How to import from China: a step-by-step guide for first-time buyers

GuidesHow to import from China: a step-by-step guide for first-time buyersDmitry MarkovMay 20, 2026 · 17 min read · Updated September 21, 2026Quick answerTo import from China, run the stages in order: write the spec, find the real manufacturer, verify it, approve a sample, sign a contract with a clear Incoterm and staged payment, follow production, inspect before paying the balance, choose the shipping mode, align the documents, clear customs at destination and check landed cost. A first order usually takes 14–28 weeks.This guide is for businesses placing their first commercial order from China: a container of building materials, a batch of solar modules, a few hundred tonnes of steel, a production line. It is not about parcels for personal use. Each stage gets a short explanation of what happens, what usually goes wrong and how long it takes, with links to the deeper guides where a stage needs an article of its own.It describes the process we run at Silk Way Sourcing from Jinan, Shandong. Since 2019 that has meant 3,500+ deliveries, 340+ verified suppliers and more than $10M in sourced volume, mostly steel and metals, solar and battery storage, and industrial equipment for buyers in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Africa and the Middle East. The sequence is the same for smaller and simpler goods; only the numbers change.A first order from China takes 14–28 weeks from spec to warehouseThe timeline below assumes a standard manufactured product with an existing design. Custom tooling, certification from scratch or a complete production line can double the sample and production stages. Some stages overlap — you can shortlist suppliers while the spec is being finalised — but verification, sample approval and the pre-shipment inspection are the stages people cut to save time, and they are the ones that cost the most when skipped.Typical duration of each stage for a first order (indicative ranges)StageTypical durationWhat stretches it1. Spec and request for quotation1–2 weeksUnclear standards, missing drawings2. Finding the manufacturer1–3 weeksNiche product, traders posing as factories3. Supplier verification1–2 weeksRemote location, public holidays4. Samples2–6 weeksCustom samples, international courier, revisions5. Contract, Incoterm, depositAbout 1 weekBank compliance checks on the first transfer6. Production4–8 weeks (equipment 8–16)Chinese New Year, raw-material shortages, full order books7. Pre-shipment inspection and balanceAbout 1 weekFailed inspection and re-work8. Transit1–8 weeks depending on mode and routePort congestion, rerouting, border queues9–10. Documents and customs clearanceA few days to 2 weeksWrong HS code, missing conformity documentsTotal, first orderAbout 14–28 weeksRepeat orders with the same factory often skip stages 2–4Spec, manufacturer and verification come before any money movesWrite a spec that a factory cannot misreadThe spec is the document every later dispute is settled against. It should state the material and grade, dimensions with tolerances, the standard the product must meet (EN, ASTM, GB, IEC), finish and colour references, packaging and marking, the certificates you need at destination and the target quantity. For galvanized steel that means grade, zinc coating mass, thickness tolerance and the type of mill certificate; for a solar module, cell technology, power class and the power tolerance. Our guide to the technical spec sheet for a Chinese factory covers the format line by line.What goes wrong in practice: the buyer sends a photo and a target price. Each factory quotes its cheapest interpretation, and three quotes that look comparable describe three different products.Find the manufacturer, not the trader in front of itMany suppliers visible on Alibaba, 1688 and at trade fairs are trading companies, or factories that outsource part of the job. A trader is not automatically a bad choice — for small mixed orders it can be the sensible one — but you need to know which you are dealing with, because it changes the price, the lead time and who answers for defects. The signs are set out in how to tell a factory from a trader.On the solar panel order for Poland, the supposed factory turned out to be a trading company; we found the actual manufacturer before any money moved. Shortlisting real producers, requesting quotes against one spec and comparing like with like is the core of our supplier search service.Verify the supplier before the deposit, not afterVerification is cheap compared with a lost deposit, and it only protects you if it happens before the first payment. The minimum checks:Business registration in China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn): company name, 18-character unified social credit code, legal representative, registered capital, business scope and date of establishment. The name must match the contract and the bank account.Manufacturing evidence: a production licence where the product requires one, and equipment that matches the claimed capacity.Certificates checked with the issuing body, not accepted as PDFs sent by the sales manager.An on-site visit or a live video audit of the line that will make your order, not the showroom.Export history for your product and, ideally, your destination market.A team member inspecting a roll-forming machine at the equipment factory behind a sandwich-panel line order for Kazakhstan.Our supplier verification service runs these checks plus the factory visit and reports what we found, including the parts that did not check out. For machinery, verification also means engineer-level questions about the spec itself: on a sandwich-panel line for Kazakhstan, those questions caught issues the client’s own RFQ had missed.Samples, contract, Incoterms and payment are one decisionApprove a sample and keep a sealed reference copyA sample proves the factory can make the product once. Approve it against the written spec, then keep a signed and sealed reference sample — the golden sample — both with you and at the factory, so the inspector has something physical to compare the batch with. This doesn’t apply to bulk commodities such as steel coil or wire rod: there, samples are replaced by mill certificates, a mill visit and a check of the actual stock, because nobody couriers a coil.Put the spec, the Incoterm and the payment terms in one contractThe contract should attach the spec and the sample reference and name the Incoterm, the delivery date, your right to inspect, penalties for delay and what happens if the inspection fails. Incoterms 2020, published by the International Chamber of Commerce, has 11 rules. They define where cost and risk pass from seller to buyer; they do not decide when ownership passes or when you pay.EXW puts export clearance on the buyer, which is awkward in China, where the exporter of record is normally the Chinese company.FOB and FCA suit importers who control their own freight. For containers, FCA fits better than FOB, because the seller hands the container over at the terminal, not over the ship’s rail.CFR / CIF let the factory book the vessel; CIF only obliges the seller to buy minimum insurance cover (Institute Cargo Clauses C).DAP is common for rail to Kazakhstan and Central Asia: the seller delivers to the named place, the buyer clears import.DDP means the seller pays duty and VAT in your country, which only works with a party that can legally act as importer there.Our Incoterms 2020 guide for China imports goes through each rule. On payment, the common structure is a 30% deposit by bank transfer and a 70% balance after a passed inspection and before the bill of lading is released. Letters of credit make sense on large orders where both banks handle them routinely. Pay only to a corporate account in the name that appears on the contract and in the registry.Pre-shipment inspection happens at 80–100% productionFollow production instead of waiting for itProduction of a standard product usually takes 4–8 weeks after the deposit, longer for equipment and anything custom. Ask for a production schedule and check it at fixed points: raw material in, first units off the line, packing. Delays are rarely announced in advance; they show up as vague answers two weeks before the ship date. Plan around Chinese New Year and the October Golden Week, when many factories stop or slow down for one to four weeks.Inspect before the balance is paidA pre-shipment inspection is done when at least 80% of the order is finished and packed, so the inspector sees the real batch, not the first good units. For consumer and packaged goods, sampling follows the AQL tables of ISO 2859-1, usually at general inspection level II with a limit set per defect class — for example 0 for critical, 2.5 for major and 4.0 for minor defects. Steel and bulk goods are checked differently: heat numbers against the mill certificate, dimensions, coating, coil weights, strapping and marking.A heat-number tag inside a wire rod coil, checked at the mill our team visited for a 1,000-tonne order to Kazakhstan.On the 1,000-tonne wire rod order for Kazakhstan, the team walked the coil yard and checked heat tags, strapping and coil weights before the balance was paid. The mechanics of this step are in factory inspection before the balance payment, and our quality inspection service is how we run it for clients.The balance payment is the last moment the factory has a commercial reason to fix anything. Inspect before it, never after.The shipping mode is decided by weight, value and deadlineFor commercial cargo the choice is between sea, rail, road and air. The transit times below are indicative port-to-port or terminal-to-terminal ranges as of September 2026; door-to-door adds pick-up, clearance and final delivery.Sea, FCL (full container): the lowest cost per tonne for anything that fills a box. China to Northern European ports takes roughly 30–50 days, depending on whether the service routes via Suez or around the Cape.Sea, LCL (shared container): for small loads, with extra handling and one to two more weeks for consolidation and deconsolidation.Rail: about 15–25 days to Poland and 1–3 weeks to Kazakhstan, depending on the border crossing and gauge change. The standard route for steel and equipment to Central Asia.Road: used into Central Asia and for the last leg to Ukraine from EU ports or rail terminals.Air: 3–10 days door-to-door, justified for samples, urgent spare parts and high-value, low-weight goods. Lithium batteries travel under dangerous-goods rules.Freight rates move weekly. As an indicative benchmark, Drewry’s World Container Index for 17 September 2026 put Shanghai–Rotterdam at about $3,600 per 40-ft container and the global composite at about $4,500. That is a market reference, not a quote: surcharges, inland legs and the forwarder’s margin come on top.A strapped and secured razor wire load inside a container, from an order our team shipped to Ukraine.Customs clearance depends on where the goods landDocuments must agree with each otherThe commercial invoice, packing list, transport document (bill of lading, rail waybill or air waybill), certificate of origin where required and conformity documents must match on description, quantity, weight and value. Customs delays typically start with a mismatch between them, or with an HS code the factory picked for its own export convenience. Classification is the importer’s legal responsibility, not the supplier’s, so agree the code with your broker before the invoice is issued.UkraineGoods from China pay import duty at the rate for their UKTZED code in the Customs Tariff of Ukraine — there is no free-trade agreement with China, so full rates apply — plus 20% import VAT on the customs value plus duty. Some Chinese goods also carry anti-dumping duties, so check before you sign. Many products need a Ukrainian declaration of conformity under the national technical regulations. Since 2022 most China–Ukraine cargo arrives through EU ports or by rail and road; Ukraine joined the Common Transit Convention in October 2022, which simplifies transit through the EU. Declarations are filed electronically with the State Customs Service of Ukraine, normally through a licensed broker such as our customs broker service in Ukraine.Kazakhstan and the EAEUKazakhstan applies the EAEU commodity nomenclature and Common Customs Tariff, so duty rates are the same as in the other Union members. Import VAT rose from 12% to 16% on 1 January 2026 under the new Tax Code. Most regulated goods need EAC conformity — a declaration or certificate under the EAEU technical regulations, entered in the registry — before release. Once cleared in Kazakhstan, goods circulate freely inside the Union. Steel and equipment usually travel by rail through the Dostyk–Alashankou or Altynkol–Khorgos crossings on DAP terms.EU and PolandThe importer needs an EORI number before the first shipment. Duty rates come from the EU TARIC database under the Union Customs Code; Poland’s standard VAT rate is 23%, and under certain conditions import VAT can be settled in the VAT return instead of being paid at the border. Many Chinese steel, aluminium and chemical products carry anti-dumping duties. Since 1 January 2026 the definitive CBAM regime applies to iron and steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers (as well as hydrogen and electricity): an importer bringing in more than 50 tonnes a year of steel, aluminium, cement or fertiliser goods needs the status of authorised CBAM declarant.Customs at destination: the main differences (September 2026)UkraineKazakhstan (EAEU)EU / PolandTariffCustoms Tariff of Ukraine (UKTZED)EAEU Common Customs TariffEU Common Customs Tariff (TARIC)Import VAT20%16% (since 1 January 2026)23% standard rate in PolandConformityDeclaration of conformity under Ukrainian technical regulationsEAC declaration or certificate in the registryCE marking and EU declaration of conformity where applicableWatch forAnti-dumping duties; transit through the EURegistry check of EAC documentsAnti-dumping duties; CBAM above 50 t a year; EORITypical route from ChinaSea to an EU port plus road, or rail and roadRail via Dostyk or KhorgosSea to Gdańsk, Hamburg or Rotterdam, or rail to MałaszewiczeLanded cost is the number to compare, not the factory priceTwo suppliers a few percent apart on price can swap places once freight, duty and inspection are added — for example when one quotes FOB Qingdao and the other ex-works from a plant 1,500 km inland. Landed cost per unit is the sum of:The goods at the agreed Incoterm, plus bank charges and currency conversionSourcing, verification and inspection feesInland freight in China and export clearance, if not includedInternational freight, surcharges and cargo insuranceImport duty, any anti-dumping or special duties, and import VAT (recoverable for VAT-registered businesses, but it ties up cash)Broker fees, port or terminal charges, storage and delivery to your warehouseCertification and testing required at destinationThe full formula is in our landed cost calculation guide. Calculate it before you sign the contract, then again with actual figures when the goods arrive.Who does what: buyer, factory, agent, forwarder, brokerMoney disappears in the gaps between responsibilities. A forwarder does not check quality, a factory does not know your customs rules, and a broker cannot fix a wrong invoice after the goods have arrived. The table shows the usual split when the buyer works with a sourcing agent.Typical division of responsibilities on a China importStageBuyerFactorySourcing agentForwarderCustoms brokerSpec and target priceOwns and approvesComments on feasibilityTurns it into a factory-readable RFQ—Advises on HS code and conformitySupplier search and verificationDecidesProvides documents and accessShortlists, audits, reports——Samples and contractApproves and signsMakes samples, signsChecks samples against spec, drafts terms——Production and inspectionAccepts the inspection result, pays the balanceProduces, packs, fixes defectsFollows the schedule, inspects——Freight and exportChooses Incoterm and modeExport clearance (from FCA/FOB upwards)Coordinates loading and documentsBooks space, moves cargo—Import clearancePays duty and VAT—Checks documents before shipmentHands over at destinationClassifies, declares, releases goodsCommon mistakes we seePaying the deposit before checking the company. The names in the registry, on the contract and on the bank account do not match, and nobody looked.Comparing quotes on different Incoterms. An EXW price and a CIF price are prices for different services.Approving a sample without a written spec. The batch then differs in ways nobody can prove are defects.Paying the balance on photos from the factory. The seller chooses which photos you see.Leaving the HS code to the supplier. A wrong code means the wrong duty, missing certificates and possible penalties at destination.Ignoring the Chinese calendar. An order confirmed in mid-December can lose a month to Chinese New Year.Counting only the factory price. Duty, VAT, anti-dumping duties and inland freight decide whether the deal makes money.When this sequence doesn’t apply in fullThe stages above are written for a commercial order from a new supplier. Parts of them change in these cases:Repeat orders from a supplier you have already audited can skip search, verification and most sampling; inspection still applies to every batch.Small trial orders worth a few thousand dollars: a full on-site audit can cost more than the risk. A registry check, a video call and a paid sample are often proportionate.Branded goods from an authorised distributor: verification shifts to confirming the distribution agreement, not the factory.Personal parcels and marketplace purchases follow postal and courier rules, not the commercial clearance described here.What this guide does NOT cover: sanctioned and dual-use goods, which need specialist legal advice; excise goods such as alcohol and tobacco; and food, medicines and cosmetics, where registration with the destination regulator comes before anything else.FAQCan I import from China without a registered company?For commercial volumes, in practice no. Customs clearance, import VAT recovery and conformity documents require a registered business in the destination country, and in the EU an EORI number. Individuals can import for personal use under postal and courier rules, which are not designed for resale.How much money do I need for a first import from China?It depends on the product and the minimum order quantity, not on a standard figure. Budget for the goods (typically 30% of which leaves as a deposit weeks before shipment), freight, duty, import VAT, inspection and certification. Import VAT alone is a fifth or more of the taxable value in Ukraine and Poland, and that cash is tied up until you reclaim it.Is Alibaba safe for a first order?Alibaba is a directory, not a guarantee. Its buyer-protection programme covers some disputes, but it does not tell you whether the seller is the manufacturer or whether the batch will match the sample. Treat a supplier found there like one found anywhere else: verify, sample, inspect.How long does shipping from China take?Indicatively, 30–50 days by sea to Northern Europe, about 15–25 days by rail to Poland, 1–3 weeks by rail to Kazakhstan and 3–10 days by air, before customs and final delivery. For a first order, production and sampling usually take longer than the transit itself.Do I need a sourcing agent to import from China?Not always. If you can visit factories, read Chinese registration data and organise inspections yourself, you can manage without one. An agent is worth paying for where you cannot be on the ground: finding the real manufacturer, verifying it and checking the goods before the balance leaves your account.Summary checklist1Written spec with standards, tolerances, packaging and the certificates needed at destination2Shortlist of confirmed manufacturers quoting against the same spec3Registry check on gsxt.gov.cn and an on-site or live video audit4Approved and sealed golden sample, or mill certificates and a stock check for bulk goods5Contract with the spec, Incoterm, delivery date, inspection right and penalties6Deposit paid only to the corporate account named in the contract7Production checkpoints and a schedule that allows for Chinese holidays8Pre-shipment inspection at 80–100% completion; balance paid only after it passes9Shipping mode chosen on weight, value and deadline; cargo insured10HS code, invoice, packing list, transport and conformity documents consistent11Broker briefed before arrival; landed cost recalculated with actual figuresIf you want the first half of this list handled on the ground in China — finding the real manufacturer and checking it before the deposit — start with our supplier search and supplier verification services.Written byDmitry MarkovHead of Operations & CTOHow we write and check our guidesKeep readingRelated articlesVerificationHow to verify a Chinese factory before you pay: the four-tier checklistDesk checks, document checks, on-site audit and pre-shipment inspection: what each proves, how to run it, and the red flags that should stop a payment.Arkadii Vakhnovskyi·May 6, 2026·19 min readRead articleLogisticsSea, air, rail or truck from China: how to choose the freight modeDoor-to-door transit times, indicative September 2026 rates, chargeable-weight maths and the cargo rules that decide between sea, rail, air and truck.Andy Wang·Apr 22, 2026·18 min readRead articleSourcing something from China?Put this into practice with a team on the ground in Jinan. 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