How to find and verify a reliable supplier in China.

Most importers start on a B2B platform such as Alibaba, Made-in-China or Global Sources, at a trade fair such as the Canton Fair, or in the industrial cluster where their product is made. Each source gives you names, not guarantees.

• +Platforms: fast to search, but a badge is not a verification. On Alibaba, Gold Supplier is the paid membership; Alibaba's own comparison calls its credentials a one-sided claim, while Verified Supplier is a higher paid tier audited by a third party.
• +Trade fairs: you meet the people and see the products, but a stand does not tell you whether the exhibitor makes what it shows.
• +Industrial clusters: the factories are concentrated, so comparing three or four in a day is realistic.

Whatever the source, the checks below are the same. A supplier that refuses them is giving you an answer.

Every Chinese company is listed on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn), the public registry created by the State Council in 2014. Ask the supplier for its business licence and look it up there by its Chinese name or its credit code.

The Unified Social Credit Code is 18 characters long. It is unique to one company and does not change during its life; it also serves as the company's tax number. A code that looks right can still be invented: only the registry tells you whom it belongs to.

Companies file an annual report on the same system every year, between 1 January and 30 June. Contact details and operating status are public; financial figures are published only if the company chooses to.

Both can be good suppliers. What matters is knowing which one you deal with, because a trading company adds a margin and stands between you and the production line.

• +Business scope: manufacturers usually list production, manufacturing or processing (生产, 制造, 加工); traders list sales, wholesale or import-export (销售, 批发, 进出口). A company may list both, so this is a hint, not proof.
• +Certificates: an ISO 9001 certificate states its scope (manufacture or trading) and the site it covers. The holder's name and address must match the licence.
• +Test reports and product certificates usually name the actual manufacturer.
• +A visit to the production site, in person or by live video, remains the most reliable test.

1. 01

   Factory audit

   On site or by live video: production lines, stock, quality control, the people who will make your order.

2. 02

   Samples

   Order samples from the factory that will produce, approve one and keep it as the reference for the order.

3. 03

   Inspection during production

   For a first order or a complex product, an inspection while production runs catches problems while they can still be fixed.

4. 04

   Pre-shipment inspection

   Done when the goods are finished and mostly packed, on a random sample drawn by the AQL method (ISO 2859-1), before you pay the balance.

5. 05

   Container loading check

   Confirms that what is loaded is what was inspected, in the right quantity.

The most expensive fraud in international trade is not a fake factory: it is an email that changes the bank details on a real order. The FBI counted more than 55 billion US dollars in exposed losses from this business email compromise between October 2013 and December 2023. Fraudsters read the supplier's or the buyer's mailbox and send new account details at the moment of payment, from an address that differs by one character.

• +Never accept a change of bank details by email alone. Confirm it by phone, on a number you already had, and ask for a sealed letter.
• +The account holder must be the supplier's exact Chinese legal name, a company account, not a personal one.
• +Prefer an account at a bank in China. An offshore account under an English name lets a supplier deny later that the account was its own.
• +Write the bank account into the contract.

A common structure is a 30% deposit before production and the 70% balance before shipment. The protection comes from linking the balance to a passed inspection: you pay the rest once the report confirms the goods match the approved sample.

• +Paying 100% in advance leaves you no leverage; the US International Trade Administration calls it the least attractive option for the buyer.
• +A letter of credit makes a bank pay against documents that comply with its terms. It protects both sides but costs fees, and banks check documents, not goods.
• +Alibaba Trade Assurance covers only orders placed and paid through Alibaba.com. A transfer made directly to the factory is not covered.