customs duty and VAT are applied, and in some cases, the transaction may prove unfeasible well before any verification begins.

Factor in extra buffer time for inspection and shipment. If dispatch coincides with holidays under the Chinese production calendar, lead times will shift, delaying inspector visits accordingly.

Once the first two rows of the table are addressed, the advance payment goes to a verified company authorized to manufacture your product under its own direct contract. The following two rows protect your balance payment and customs clearance. You pay the remaining balance for a batch physically verified by an inspector, and it departs for Russia with labeling and quantities that strictly match the documents.

If you have already identified a supplier and need the batch inspected before final payment and delivered with turnkey customs documentation, reach out to us via our freight shipping from China page. We will advise on scheduling the factory inspection and what to verify before shipment.