How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before Paying: 12-Point Checklist (2026)

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A polished website, a friendly sales rep on WeChat and a price 15% below everyone else. Then the deposit is paid, and the "factory" stops answering. Most supplier disasters are not bad luck: they come from checks nobody did.

This guide shows how to verify a Chinese supplier before paying, in 12 checks you can do from your desk, most of them free. You will learn to read a Chinese business licence, check it on the official registry, tell a real factory from a trading company, and spot a dangerous bank account before the deposit leaves.

In 30 seconds

• Get the 18-character credit code (USCC) from the supplier's business licence.

• Check it free on gsxt.gov.cn, China's official company registry: status, legal name, business scope.

• Match three names: the registry, your contract and the bank account holder must be the same company.

• Never pay a personal account, and confirm any bank change by phone.

Quick verdict: green flags and red flags

The 12-point checklist before you pay

Tick all twelve before a first deposit. The first nine are free and take about an afternoon.

Documents

• 1. Business licence (营业执照) received as a clear scan, with the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code

• 2. Proforma invoice on company letterhead, with the same legal name as the licence

• 3. Signed contract naming the product, specifications, payment terms and delivery date

Company records

• 4. Registry check on gsxt.gov.cn: the company exists and its status is active

• 5. Abnormal-operations list: the company is not on it

• 6. Business scope covers the product you are buying

Factory

• 7. Factory or trading company: you know which one you are dealing with

• 8. Live video call from the production floor, showing your product line

• 9. Samples received and checked against your specifications

Payment

• 10. Bank account holder = the company on the licence and contract

• 11. Bank details confirmed by phone, on a number you found yourself

• 12. Safe terms: deposit plus balance after an independent inspection

How to check a Chinese business licence online (free)

Every mainland Chinese company is listed in the official registry, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (NECIPS), at gsxt.gov.cn. It is free and run by the State Administration for Market Regulation. The site is in Chinese only, so keep a browser translation tool open.

1. Ask for the business licence (营业执照, yíngyè zhízhào). Copy the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (USCC). It is printed at the top left.

2. Go to gsxt.gov.cn and paste the USCC (or the Chinese company name) into the search box. Solve the small puzzle the site shows before results load.

3. Read the status (登记状态). You want 存续 or 在业 (active). Stop if you see 吊销 (licence revoked) or 注销 (deregistered).

4. Compare the details with the licence you received: legal name, legal representative (法定代表人), registered address and date of establishment. One wrong detail is a red flag.

5. Check the business scope (经营范围). Selling engine parts with a scope of "food trading" is a mismatch.

6. Open the abnormal-operations tab (经营异常名录). Being listed often means unfiled annual reports or an address where the company can no longer be found.

Hong Kong suppliers are not in NECIPS. For a Hong Kong company, search the Companies Registry (e-Services Portal, ICRIS) by name or company number. Many Hong Kong "suppliers" are trading offices for factories in mainland China, so ask for the factory's mainland licence as well.

Factory or trading company? How to tell in 5 minutes

Many suppliers on Alibaba call themselves "factory" or "manufacturer". Plenty are trading companies, and a trading company is not automatically bad: it can combine small orders, handle export paperwork and speak better English. The problem is not knowing which one you have. A trading company adds a margin, may switch factories between orders, and is harder to hold responsible for a defect it did not make.

Three questions to ask by email:

1. "Please send the business licence of the company that will make the goods and the one that will invoice us."

2. "How many production lines do you have for this product, and what is your monthly capacity?"

3. "Can we do a live video call from the production floor this week?"

If the invoicing company and the making company are different, that is fine, as long as the contract says who is responsible for quality and you inspect before paying the balance.

Bank account red flags

Most supplier fraud is not a fake factory. It is a real supplier whose email has been hacked, followed by a message saying "our bank account has changed". The goods are real, and your money goes to someone else.

Stop and check if you see any of these:

• The account holder is a person's name, not the company on the licence.

• The account is in another country (Hong Kong, Malaysia, the UK) when the company is in mainland China, with no clear reason.

• New bank details arrive by email, especially just before a payment is due.

• The email address is one letter different from the usual one (for example, a 1 in place of an l).

• The message pushes for speed: "pay today or we lose the production slot".

• They ask you to pay a different company "for tax reasons".

The 3-step bank check:

1. Match the names. The account holder must equal the company on the business licence, the proforma and the contract.

2. Call to confirm. Use a phone number you found yourself (the registry, an old invoice or a trade fair card), never one inside the email asking for the change.

3. Send a small test first for a new account, then the full amount after the supplier confirms receipt.

Paying in CNY into a mainland Chinese company account? You will also need the CNAPS code of the receiving branch. See How to Pay a Chinese Supplier for USD vs CNY and the cheapest routes.

When to pay for a factory audit or inspection

The registry tells you a company exists. It does not tell you the factory can make your product well, on time. For that, a third-party firm sends a local inspector to the site. QIMA, for example, says its inspectors can be on site within 48 hours in most manufacturing regions of China.

Simple rule:

• Small first order (a few thousand USD): the free checks in this guide, a live video call and samples.

• Medium order or new product: add a pre-shipment inspection before you pay the balance.

• Large or repeat orders: add a manufacturing audit once, then a pre-shipment inspection on every order.

Prices depend on the city, the product and the number of inspector-days, and providers do not all publish them. Ask two firms for a quote with the same scope before you choose. Make the inspection a written condition of the balance payment in your contract: "Balance payable after a pass result from [inspection firm]".

Worked example: checking a brake-pad supplier in one afternoon

An illustrative case, not a real company.

An importer in Lagos finds a supplier on Alibaba: "Guangzhou XYZ Auto Parts Manufacturing". The order is 8,000.00 USD for brake pads, with a 30% deposit (2,400.00 USD).

Outcome: the importer did not walk away. The supplier was a real trading company with a real factory behind it. The deal changed: the contract now names the factory, and the 5,600.00 USD balance is due only after an inspection pass. Cost of the checks so far: 0.00 USD and about three hours.

Importing into Africa or the Middle East? What changes

The checks above work from any country: gsxt.gov.cn is free and public, and inspection firms work for buyers everywhere. Three things are different for importers in our regions.

• Your money is harder to recover. If a payment goes to the wrong account, a recall from a bank in Lagos, Algiers or Cairo can take longer than from London. So the checks before the first payment matter even more.

• Your bank may need the same documents. In many countries, the bank or central bank asks for a proforma, a contract and sometimes the supplier's licence before it releases foreign currency. The paperwork you collect for verification often doubles as your bank file.

• Letters of credit and Trade Assurance are worth a look. A documentary letter of credit (L/C) pays the supplier only against shipping documents. It costs more, but it shifts risk away from you on large orders. For smaller Alibaba orders, paying through Alibaba Trade Assurance gives you a dispute process if goods are late or not as agreed.

Not sure which company structure suits paying suppliers from your country? Try the Setup Route Finder: seven questions, one clear route.

5 mistakes that cost importers money

1. Trusting the Alibaba badge alone. "Verified" and "Gold Supplier" labels are useful, but they are not a check of the bank account you are about to pay.

2. Checking the supplier once, then never again. Re-check the registry status and bank details before every large payment.

3. Accepting a change of bank details by email. Always confirm by phone on a known number.

4. Paying 100% upfront to a new supplier. Keep a balance until after inspection.

5. A contract without the legal name. Use the exact Chinese legal name and USCC in the contract, not just the English trade name.

Already paid the wrong account? Act within hours

1. Call your bank immediately and ask for a payment recall (SWIFT recall). The faster you call, the better the chance the money has not left the receiving account.

2. Write to the receiving bank through your bank, with the transfer reference and proof of fraud.

3. Report it: to the police in your country, and, for an Alibaba order paid through Trade Assurance, open a dispute on Alibaba.

4. Keep everything: emails with full headers, invoices, the bank transfer slip and chat logs.

5. For a contract dispute with a real supplier, a Chinese lawyer can advise on a demand letter or arbitration (for example, CIETAC, if your contract names it).

Glossary

FAQ

Is gsxt.gov.cn free? Yes. It is the official government registry and costs nothing. It is in Chinese only.

Can I check a Hong Kong supplier on gsxt.gov.cn? No. Hong Kong companies are in the Hong Kong Companies Registry. Ask also for the mainland factory's licence.

Is a trading company a scam? No. Many are reliable. Just know who makes your goods and put responsibility for quality in the contract.

The supplier refuses a video call. What now? Treat it as a strong warning sign. Ask for a third-party supplier verification before any deposit.

Should I pay a personal account if the price is lower? No. Pay only the company named on the licence and contract.

How long do these checks take? The free checks take about an afternoon. A third-party inspection usually needs a few days to book.

Do I need to check again for a repeat order? Yes, the registry status and the bank details, every time before a large payment.

Related guides

• How to Pay a Chinese Supplier: Wise vs Payoneer vs Airwallex
• Setup Route Finder: which company should you open?

This guide is general information, not legal or financial advice. Rules and services change; check with the provider and a qualified adviser before acting.

Sources

• National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, gsxt.gov.cn

• HICOM Asia, "How to check a Chinese company on NECIPS": hicom-asia.com/how-to-check-chinese-company-necips/

• China Checkup, "China trading company or factory": chinacheckup.com/blog/china-trading-company-or-factory

• QIMA, "Quality control in China": qima.com/quality-control-in-china

• Hong Kong Companies Registry, e-Services Portal: cr.gov.hk