A Practical 10-Point Checklist for Verifying Any Chinese Company

Use this list before signing any contract, sending any payment, or finalising any partnership with a Chinese company.

The checklist is tiered: not every transaction warrants the same depth of due diligence. A US$3,000 trial order doesn't need the same scrutiny as a US$200,000 distribution agreement.

Tier 1: Always do these (5 minutes each)

These five checks are the minimum for any meaningful business interaction with a Chinese supplier. Skipping any of them is a documented and recurring source of cross-border losses.

1. Obtain the legal Chinese name and Unified Social Credit Code

Either from the Business License or from a sealed contract. Refusal or stalling here is itself a red flag.

The legal Chinese name is the entry on the Business License labelled 名称. The USCC is the 18-character code at the top.

2. Verify the registration status on GSXT

Go to gsxt.gov.cn, search by Chinese name or USCC, and confirm the status shows 存续 (Existence).

Anything else — revocation, deregistration, suspension, liquidation, annulment — is a stop signal.

3. Confirm the Business License fields match the GSXT record

Pull both side by side and compare:

• Legal Chinese name (must match exactly)
• USCC (must match exactly)
• Legal representative
• Registered capital
• Business scope
• Date of incorporation
• Registered address

Any discrepancy means the Business License is fake, outdated, or belongs to a different company.

4. Check that the Business Scope covers the goods and includes import/export

For export transactions, all three elements must be present:

• The activity (manufacturing, trade, etc.)
• The goods category (your specific product type)
• The "import/export" wording

Missing any element is a stop signal — the supplier cannot legally complete export documentation.

5. Confirm the contract signatory is the Legal Representative or has a sealed power of attorney

The Legal Representative may sign without a power of attorney. Anyone else needs one. If the contract is signed by a "manager" without a sealed POA, the company can later disclaim the contract.

Tier 2: Do these for any meaningful transaction (US$10,000+)

The Tier 1 checks confirm legitimacy and authority. Tier 2 confirms creditworthiness and ongoing reliability.

6. Search the Legal Representative's name on the dishonest debtor list

A Legal Representative on China's dishonest debtor list (失信被执行人) is a strong signal to walk away. Their judgment-evasion history attaches to the company they represent.

Source: zxgk.court.gov.cn.

7. Search the company name on the dishonest debtor list

Same logic. A company on this list has formally been classified as a bad-faith debtor by Chinese courts. There is no commercial scenario where transacting with such a company makes sense.

8. Search the Supreme People's Court judgments database for the company

Source: wenshu.court.gov.cn.

Look for:

• Patterns of contract breach litigation as defendant.
• Product liability or quality dispute history.
• Outstanding judgment amounts.
• Cases concentrated in the last 1–2 years (recent trend matters more than old history).

A company with 30+ contract breach cases in three years has a pattern. A company with 1–2 minor disputes is normal — even successful businesses occasionally end up in court.

9. Verify the supplier's English name with the MOFCOM Foreign Trade Operator filing

Source: iecms.mofcom.gov.cn.

Search by Chinese name. Compare the declared English name in the MOFCOM filing against what the supplier uses with you. Mismatch is a red flag worth investigating.

Tier 3: Do these for partnerships, JVs, M&A, or large recurring orders (US$100,000+)

For commitments at this level, you need the full picture.

10. Run a full due diligence pull

This includes:

• Shareholders and beneficial ownership. Identify the natural persons or holding companies behind the supplier. For corporate shareholders, repeat the verification on those entities.
• Affiliated companies. Companies controlled by the same shareholders, often relevant for assessing total group exposure or for understanding payment routing structures.
• IP portfolio. Trademarks, patents, software copyrights, works copyrights. Used as a proxy for operational scale.
• ICP filings. Domain ownership and any related entities sharing filings.
• Court announcements. Pending matters not yet visible in the judgments database.
• Enforcement history. Outstanding execution orders, consumption restriction orders, equity freezes.
• Final cases. Cases where enforcement was suspended due to no recoverable assets — the strongest insolvency signal.
• Tax compliance. Abnormal operations marker and tax certificate validation.

This is the level of scrutiny appropriate for a long-term commitment to a Chinese counterparty.

This Tier 3 search is the data set ChinaCheck's Full Due Diligence Report returns in a single transaction.

A consolidated workflow

[Receive Business License from supplier]
                ↓
[Tier 1: 5 checks — registration, fields match, scope, signatory]
                ↓
       Pass?  ──No──→  Stop. Investigate or walk away.
                ↓
              Yes
                ↓
[Transaction value > $10K?] ──No──→ Proceed with confidence
                ↓
              Yes
                ↓
[Tier 2: 4 checks — dishonest debtor, judgments, MOFCOM]
                ↓
       Pass?  ──No──→  Stop. Document findings.
                ↓
              Yes
                ↓
[Transaction value > $100K, or JV/M&A?] ──No──→ Proceed
                ↓
              Yes
                ↓
[Tier 3: Full due diligence pull]
                ↓
       Pass?  ──No──→  Engage Chinese-licensed counsel
                ↓
              Yes
                ↓
       Sign contract with confidence

What "pass" looks like at each tier

Tier 1 pass: Registration status is "Existence". All Business License fields match GSXT. Business Scope covers the goods and includes import/export. Contract signatory is the registered Legal Representative.

Tier 2 pass: Neither company nor Legal Representative on dishonest debtor list. Judgments history shows no concerning pattern. MOFCOM English name matches what the supplier uses (or the discrepancy has a credible explanation).

Tier 3 pass: Shareholders identifiable and not themselves problematic. IP portfolio plausible for the operation claimed. ICP filings consistent. No active enforcement actions. No final cases. No tax compliance flags.

Time and cost estimates

The "manual time" estimates assume you read Chinese. Add multiplier for translation if you don't.

What this checklist doesn't cover

The checklist is the public-record layer of due diligence. It will not detect:

• Off-record commercial reputation (call references, do site visits for important orders).
• Quality of the actual goods (sample testing, third-party inspection).
• Operational capacity (factory tour, production audit).
• Cash flow stress not yet visible in court records (banking references, payment terms history).

For partnerships, M&A, or recurring large orders, the checklist is necessary but not sufficient. It's the foundation; site visits and operational diligence build on top.

What's next

You have the checklist. The remaining question is whether to do it yourself or use a service. We close with DIY vs. Verification Service.