Stainless Steel 304 vs 316 from China: Difference, Grade Verification and Pricing
How 304 differs from 316, how to avoid being sold 201 as 304, and how to verify the batch composition — for wholesale importers buying by the container.
Market & casesStainless Steel 304 vs 316 from China: Difference, Grade Verification and PricingArkadii VakhnovskyiJuly 3, 2026 · 5 min readIf you import stainless steel 304 vs 316 from China by the container — for food equipment, chemical processing, marine and coastal structures, architecture, or metal fabrication — the real question is not "which grade do I pick" but "will I actually receive the grade I paid for". This is for wholesale B2B buyers (from 5 tonnes / one 20-foot container), not retail. Short answer: the difference between 304 and 316 is molybdenum, and the biggest risk on the Chinese market is grade substitution. Below is how to choose the right steel and how to control it.304 vs 316: the real differenceBoth are austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel, but they behave very differently in aggressive environments.304 (18/8) — roughly 18% chromium, 8% nickel. The general-purpose workhorse: food equipment, kitchens, tanks, decorative parts, indoor structures.316 — the same base plus 2–3% molybdenum. That molybdenum is what delivers resistance to chlorides and pitting (localized) corrosion. It is the "marine" grade: coastlines, salt water, chemical plants, pharma, swimming pools.The key difference in one sentence: if the part contacts chlorides, salt, sea air, or aggressive chemicals, you need 316; for everything else 304 is usually enough, and it is noticeably cheaper.304L, 316L, and why 201 is a trap304L / 316L — low-carbon versions ("L" = low carbon). They matter when parts are welded: low carbon prevents intergranular corrosion in the weld zone. For welded marine or chemical equipment, specify 316L, not plain 316.201 — a manganese stainless steel. Part of the nickel is replaced by manganese and nitrogen, so it is significantly cheaper, slightly magnetic, and looks almost identical to 304 — but its corrosion resistance is lower. 201 has legitimate uses (decorative and household items in dry environments); the problem is that it is often sold as 304.For customs, stainless flat-rolled product typically falls under HS headings 7219 / 7220 (hot-rolled and cold-rolled sheet/strip of corrosion-resistant steel, of width ≥600 mm and