The key fields
A Chinese business licence (营业执照) shows the company name in Chinese, the Unified Social Credit Code, the legal representative, the registered capital, the date of establishment, the business scope and the registered address. The English name a supplier uses online is often not on the licence at all.
- Company name (in Chinese).
- Unified Social Credit Code (18 characters).
- Legal representative.
- Registered capital and date of establishment.
- Business scope and registered address.
Is it really a manufacturer?
Look at the business scope. A manufacturer lists production (生产) or manufacturing of specific products. A company whose scope is only sales (销售) or trade is a trading company, whatever its website says.
Check it officially
The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn) lets you search by name or credit code and see whether the company is active, its registered details and any abnormal operation records. The page is in Chinese, which is where an agent helps.
Match it to the money
Finally, the company receiving your payment should be the company on the licence. A request to pay a different company, or a personal account, is a reason to stop and verify before any money moves.
Registered capital: useful, but read it carefully
Registered capital shows how much the shareholders committed, not how much money the company has today. Very low capital can be a warning sign for a supposedly large manufacturer, while high capital alone proves nothing about quality or reliability.
Other documents worth asking for
Depending on the product, ask for export registration, relevant product certificates and recent test reports. Check that the company names on these documents match the licence. Mismatched names are one of the most common signs that you are dealing with an intermediary.
