How to Verify a Chinese Factory Before You Pay
1 resources tagged with "Factory Verification"
Verifying a Chinese factory means proving it's a real manufacturer — not a trading company or a shell — before any money moves. There are five practical levels, from a free business-license check on the national AIC registry, to a video walkthrough, to a paid on-site audit. The cheapest checks catch the most common scams: a mismatch between the registered company name on the bank account and the one on the quote is a hard stop.
The classic trap is wiring a deposit to a personal or third-party account that doesn't match the verified company name. We confirm the business license, registered capital, and scope, match the bank account to that legal entity, and only then treat the supplier as payable.
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FAQ
What's the cheapest way to verify a Chinese factory?
Pull the business license number and check it against China's national enterprise registry (国家企业信用信息公示系统) for free. Confirm the company exists, its business scope includes manufacturing your product, and the registered name matches the bank account on the quote.
How do I tell a factory from a trading company?
Check whether the business scope lists production (生产) versus only trade (贸易), ask for the production address and confirm it differs from a generic office, and request a live video of the line building your product type. Trading companies often can't show their own floor.
When is a paid on-site audit worth it?
For orders above roughly $10,000, or any product requiring certification or tight tolerances, a third-party audit (typically $300-600) is cheap insurance against a supplier that can't actually build to spec.
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