You should verify a Chinese factory before sending the deposit, not after the supplier goes quiet. Most problems with Chinese suppliers aren't fraud but mismatched expectations: the “factory” is a trading company, the “manufacturer” lacks the right equipment, or the bank details belong to a stranger. All of it shows up in advance if you spend a day on checks. No time or no Chinese? Hand this part to a sourcing agent: ChinaGoGlobal does factory verification in China with a photo and video report.
Why verify a factory before you transfer money
Prepayment is the norm in China: factories usually ask for 30% on order and the balance before shipment; 1688 sellers want full payment up front. Getting money back from a Chinese account is hard — any dispute runs under Chinese law, in Chinese. For a buyer in Kazakhstan or Russia a tenge or ruble transfer into yuan also needs bank paperwork and can't be recalled once sent. What usually surfaces too late:
- A middleman, not a factory. It resells another plant's goods and controls neither lead times nor quality.
- A factory that doesn't make your product. Hundreds of items on the website, two or three made in-house.
- A brand-new company. A polished website and an Alibaba showroom take a week to set up.
- Money sent elsewhere. Bank details swapped in the email thread, payment landing in a stranger's account.
Step 1. The business license
Every legal company in China has a business license (营业执照). Ask for a photo or scan — a refusal is a warning sign in itself. The fields that matter:
| Field | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| 名称 — name | Official Chinese company name | Must match the contract, invoice and bank details; the English name on the site isn't official |
| 统一社会信用代码 — unified code | 18-digit code, like a tax ID | The registry search key. A typo or “not found” means stop |
| 法定代表人 — legal representative | Person responsible for the company | Compare with who signs the contract; look up their other companies |
| 注册资本 — registered capital | Declared capital | Usually subscribed, not paid in — a big number guarantees nothing |
| 成立日期 — registration date | When the company was founded | Under a year old with “15 years of experience” needs explaining |
| 经营范围 — business scope | What the company may do | A factory lists 生产 (production) or 制造 (manufacturing), not only 销售 (sales) and 贸易 (trading) |
| 住所 — address | Registered address | Compare with where you're invited and what's on video |
A photo of the license proves nothing
A license is easy to edit, and someone else's can be downloaded. On its own it only proves that such a company exists; what matters is matching it against the registry and against whoever you're paying.
Factory or trading company
The name and scope usually show who you're dealing with. Manufacturers often carry 制造 (manufacturing), 实业 (industrial) or 厂 (factory) in the name, with production first in the scope; trading companies carry 贸易 (trading), 进出口 (import-export), 商贸 or 科技 (technology), with sales and export. Many factories legitimately run a separate trading company for exports — what matters is knowing who actually makes the product and verifying that plant. More in how to find a supplier in China.
Step 2. How to verify a Chinese factory through public registries
Most data on Chinese companies is public and free. The catch is language: browser translation is fine for reading, but the company name must be typed in characters exactly as on the license. The main sources:
| Source | What's there | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| 国家企业信用信息公示系统 (gsxt.gov.cn) | State registry: status, code, representative, capital, scope, penalties, changes | Free. Search by the 18-digit code or exact Chinese name |
| 企查查 (Qichacha), 天眼查 (Tianyancha) | Aggregators: the same plus owners, lawsuits, patents, related companies, insured staff | Basics free, detailed reports by subscription |
| 中国裁判文书网 (wenshu.court.gov.cn) | Court judgments | Search by company name: disputes with other buyers show up here |
| 信用中国 (creditchina.gov.cn) | Dishonest debtor lists, administrative penalties | If the company is blacklisted, walk away |
| Profile on 1688 / Alibaba | Years on the platform, paid statuses (诚信通, Verified Supplier), reviews | A supplement only — it doesn't replace the registry |
What to look for in the record:
- Status — 存续 (active). 注销 (deregistered) or 吊销 (revoked) means the company legally no longer exists.
- Penalties and lawsuits. One dispute in ten years is normal; a string of buyer lawsuits in the past year is not.
- Insured employees (参保人数). A “300-person factory” with three insured staff most likely has no production of its own.
Also ask whether the company exports itself; many small factories ship abroad only through a trader or an agent. If you'd rather skip that, product buyout through ChinaGoGlobal covers paying the supplier in yuan and receiving the batch at the nearest ChinaGoGlobal warehouse; a manager helps with export paperwork.
Step 3. Video tour and samples
A video call from the factory floor
The registry proves the company exists; a live video call proves the production does. Ask for a WeChat call with a walk through the workshop, not a pre-recorded clip. On the call:
- Ask to see the sign and entrance. The name on the building must match the license.
- Ask to see the line your product will run on and the product itself in the finished goods store.
- Ask technical questions — materials, equipment, daily output, lead time. A trader's manager goes off “to check”; a factory engineer answers at once.
- Look at the packaging. Boxes on the floor show the company name and often its clients' brands.
Samples
A sample shows what the factory can do, not what you'll get in the batch. To make it useful:
- Pay for the sample. Factories charge for the sample and shipping and credit it against the order; free samples often come from someone else's leftovers.
- Put the spec in writing — material, dimensions, weight, Pantone color, packaging — or the sample is “wrong” with nothing to prove it against.
- Ask for production-grade material, not a hand-built piece, and ask directly whether the batch will be identical.
- Keep the approved sample (the golden sample) — the batch is compared against it during quality control before shipment.
A sample for Kaspi, Wildberries or Ozon
For a marketplace seller a sample also lets you check packaging, labeling and listing photos in advance. Samples from several factories can be gathered at one of ChinaGoGlobal's warehouses in China and sent as one parcel: air from 2 kg takes 2–3 days from dispatch.
Step 4. On-site audit and its report
An audit is a plant visit by someone on your side — a sourcing agent's staff, an independent inspector or you. It pays off when:
- the deposit is big enough to hurt if lost;
- you plan a long-term relationship — say, a private label product;
- the product is complex or regulated — electronics, children's goods, cosmetics;
- the supplier came from a trade show or Alibaba and you haven't bought from them yet.
What an audit report contains
A good report is a structured document with photos, not “the factory is fine”. Its usual sections:
| Section | What is checked | What you see in the report |
|---|---|---|
| Legal data | License, code, address, registry match | Photo of the original license, field check |
| Production | Workshops, equipment, lines, condition and load | Photos and video, equipment list, capacity estimate |
| Staff | Headcount, shifts, engineers, QC team | Photos in working hours, stated figures vs. observation |
| Quality control | Incoming, in-line and final inspection, test equipment | Procedures, lab photos or a note that there is none |
| Certificates | ISO 9001, BSCI, product certificates | Photos of originals and numbers to verify |
| Warehouse and shipping | Raw material and finished goods storage, packaging | Photos, stock levels, whose orders await dispatch |
| Conclusion | Fit between factory and order | Risks, discrepancies, verdict: proceed, proceed with conditions or keep looking |
A ChinaGoGlobal audit works this way: a staff member visits the factory, shoots photos and video, checks the documents and sends a report showing whether to order there. Cost depends on region and scope — a manager quotes it on WhatsApp after seeing the task.
Common scams and how to spot them
Outright fraud is rarer than it seems, but it nearly always uses the same tricks:
- Swapped bank details. The factory's email gets hacked and the “manager” sends new details right before payment. Confirm details through a second channel — a call or WeChat — and never accept a change mid-deal.
- An account in a different name. Payment must go to the company on the license; a personal account or a Hong Kong firm with another name is a reason to stop and ask why. See how to pay a supplier in China.
- Borrowed license and photos. A real factory's documents and pictures used by someone else — reverse image search and a look at the sign on video expose them.
- A price well below market. If three factories quoted about the same and a fourth is a third cheaper, expect a different material or a lost deposit.
- Pressure and urgency. “Price valid only today”, “raw materials go up tomorrow” — a classic way to stop you finishing your checks.
- A switch at shipment. Perfect sample, bad batch. Inspect the finished batch before paying the balance and before it leaves the factory.
Checklist: how to check a Chinese supplier before paying
- Get the business license and match name, 18-digit code, representative and address against gsxt.gov.cn or Qichacha.
- Confirm the company is active, its scope includes production, and it has no blacklist entries or buyer lawsuits.
- Do a live video call from the plant and order a paid sample against a written spec.
- Check that the bank details are in the licensed company's name and confirm them through a second channel.
- For a large or long-term order, book an on-site audit with a photo report.
- Sign a contract or proforma invoice and pay in stages: deposit after the checks, balance after quality control.
Other common first-order mistakes are collected in mistakes when buying from China.
How to delegate verification to ChinaGoGlobal
No time, no Chinese, no one in Guangdong? Hand verification to an intermediary. ChinaGoGlobal works as a buying agent between you and the factory: it finds suppliers, checks them in the registries and visits the plant (our Chinese team member handles the negotiations with the factory), buys out the batch, receives it at one of its four warehouses in China — Foshan, Guangzhou, Yiwu or Khorgos — and ships by air, road, truck, rail or sea to Almaty, Astana, the rest of Kazakhstan, Russia and the CIS. Shipments have run continuously since 2024 for marketplace sellers, wholesalers and manufacturers. Message a manager on WhatsApp with the factory or product to check — they'll clarify the task and quote the price.