---
title: "How to Verify a Chinese Supplier: 7-Step Checklist"
url: https://eliteglobaltrade.co/how-to-verify-a-chinese-supplier
description: "How to verify a Chinese supplier in 7 steps: business licence checks, factory vs trader, bank account matching, certificates, samples and on-site audits."
lang: en
---

Resource

# How to Verify a Chinese Supplier: A 7-Step Checklist

Last updated: October 2026

To verify a Chinese supplier is real and reliable: verify the business licence and its unified social credit code, confirm whether the company is a factory or a trading company, check that the bank account name matches the licensed company, request samples, check certificates, and audit on site before paying a deposit. Never rely on platform badges alone.

## The 7-step supplier verification checklist

### 1. Business licence and unified social credit code

**What to check:** Ask for the business licence and check its 18-digit unified social credit code against China's official national enterprise registry. Confirm the company name, legal representative, registered capital and business scope match what the supplier told you.

**Red flag:** The supplier refuses to share the licence, or the registered business scope has nothing to do with your product.

### 2. Factory or trading company

**What to check:** Ask for the production address, an equipment list and photos of the factory floor taken today. A real factory can show its production lines on request; a trading company cannot.

**Red flag:** The “factory” address is a residential compound or office tower, or they cannot produce current photos of production.

### 3. Bank account name

**What to check:** The beneficiary name on the bank account must match the licensed company name exactly and be a corporate account — never a personal account.

**Red flag:** They ask you to pay a personal account or a third-party company with a different name.

### 4. Export capability

**What to check:** Confirm customs registration and export history. A supplier that exports regularly can provide references or export records for your market.

**Red flag:** No export record at all for a company claiming years of overseas business.

### 5. Certificates

**What to check:** Confirm certificates (ISO, CE, etc.) are valid and issued to this exact legal entity — not a parent, partner or unrelated company. Verify certificate numbers with the issuing body where possible.

**Red flag:** Certificates in another company's name, expired dates, or scans that hide the certificate holder.

### 6. Samples and a Golden Sample

**What to check:** Order production-representative samples before committing, and agree a signed Golden Sample before mass production so quality is measured against a physical reference.

**Red flag:** The supplier pushes to skip sampling and go straight to a deposit.

### 7. On-site audit or video audit

**What to check:** Audit the factory — on site or by live video call — before paying any deposit. Verify that the premises, equipment and workforce match the claims.

**Red flag:** They refuse an audit or video call, or repeatedly postpone it.

## Red flags that suggest a scam

- Prices far below the market rate for your product and specification
- Pressure to pay fast, with urgency or expiring “discounts”
- Requests to pay a personal bank account instead of a corporate one
- Refuses a video call, factory visit or independent audit
- The address on documents does not match the business licence
- No verifiable history — no export records, references or registry footprint

## What Elite Global Trade checks

Our supplier verification service (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/supplier-verification) covers business licence verification, production capability assessment, quality system audits, compliance checks and financial stability reviews, with audit reports that include photo evidence. We have audited more than 500 factories across China. For a full picture of scope and pricing, see our factory audit complete guide (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/china-factory-audit-complete-guide).

Once a supplier is verified, protect the order itself with a pre-shipment inspection to an agreed quality standard — see what AQL 2.5 means in pre-shipment inspection (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/aql-2-5-pre-shipment-inspection) — or contact our Hong Kong team (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/contact) to arrange verification for your supplier.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is Alibaba Verified enough?

No. Platform badges confirm a supplier passed the platform's own checks at a point in time — they are not independent verification. Use them as a first filter, then verify the business licence, bank account and factory yourself or through an independent party before paying any deposit.

### How can I tell a factory from a trading company?

Ask for the production address, an equipment list and same-day photos or a live video walk of the production floor. Check the business scope on the licence: manufacturers list production activities, while traders list only trading or wholesale. A real factory can show lines running your product category; a trader will deflect or show only a showroom.

### How much does verification cost?

It depends on depth: registry and document checks are the lowest-cost steps, while an on-site factory audit is the most thorough option. See our factory audit complete guide (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/china-factory-audit-complete-guide) for price ranges and what is included in an audit.

### Can I verify a supplier remotely?

Yes, partially. Licence registry checks, bank account name matching, certificate validation, sample orders and live video audits can all be done remotely. Remote checks reduce risk but cannot confirm actual production conditions, so we recommend an on-site audit before large deposits.

### What should I do before paying a deposit?

Complete the checklist: verify the licence and unified social credit code, confirm whether the company is a factory or trader, match the bank account name to the licensed company, validate certificates, approve samples or a Golden Sample, and audit the factory on site or by video. Only then pay — and pay the corporate account that matches the licence.

## Work with Elite Global Trade

HK-based China sourcing agent. AQL quality control, OEM manufacturing and DDP delivery to 50+ countries. Response in 24 hours.

Request Supplier Verification (https://eliteglobaltrade.co/contact)

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