Before paying a Chinese supplier, check three things on the national registry (gsxt.gov.cn). The 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on its business licence must return the same Chinese company name. The company must be operating and not on the abnormal-operations list. And the bank account on your invoice must be held in exactly that registered name. If any of the three does not match, do not pay until it is explained. The checks are free.
- Search the code, not the English name. A Chinese company is registered under its Chinese name and an 18-character code. An English trading name has no registered status.
- The account name is the most important check. If the money goes to a different company or a person, your claim may be against someone other than the supplier you think you are dealing with.
- A code starting 92 is an individual business, not a company. Its owner is personally liable for its debts, which is not always a disadvantage, but it tells you what you are dealing with.
- Court records show whether others were left unpaid. The courts' enforcement and judgment databases are public and searchable by company name.
- No separate "export licence" is needed. China abolished foreign-trade operator registration on 30 December 2022. An exporter registers with customs, and that record is public.
- The registry cannot tell you about quality or capacity. For that you need a factory visit, an inspection or a trial order, and payment terms that protect you.
The checks at a glance
| Check | Where | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Code and name | Business licence; gsxt.gov.cn | The code returns nothing, or a different company name |
| Status | gsxt.gov.cn | Deregistered, revoked, on the abnormal-operations list, or on the list of seriously illegal and dishonest enterprises |
| Type of entity | 2nd character of the code | "2" (individual business) when the seller presents itself as a large manufacturer |
| Age, scope, address, capital | gsxt.gov.cn | Set up a few months ago; business scope limited to trading when it claims to be a factory; frequent recent changes |
| Court record | zxgk.court.gov.cn; wenshu.court.gov.cn | Enforcement cases, a place on the dishonest judgment debtor list, disputes with other buyers |
| Customs record | credit.customs.gov.cn | No customs registration while claiming to export directly; customs penalties |
| Bank account | Invoice and contract, compared with the registry | Account holder differs from the registered name; a personal account; bank details changed by email |
| Contract party and chop | The contract itself | No Chinese name or code in the contract; a chop that does not match the registered name |
1. Get the Chinese name and the 18-character code
Ask for a copy of the business licence (营业执照). Every Chinese company has a Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码), an 18-character identifier made of digits and capital letters that stays the same for the life of the entity. Under the national standard GB 32100-2015 the code is built in five parts: the registering authority (1st character), the type of entity (2nd), the administrative area where it registered (3rd to 8th), the organisation code (9th to 17th) and a check character (18th). The letters I, O, Z, S and V are never used, so a code containing them is not genuine.
For a business registered with the market regulator, the first character is 9. The second tells you what it is: 1 for a company or other enterprise, 2 for an individual business (个体工商户), 3 for a farmers' cooperative. A supplier whose code starts 91 is an enterprise; 92 is an individual business.
An individual business is not a limited company. Its debts are borne by the individual who runs it, or by the family where it is a family business (Civil Code Art. 56). That can make recovery easier, not harder, but it means your counterparty is a person trading under a name, and you should know that before paying a large sum.
2. Check the registry record
Enter the code on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn). The site is in Chinese; a browser translation is enough to read it. Compare the result with the licence and the documents you have been sent:
- Name. The registered Chinese name must match the licence and the contract exactly. A near-identical name is a different company.
- Status. You want to see the company as in existence or operating (存续 / 在业). Deregistered (注销) or licence revoked (吊销) means it cannot trade.
- Lists. Check whether the company is on the abnormal-operations list (经营异常名录), for example because it cannot be reached at its registered address, or on the list of seriously illegal and dishonest enterprises (严重违法失信名单).
- Date of establishment and changes. A company set up a few months ago that claims 20 years of manufacturing history, or one that has recently changed its legal representative, address or shareholders, deserves more questions.
- Business scope. A scope limited to sales and trading suggests a trading company rather than a factory. Trading companies are legitimate, but you should know which you are buying from.
- Registered capital and shareholders. Under the 2024 Company Law subscribed capital must be paid in within five years; see the five-year rule. A large subscribed figure is not money in the bank.
3. Check the court records
Search the company's Chinese name on China Enforcement Information Disclosure (zxgk.court.gov.cn), which shows whether it is a judgment debtor in enforcement proceedings, on the list of dishonest judgment debtors, or subject to spending restrictions. Then search China Judgments Online (wenshu.court.gov.cn) for published judgments. One old dispute is normal for a trading business. Several recent cases brought by buyers over non-delivery or refunds are the clearest warning the public record can give.
4. Check the customs record, not an "export licence"
China used to require every importer and exporter to register as a foreign-trade operator. That requirement was deleted from the Foreign Trade Law on 30 December 2022, and local commerce departments stopped processing the registrations the same day. A supplier does not need a separate export licence for ordinary goods, so a document presented as one proves little.
What remains is customs registration. A business that declares its own imports and exports registers with customs as a consignor or consignee (Customs Order No. 253, in force 1 January 2022). The China Customs Enterprise Import and Export Credit Information Publicity Platform (credit.customs.gov.cn) shows a company's customs registration, its credit rating and any administrative penalties. No record does not mean fraud: many small factories export through an agent. It does mean that a supplier claiming to export directly should explain why it is not there.
5. Check who will receive the money
This is the check that matters most. The account holder named on your pro forma invoice must be the same registered Chinese company you checked on the registry. Be cautious if:
- the account is held by an individual, such as the owner or a salesperson;
- the account is held by a different company, including a Hong Kong or offshore company said to be "our export arm";
- the bank details arrive or change by email, especially close to the payment date.
A payment to the supplier's own company account gives you a clear claim against that company. A payment to anyone else makes recovery harder and may mean you are dealing with an impostor. If the bank details change, confirm them by a phone call to a number you already had, not one given in the same email. The risks of paying a third-party or personal account deserve their own treatment; if it has already happened, see what to do in the first seven days.
6. Make the contract match the registry
A verified supplier is only useful if the contract binds that entity. Before signing:
- Name the supplier by its registered Chinese name and code, not only its English trading name.
- Have the contract sealed with the company chop showing the same registered name. In China the chop, not a signature, is what binds a company; see company chops in China.
- Write the receiving bank account into the contract, and provide that any change is valid only by sealed written notice confirmed by phone.
- Agree where disputes will be decided. See choosing an arbitration clause and how to sue a Chinese supplier.
7. What the registry cannot tell you
A clean record shows that the company exists, is operating and has not been sued by many people. It does not show whether the factory can make your product, whether the person you talk to on WhatsApp works there, or whether the goods will meet specification. For those, use a factory visit or a video walk-through, an independent pre-shipment inspection, a trial order, and payment terms that keep part of the price back until you have evidence of shipment. If the order is large, a legal due diligence report adds what the free databases leave out, such as pledged equity, related companies and litigation under earlier names.
When checking is not enough
Verification lowers the risk; it does not remove it. A real, operating company with a clean record can still fail to deliver. If that happens, the checks you made are not wasted: they give you the correct defendant, the evidence of who received the money, and an early view of whether the company has assets worth pursuing. See how to recover money from a Chinese supplier.
When to bring in a China lawyer
Bring in a China lawyer before paying if the order is large, the account holder differs from the registered supplier, or the registry and court records raise questions you cannot answer from the supplier's replies. If something has already gone wrong, our China supplier disputes page explains how we act for foreign buyers.
Frequently asked questions
Ask for its business licence and enter the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn). The registered Chinese name, status and details must match the licence and your contract. Then check that the bank account you are asked to pay is held in exactly that name.
It is the 18-character identifier every Chinese company and many other organisations receive on registration. Under the national standard GB 32100-2015 it encodes the registering authority, the type of entity, the area of registration and an organisation code, and ends with a check character. A code starting 91 belongs to an enterprise; 92 to an individual business.
It carries more risk. A payment to the supplier’s own registered company account gives you a clear claim against that company. A payment to an individual or another company makes recovery harder and is a common feature of payment fraud. Ask for the reason in writing, and confirm any change of bank details by phone before paying.
Not for ordinary goods. Foreign-trade operator registration was abolished with effect from 30 December 2022. A business that declares its own exports registers with customs, and that registration can be checked on credit.customs.gov.cn. Some goods still need specific licences, but a general “export licence” proves little.
Not reliably. Chinese companies are registered under their Chinese names, and the official registry searches by Chinese name or credit code. Ask the supplier for its Chinese name and code at the start; a supplier that will not provide them is a reason to stop.
Sources
- GB 32100-2015 Coding rules for the unified social credit code for legal entities and other organizations — National Organization Code Data Service Center (Chinese).
- NPC Standing Committee decision amending the Foreign Trade Law (30 December 2022), deleting foreign-trade operator registration (Chinese).
- Sichuan Department of Commerce — explanation of the abolition of foreign-trade operator registration (Chinese).
- Provisions on the Administration of Customs Declaration Entity Registration (General Administration of Customs Order No. 253, in force 1 January 2022) (Chinese).
- National Database of Laws and Regulations — PRC Civil Code Art. 56 (Chinese).
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System · China Enforcement Information Disclosure · China Judgments Online · China Customs Enterprise Credit Information Publicity Platform.
- Internal: deposit or advance payment · supplier stopped replying · paid but no goods arrived · China supplier disputes
This article is general information for foreign companies, not legal advice on any specific matter. Rules and practice change; please take advice on your facts.
