The most expensive sentence in China sourcing is “we already paid the deposit.” Wire transfers are difficult to reverse, and a factory that exists only on Alibaba is not a factory. Verification is not paranoia—it is the standard workflow of every experienced importer, and it costs little beyond diligence.
Here is the seven-step sequence we recommend before any money moves.
Step 1: Pull the Business License
Every legitimate Chinese company holds a business license (营业执照) with a unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码). Ask for a photo or scan, then check the registration on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn) or have your agent verify it. Confirm three things: the registered name matches the bank account name exactly, the registered capital is plausible for a manufacturer (not ¥10,000), and the business scope actually includes manufacturing—not only trading. A “factory” whose license says 贸易 (trading) is a trading company, whatever its website claims.
Step 2: Match the Bank Account
The payee name on the proforma invoice must be identical to the company name on the business license. Scammers routinely intercept email and send invoices with a different account—often a personal account in Hong Kong. Any mismatch, any request to pay a “sister company,” any personal account: stop and re-verify through a second channel (phone or video call to a number you found independently).
Step 3: Verify the Export Record
Real exporters leave traces. Ask for recent shipping documents with sensitive data redacted—bills of lading or customs declarations showing exports to your market. Cross-check the company on customs-data platforms or ask your freight forwarder to confirm the company ships regularly. A factory claiming ten years of exports but zero verifiable shipments is a flag.
Step 4: Run the Background Checks
- Litigation: Search the company on China Judgments Online (wenshu.court.gov.cn) and Qichacha/Tianyancha for lawsuits, especially as a defendant in contract disputes.
- Certifications: Verify claimed ISO 9001 or IATF 16949 certificates on the certification body’s own database (SGS, TÜV, Bureau Veritas all offer public verification). Certificate numbers that fail verification are automatic disqualifiers.
- Domain age: A “15-year-old factory” whose domain was registered last month has a story to explain.
Step 5: Audit the Factory (In Person or Remotely)
A factory audit answers questions documents cannot: Is there real production equipment or a rented showroom? How many lines actually run? What does the QC lab contain? Third-party firms such as SGS, Intertek, QIMA, or TÜV offer standard audits (based on ISO 9001 principles) at a few hundred dollars. For smaller budgets, a structured video audit with a live checklist is a meaningful fallback.
Step 6: Order Samples—and Test Them
Samples are cheap tuition. Order from two or three shortlisted factories simultaneously and, for technical products, send samples to a third-party lab for testing before placing a production order. Pay attention to how the sample process itself runs: communication speed, packaging quality, and whether the sample matches the promised specification are all previews of production behavior.
Step 7: Start Small
Structure the first order as a paid pilot: a size you can afford to lose, with third-party pre-shipment inspection (a few hundred dollars per container via AQL sampling under ISO 2859-1) as a release condition. Scale order volumes only after the first lot passes inspection and sells through.
The 10-Minute Version
Short on time? Do these three checks before anything else: verify the business license and bank-account name match, confirm at least one certification number with its issuing body, and book a factory audit or video walkthrough. These three alone filter out the large majority of fraudulent or misrepresented suppliers.
Want a verified starting point instead of cold outreach? Submit your RFQ and get matched with manufacturers that have already passed document-level verification—so your seven steps start from a shorter list.