Canton Fair Suppliers: What to Check at the Booth and After the Fair

The Canton Fair in Guangzhou is held twice a year, in spring and autumn, each time in three phases covering different product groups. Thousands of Chinese companies take booths, and many buyers come home with a bag of catalogs and a list of "factories". Weeks later, they discover that the friendly company at the booth was a trader, that the price was for a lower specification, or that the address on the card is an office.

The fair is a good place to meet suppliers. It is not a check on them. This guide explains what to do at the booth and what to check after the fair, before you pay.

Who you meet at a booth

• Manufacturers who sell their own products, sometimes with a separate export company.

• Trading companies with a range from several factories. Many are honest and useful, but the price includes their margin and quality depends on factories you do not see.

• Shared or rented booths, where the company on the sign is not the company that will sign your contract.

Being at the fair costs money and requires approval, so exhibitors are usually real companies. That says nothing about whether they make your product.

At the booth

• Ask for the full Chinese company name, not only the English trading name, and photograph the business card and the booth sign.

• Ask where the factory is: city, district and street. Note whether the answer is immediate or vague.

• Ask which processes they do themselves and which they buy in. A real factory can describe its machines and staff numbers without hesitation.

• Photograph the samples that interest you, including labels and model numbers, so you can compare them with later samples and with production.

• Write down the price, specification, minimum order and lead time you were quoted, and who quoted it.

After the fair: check before you pay

• Registration: find the company in China's official business registry. Check the legal name, the registered address, the business scope, the registered capital, the date founded and the number of insured employees.

• Scope: a scope that includes manufacture of your product, at an industrial address, points to a factory. A scope of import and export and sales, at an office address, points to a trader.

• Court records and penalties: lawsuits from customers or suppliers, labour cases and administrative penalties.

• Live video: a video call walking from the factory gate to the production line making your type of product, with the company sign visible.

• Certificates and reports: check numbers with the issuer, and check that the names on them match the company. See how to check Chinese certificates.

• Bank account: the account on the proforma invoice must belong to the company on the contract.

Samples from the fair

The sample on the stand is the best the supplier can make, sometimes made by another factory. Ask for production samples made for you, confirm the specification in writing, and keep one sealed approved sample. When the order is ready, an inspection compares the goods against that sample.

If the booth was a trader

That can still be a good deal. A trader can combine products, handle export paperwork and speak your language. Ask who the factory is, whether the factory name can be in the contract, and whether you can inspect at the factory. If the trader refuses all of this, you are relying on their quality control entirely. See factory or trading company.

Questions to send after the fair

1. What is your full Chinese company name and unified social credit code?

2. What is the full address of the factory that will make our order, and is it your company or another?

3. Can we have a live video call on the production line next week?

4. Is the price you quoted at the fair for the same material and components as the sample on the stand?

5. Which bank account, in which company's name, will receive payment?

Many Canton Fair suppliers are in Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan and Zhongshan. See the guides for Guangzhou, Foshan furniture and Zhongshan lighting.

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