Free tool · Supplier checks
Payment Self-Check: 11 Questions Before You Pay a Chinese Supplier
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Eleven questions, about three minutes. You get a list of the points to fix before you pay. Where a page explains a point, there is a link to it.
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Get the registered Chinese name. An English trading name is not a legal name. A contract, a claim and any enforcement all run against the registered Chinese company. See how to find the Chinese company behind an English name.
Check the registration number. Names can look alike. The unified social credit code identifies one company. Match it with the business licence and the national register.
Find out why the account is in another name. If you pay a Hong Kong company, another company or a private person, it is harder to show who received your money. Get the reason in writing, and put it in the contract. See the Chinese company behind an English name.
Confirm the new bank details before you pay. Treat changed details as a warning sign. Check them through a channel you already trust, such as a phone number you have used before. Keep the message that told you about the change.
Make the names match. The contract, the invoice and the chop should all show the same company. If the chop shows a different name, it is unclear who you are contracting with.
Find out who makes the goods. A trading company is fine if you know it is one. Its registered business scope, the list of activities on its business licence, is a good first clue.
Check court and enforcement records. Search by the registration number. Look for enforcement cases and the list of dishonest judgment debtors.
Keep part of the price until inspection. If you pay everything before you see the goods and they turn out wrong, you have little left to press the supplier with. Think about paying the rest after inspection, or paying a smaller deposit. See deposit or prepayment.
Write down how quality is checked. Say how the goods are inspected and how long you have to report a defect. If the period is short or missing, you can lose the claim.
Sign a non-use agreement before you share designs. An NNN agreement covers non-disclosure, non-use and non-circumvention. The last one stops the supplier going around you to your customers. Sign it with the company that will hold your files. See China NNN agreements.
Choose where disputes go. Name a court or an arbitration institution, and name the supplier's registered Chinese company. The choice affects how fast you can freeze the supplier's assets.
Where I can help
Company identity check, USD 250. It confirms the registered Chinese company, its registration number and its status before you pay.
Contract and payment check, USD 650. For one transaction, it compares the company in the contract, the company on the invoice and the company you pay. You get an action list.
Supplier legal due diligence, from USD 1,200. Wider legal checks on the supplier, including court and enforcement records.
Send me the supplier's name and an outline of the order. I'll tell you where you stand and what your options are. Send me the details → Or see supplier checks and what each one covers.
This self-check is general information on dealing with Chinese suppliers. It is not legal advice on any transaction. A clean result is not a guarantee.