How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before Paying
By Hasan Olwan, in Yiwu since 2009 · Last updated: September 24, 2026
The short answer: ask for the business license, check the company’s 18-character registration code in China’s official company registry, make sure the bank account name matches the company name, and confirm the factory address, ideally with a visit. Then order a sample before any bulk payment. These checks take a few days and can save you your whole deposit.
Here are the 7 checks we run, in order, when we verify a supplier for a buyer.
1. Get the business license
Ask the supplier for a photo of their business license (营业执照). Every legal company in China has one. It shows the company’s Chinese name, the Unified Social Credit Code (an 18-character registration number), the legal representative, registered capital, founding date and business scope.
A supplier who won’t send it is your first red flag.
2. Check the license in the official registry
Search the company name or registration code on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn). Check that:
- The company exists and its status is active
- The name, code and legal representative match the license
- The founding date makes sense for the experience they claim
The site is in Chinese. Commercial databases such as Qichacha and Tianyancha show the same records with more detail.
3. Read the business scope
The business scope tells you what the company may legally do. A factory’s scope includes production or manufacturing (生产). A trading company’s says trade, sales, or import and export. If a “factory” has no production in its scope, it’s a trading company.
4. Check for court cases
Search the company name in court records for disputes, unpaid debts or fraud cases. Commercial databases list these on the company profile. A few small disputes are normal for an older company. A pattern of cases with buyers is not.
5. Match the bank account name
This is the check that stops most scams. The bank account you pay must be in the exact company name on the license. If the supplier asks you to pay a personal account or a different company “for tax reasons”, stop.
6. Confirm the address
Look up the address on a map. An industrial area fits a factory; an office tower fits a trading company. The only real proof is a visit: machines, workers and your type of product on the production line. We do this in our on-site audits.
7. Order a sample
A sample proves the supplier can make your product at the quality you want. Pay for it, and keep it: it becomes the standard for your bulk order’s quality inspection. Our inspection checklist shows what to compare.
How to verify an Alibaba supplier
Use the same checks. Alibaba badges show that the platform checked some documents, but they don’t replace your own check of the license, the bank account name and the address. Many Alibaba stores belong to trading companies, so step 3 matters most here.
Summary
- Get the business license.
- Check it in the official registry.
- Read the business scope: factory or trader?
- Look for court cases.
- Make sure the bank account name matches.
- Confirm the address, ideally with a visit.
- Order a sample before any bulk payment.
Don’t have time, or can’t read Chinese records? We run these checks for you: $150 for a legal check, $250 for an on-site audit.