How to Verify a Chinese Supplier: 12 Checks Before You Pay

Most problems with Chinese suppliers show up in public records or on a video call before you pay the deposit. These are the 12 checks I run when a buyer asks me whether a supplier is safe, with the free tools you can use to do most of them yourself.

I'm Bruce Zhang. I work in B2B export of industrial electric motors in Xi'an, so I deal with Chinese factories every day. The same problems keep coming up: a "factory" that is really a trading company, a business license that belongs to someone else, a certificate that doesn't exist, or a bank account that changes right before payment. You can catch all of them with public records and a phone camera, but most of the records are only in Chinese.

The 12 checks at a glance

Part 1: Paper checks you can do from home

1. Check the business registration

Ask the supplier for a copy of their business license (营业执照). Every Chinese company has an 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on it. Search that code, or the company's Chinese name, on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn). It is the official government register. Qichacha and Tianyancha show the same data in an easier format, plus court cases and shareholder links.

Look at these fields:

• Status. It should say active (存续 or 在业). "Revoked" (吊销) or "cancelled" (注销) means stop.
• Date of establishment. A company set up a few months ago selling heavy machinery is a warning sign. For large orders I prefer suppliers with at least 3 to 5 years of history.
• Paid-in capital versus registered capital. Registered capital is a promise. Paid-in capital (实缴资本) is money actually put in, so it tells you more.
• Legal representative and address. Note them down. You will compare them with what the supplier tells you later.

Then search the company name on China Judgements Online and the China Enforcement Information site. Contract disputes over late delivery, unpaid suppliers or quality claims tell you how this company behaves when things go wrong. If the company or its legal representative is listed as a "dishonest judgment debtor" (失信被执行人), don't send money.

2. Confirm the supplier's identity

Next, make sure the person on WhatsApp actually works for that company. Scammers often copy a real factory's license and send it as their own.

• The company name on the license, the contract, the invoice and the bank account must be exactly the same.
• Check the email domain. A real exporter usually has its own domain, and the website should show the same company name and address as the license.
• On a video call, ask them to show the license on the office wall or the company sign at the gate. Then call the phone number listed in the official register, not the one in their email signature.

3. Check export capability

A supplier that has never exported will learn on your order. Ask whether they export under their own name or through an agent. Companies that export directly have a customs registration, and they can show you past export declarations or bills of lading with customer names covered.

If they claim to sell to the US, search their name on ImportYeti, which shows US customs records. Seeing real shipments to real importers is strong evidence. Seeing nothing doesn't prove much, because many factories ship through trading companies, but it's worth asking why.

4. Look at their platform history

On Alibaba, Made-in-China.com or Global Sources, check how many years the supplier has been a paying member and whether they have a third-party verification report. On Alibaba, Trade Assurance transaction records and reviews are harder to fake than product photos.

Two things make me suspicious. One is a store that sells everything from screws to shoes, which almost always means a trader. The other is a store with very low prices and almost no transaction history.

Part 2: Is it a real factory?

5. factory or trading company

Plenty of trading companies do a good job. The trouble starts when a trader presents itself as the factory: you pay a margin you can't see, and nobody you talk to controls production. I look at four things.

• Business scope (经营范围) on the license. A manufacturer's scope includes words like production (生产), manufacturing (制造) or processing (加工). If it only says wholesale (批发), sales (销售) or import and export (进出口), it's a trading company.
• Insured employees. The company's annual report shows how many staff have social insurance (参保人数). A "factory" with 5 insured people is not a factory.
• The address. Put it into Google Maps satellite view, or Baidu Maps and Amap, which are usually more up to date in China. You should see workshop roofs and trucks in an industrial area, not an office tower or a housing estate.
• Technical questions. Ask about materials, process steps, scrap rate, lead time for samples and how they calculate the MOQ. A factory answers straight away. A trader often says "let me check".

Then ask for a live video call, not a promotional video. Ask them to walk through the workshop, the raw material store and the QC area while machines are running, and to turn the camera to a window or a gate sign so you know where they are. If they keep finding reasons not to do this, treat it as a no.

6. Consider a factory audit

In my experience, the paper and video checks above expose most fake suppliers. For a large order, a custom product or a long-term supplier, someone should stand in the factory. You can go yourself or send someone. An on-site audit looks at production lines, equipment condition, workforce, capacity and quality control, and you get a photo report.

If you need a formal audit against a standard, such as a social compliance audit your customer requires, use an accredited body like SGS, TÜV Rheinland or Bureau Veritas. If you need someone to tell you plainly whether this factory can make your product, a local independent audit costs much less. My on-site factory audit starts at US$299.

Part 3: Product, quality and capacity

7. Verify product certifications

Fake and borrowed certificates are common. Always check the certificate number on the issuer's own website.

• CE: much of CE marking is self-declared. If a notified body was involved, its 4-digit number is on the certificate and you can look it up in the EU NANDO database.
• UL: search the company or file number in UL Product iQ.
• ISO 9001 and Chinese certifications such as CCC: search the certificate on the issuing body's website or in the CNCA certification database (cx.cnca.cn).

Check that the company name on the certificate matches the license, and that the certificate covers your exact product model. A valid certificate issued to another company, or for a different product, is worth nothing to you.

8. Test product quality with paid samples

Pay for samples. Free samples tell you little, and paying shows the supplier you are serious. When the sample arrives, test it against your own written specification, not theirs. Keep in mind that a good sample proves the factory can make one good unit. It doesn't prove the 500th unit will be the same, which is why steps 9 and 12 exist.

9. Check production capacity

Ask for a production plan for your order: start date, daily output, and what else is on the line at the same time. Compare it with what you saw on the video call. A workshop with 30 workers and two assembly lines can't deliver 2,000 machines in 30 days, whatever the salesperson says. For a first order, a small trial order is the cheapest way to see real lead time and yield before you commit.

Part 4: References, payment and shipping

10. Ask for trade references

Ask for two or three customers in your region you can contact. Good suppliers usually agree, though some will only share a company name and not a contact. Check the buyer exists, look up the supplier's sales staff on LinkedIn, and cross-check with import records from step 3.

11. Check the payment details

Buyers lose money at this step even when every other check looked fine.

• Pay only to a company bank account in the exact name on the contract. Never to a personal account, a personal WeChat or Alipay, or an offshore company with a different name.
• Be very careful with emails saying "our bank account has changed". Confirm by video call or phone with someone you already know before paying a new account.
• Write everything into the contract: specification, materials, tolerances, packaging, delivery date, penalties for delay and what happens if goods fail inspection.
• Keep the deposit around 30% and pay the balance only after inspection. Alibaba Trade Assurance or a letter of credit gives extra protection on larger orders.

12. Inspect before shipment

Once the balance is paid and the container leaves, your leverage is gone. A pre-shipment inspection checks quantity, specifications, function, packaging and loading while the goods are still at the factory, so problems get fixed before you pay. For machinery I always want a function test on site. See my pre-shipment inspection service, from US$299 per man-day.

Red flags that should stop the deal

• A price far below every other quote. The difference usually comes out of materials or process.
• They refuse a live video call or a visit, citing trade secrets or "the boss is away".
• The registered address or shipping address is in an office building or residential area.
• The company name differs between the license, contract and bank account.
• A request to pay a personal account, or a sudden change of bank details.
• Pressure to pay fast because of a "price increase tomorrow".

How much checking do you need?

It depends on the money at risk and how hard the product is to make. For a small first order of a standard product, steps 1 to 5 plus paid samples and a careful contract are usually enough. For machinery, custom products or orders where losing the deposit would hurt your business, I would add an on-site audit before the deposit and an inspection before the balance.

Want me to check a supplier for you?

If the Chinese-only registers and court records slow you down, I can run these checks for you. Suppliers also tend to answer a local Chinese speaker more directly than a foreign buyer.

I'm paid by buyers only and never take commission from factories. You can see a sample report first.

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LocalAuditChina is an independent verification service, not a certification body. Reports are findings to support your purchasing decision.