How to Find a Verified Supplier or Factory in China and Confirm It Is Genuine

Sourcing· 18.06.2026· 4 min read How to Find a Verified Supplier or Factory in China and Confirm It Is Genuine The short answer To verify a Chinese supplier, request the business licence and check its 18-digit unified social credit code and business scope, distinguish a factory from a trading company through production capability and system certificates, confirm export history, and commission a factory audit plus an approved reference sample before wiring any deposit. This article is for buyers who already have a candidate Chinese supplier and need to answer three questions: is this a real company, is it a factory or an intermediary, and what must be checked before the first payment leaves the bank? Verification is an ordered procedure that usually takes days, and it costs far less than a single bad order. How do I tell a factory from a trading company? An intermediary is not automatically a bad choice; good trading companies are genuinely useful for small, mixed orders. The problem is paying a factory price for an agent's service, or not knowing who actually makes your goods. Practical signals: Product range: a factory specialises in one product family; a supplier who offers everything is usually a trader. Business licence: the business scope states manufacturing or production, not only wholesale trade. System certificates: an ISO 9001 certificate or customer audit reports issued in the name of the factory site itself. Technical questioning: ask about tolerances, line speed and scrap rate. A factory answers immediately; a trader promises to come back to you. A live video call from inside the workshop, not a recorded clip or catalogue photos. Which documents should I request to verify a Chinese company? The Chinese business licence, showing the 18-digit unified social credit code, the Chinese legal name, the legal representative, registered capital, establishment date and business scope. Export registration or evidence that the company can export in its own name. Many small factories export through an agent, which is fine when disclosed. Product certificates relevant to your market, with test reports from a recognised laboratory rather than untraceable self-declarations. Bank account details in exactly the same company name that appears on the licence and the Proforma Invoice. Customer references in markets similar to yours, ideally with Gulf export experience. The Chinese name on the business licence is the only legal identity that counts. The English name on a website or business card may be an unregistered trading name. How do I check that the business licence is real? Chinese company registrations are held in a public disclosure system run by the regulator, searchable by the Chinese company name or the unified social credit code. Four things must match: the company status is active rather than revoked, the business scope covers what you are buying, the registration age is consistent with what the supplier claims, and the bank account name matches the legal name. Any discrepancy on those four points deserves a direct question before you go further. What red flags should stop a deal? A price far below market with no convincing technical explanation in materials or process. Insistence on paying a personal account, an account in a different company name, or a sudden change of bank details. Refusal to take a video call from inside the plant, or to allow a visit or third-party audit. Refusal to accept any pre-shipment inspection clause in the contract. Product photos lifted from other websites, or certificates supplied as images with no verifiable certificate number. Artificial time pressure: the price expires today, or this is the last space in the container. A licence address in a city with no connection to the industrial cluster the supplier claims to belong to. What levels of verification exist, and when should each be used? LevelWhat it coversWhen it fits Desk verificationBusiness licence, public registry check, bank name match, certificate reviewAlways, before any serious quotation Technical verificationVideo call from the workshop, detailed production questions, reference sampleBefore shortlisting a supplier On-site factory auditSite visit, production line, capacity, quality system, working conditionsBefore a first large order or a long-term relationship During-production inspectionCheck once a share of output is complete, to catch errors earlyCustomised orders and complex products Pre-shipment inspectionSampling inspection under AQL in ISO 2859-1Effectively every shipment What does a factory audit actually cover? A good on-site audit does more than take photographs. The auditor confirms the address matches the business licence, counts machines and workers, measures monthly capacity against what the supplier promised, reviews quality records and how returns are handled, asks which processes are subcontracted to other plants, and documents warehouse and packing conditions. The output is a report telling you whether the factory can actually deliver your order, which is a very different question from whether the company exists. What is the final practical test before a large order? Order a paid sample and judge specification accuracy, not just apparent quality. Run one small order through the full cycle: production, inspection, shipping, documents. Watch how the supplier behaves when something goes wrong; handling of a small defect predicts behaviour in a large dispute. Run two suppliers in parallel on early orders before committing to one. Practical takeaway Verifying a Chinese supplier has three layers: documents that prove legal existence, technical checks that prove production capability, and an on-site audit that proves reality. Do not rely on one layer alone, and never wire a significant sum to a counterparty verified only on paper. Having a team inside China shortens this cycle considerably, which is what ALSHUMUL provides from Guangzhou through company verification, factory audits and order follow-up through to shipment. Share this article WhatsApp Facebook X TikTok Instagram Copy link All questions → All services → Back to the blog → Frequently asked questions on this topic The questions most often asked before importing from China: costs, factories, quality, shipping and payment. All questions → Are verified suppliers on B2B platforms automatically safe? – No. A verification badge usually means a third party confirmed the company exists and checked some records. That is useful, but it measures neither production quality nor delivery reliability nor financial health. Treat platform verification as a first filter that removes obvious fraudsters, then add your own document checks, technical questioning and an on-site audit before placing large orders. How do factories and trading companies differ on price and service? + A factory is usually cheaper at volume and controls technical detail, but imposes a higher minimum order and can be weaker on communication and export paperwork. A capable trading company consolidates multiple products into one shipment and handles documents well, for an added margin. The real criterion is not the label but transparency: whoever tells you clearly who makes your goods and allows inspection is the better partner. How much does a factory audit in China cost? + Audits are normally priced per auditor man-day, plus travel if the plant is far from the main industrial hubs. A mid-sized factory usually needs one day; large plants or a social and environmental audit may need two. Figures vary by provider and region, but the cost stays very small next to the value of a first order that goes wrong. Can I work with a supplier without any site visit? + It is possible for small, low-risk orders, provided you complete full document verification, run a pre-shipment inspection, and use payment terms that protect the balance. As order value rises, or the product is customised or safety-regulated, a visit or a delegated audit becomes necessary. The practical alternative is appointing someone already in China to visit on your behalf and issue a photographic report. How do I confirm the bank account belongs to the supplier? + Require the account holder name to match the company name on the business licence and Proforma Invoice exactly. Refuse personal accounts, treat any sudden request to change bank details as suspect, and verify such requests by calling a number you already held, never a number given in the new message. Payment diversion fraud is one of the most common losses in international trade. Related articles Sourcing 19.09.2026 · 16 min read Canton Fair Autumn 2026 Guide: Dates, Phases, Registration and What to Know Before You Travel What visitors need for the 140th Canton Fair in Guangzhou: dates and products for the three phases, pre-registration and badge collection, getting there, on-site se… Read the article → Sourcing 18.09.2026 · 10 min read China Visa for the Canton Fair, Autumn 2026: Who Needs One and How to Apply A practical guide for overseas buyers: whether your nationality needs a visa to visit the Canton Fair in October 2026, how to generate the fair’s invitation letter,… Read the article → Sourcing 07.08.2026 · 5 min read Safe Payment Methods for Chinese Factories: T/T, Letters of Credit and Platform Escrow A practical comparison of payment options when importing from China: T/T bank transfers and deposit splits, letters of credit, documentary collection and platform e… Read the article →