Most bad experiences buying from China share one pattern: the buyer committed money to a company they had never actually verified. Not because they were careless — because they didn’t know what to check, or how.

This guide lays out a four-level framework. You don’t always need all four. Match the depth of checking to the size of your commitment.

Level 1 — Basic Verification: Does the company exist?

Every registered Chinese company has a record with the market regulator. The minimum check is whether your supplier’s legal name exists, is currently registered, and matches the entity you’re talking to.

• Get the full legal Chinese company name — not just the English trading name. A factory called “Shenzhen X Hardware Co., Ltd.” has a legal name in Chinese characters; the English name is marketing, not identity.
• Check the registration record — status (active, revoked, deregistered), registered capital, business scope, and legal representative.
• Match the details — does the bank account name match the legal entity? Payments to a differently-named account are a classic red flag.

A company that fails this level is a hard stop. Everything else is irrelevant.

Level 2 — Business Verification: Who are you actually dealing with?

The company exists — but is the person emailing you actually from it? Is it a manufacturer or a trading company presenting itself as a factory? Does it export at all?

• Export experience — a company that has never exported will struggle with documentation, customs and payment terms, however good its products.
• Business scope consistency — a “manufacturer” whose registered business scope is wholesale trade is telling you something.
• Contact consistency — do the email domain, signature, address and phone numbers line up with the registered entity? Free email accounts plus urgent payment requests are a known fraud pattern.

Level 3 — Factory Verification: Can they actually make it?

Registration papers don’t produce goods. Before a production order, verify the physical reality: the factory exists at the stated address, and the equipment, lines and organization match what you’re buying.

• Factory address confirmation — many “factories” are offices, or belong to someone else.
• Equipment and production lines relevant to your product.
• Quality control processes — are there actual QC steps, or just a sign on the wall?
• Photo and video evidence — dated, specific, and ideally showing your product category in production.

Level 4 — Commercial Due Diligence: For commitments that really matter

For large orders, sole-supplier relationships or long-term agreements, go deeper: cross-check the supplier’s claims against independent sources, look for risk indicators, and review consistency between what they say and what records show.

The purpose of verification is not to find a perfect supplier — it’s to make a better-informed decision before money moves.

What verification can’t do

Be realistic: no verification guarantees future performance. Suppliers change, markets change, and a clean check today isn’t a warranty forever. What verification does is move you from “hoping” to “knowing” a specific set of facts — and surfaces the risks while you can still act on them.

Want this done for you? Charmmy runs all four levels — see our Supplier Verification service, or submit a request.