Global buyer sequenceBefore payment and shipment
China supplier verification steps: before each payment
Start with the supplier name and code, then check authority, production, order evidence and payment instructions. The 14 checks below leave delivery unproven. Record unresolved questions and revisit affected checks before the next payment or shipment.
BUYER SEQUENCE / V1–V14
Start before the deposit; update at each release.
Start with the claimed company identity. Compare payment names before transferring money, and review shipment documents when they become available. Repeat affected checks when parties, instructions or goods change. A completed checklist does not guarantee delivery.
For V2, our checker returned a consistent check digit for 2,149 of 2,149 codes extracted from two official disclosure files in the 11 August 2026 test. This tests arithmetic on that sample, not company identity. Read the source files and method.
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V1 · STEP 01
Collect the legal identity
Ask for the current business licence and copy the registered Chinese name, the 18-character code and the registered address. Keep any English trading name as an alias, not as the identity.
What it proves. Fixes which legal entity the supplier is claiming to be, so every later check has one subject.
What it does not prove. A licence photo proves none of: that the company exists, that the licence is genuine, or that the person who sent it may act for that company. Read the detail
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V2 · STEP 02
Recalculate the check character
Check the code is 18 characters from the permitted set, then recompute the 18th from the first 17 under GB 32100-2015. This can detect typing errors before a lookup.
What it proves. The input satisfies the length, character-set and check-character rules. A fabricated code can also satisfy these rules.
What it does not prove. A code copied from another company's licence passes. Passing proves the string is well-formed, never that it belongs to this supplier or that the company is trading. Read the detail
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V3 · STEP 03
Match the registry record
Obtain a dated registry record — yourself or through someone China-side — and compare the Chinese name, code, status, address and business scope against what you were told.
What it proves. That the source consulted returned, on the stated query date, registration facts matching the identity you were given.
What it does not prove. Nothing about actual operations, capacity, who may act, or future performance. An empty result is not proof the company is unregistered. Read the detail
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V4 · STEP 04
Compare the business scope
Read the registered business-scope wording against what the supplier claims, especially a claim to be the factory. Trading-only wording cannot support a manufacturing claim.
What it proves. Whether the registered wording is consistent with the claim being made about this supplier.
What it does not prove. Manufacturing wording does not prove an owned plant, and scope wording says nothing about capacity for your specific order. Read the detail
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V5 · STEP 05
Review adverse records
Query current and historical abnormal-operation listings, administrative penalties and enforcement records. Read each one for reason, date, status and outcome.
What it proves. Which events the consulted source recorded publicly, and what each record says.
What it does not prove. An empty result is not a clean record, and a record is not proof of fraud. Neither exhausts debts nor establishes solvency. Read the detail
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V6 · STEP 06
Check who may sign
Identify who is signing for the company and in what role. Ask for the basis of their authority. Confirm it through a channel you chose. Do not use one they supplied.
What it proves. Builds an evidence chain of signer, claimed authority and independent confirmation.
What it does not prove. A name in a record does not prove that your contact is that person. A chop photo or job title alone cannot settle signing authority or contract validity. Read the detail
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V7 · STEP 07
Test the production claim
Establish who actually produces, where, with what process and capacity, and what is subcontracted. Commission a scoped on-site check where it matters.
What it proves. Within the evidence date and the scope checked, supports a judgement about capability for this order and about each party's role.
What it does not prove. Video does not prove site control, and a past audit does not guarantee a future batch. Read the detail
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V8 · STEP 08
Tie evidence to this order
Fix the specification and the sample baseline. Then verify each certificate or report with its issuer: who holds it, its status, its scope, and whether it covers your model, material and destination.
What it proves. What the documents actually cover, and what the sample and test results can support for this order.
What it does not prove. A management-system certificate does not establish product or batch conformity. Read the actual scope of each document and check unmet import requirements separately. Read the detail
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V9 · STEP 09
Reconcile the four names
Put the licence, the contract seller and signature block, the invoice issuer and the bank beneficiary side by side. Where a name differs, get documented evidence linking the entities and confirm it independently.
What it proves. Whether the four names agree, and what written relationship supports any difference.
What it does not prove. Matching names prove none of account ownership, chop authenticity, payment authority or that the money is safe. Read the detail
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V10 · STEP 10
Confirm any change to payment instructions
If bank details or payment instructions change at any point, pause. Confirm them through a contact channel you obtained independently of the change request. Never use the channel that carried it.
What it proves. Records who confirmed the changed instruction and which separately sourced channel was used. It does not establish that the channel was free from compromise.
What it does not prove. Confirmation does not prove the account belongs to the supplier, nor that the original instruction was ever safe. Read the detail
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V11 · STEP 11
Read the platform's own limits
Open the report behind the badge and the protection terms for this order: subject, date, scope, payment route and claim conditions. Save what you read.
What it proves. What the badge report assessed, and which protections the order terms actually list.
What it does not prove. A badge does not guarantee this order, does not assure a refund, and off-platform payment is generally not covered at all. Read the detail
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V13 · STEP 12
Screen the party against the lists that bind you
Identify the sanctions, export controls and forced-labour restrictions that apply to the goods, route and parties. Check relevant names, aliases and ownership using the appropriate official sources. Record each source, version, query date and possible match.
What it proves. Which possible matches the selected sources returned for the names checked on that date. A name match needs further identity and rule checks.
What it does not prove. A clear screen covers the name you entered and the list version you read. It says nothing about suppliers further up the chain, about entries added after your check, or about whether a shipment will be released. Read the detail
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V14 · STEP 13
Reconcile the exporter on the transport documents
Before payment, agree who will export and document any agency arrangement. As shipment documents become available, compare each named role with the contract seller. Keep the transport-document shipper separate from the exporter identified in the customs declaration.
What it proves. Which party each document names in which role, and what written arrangement explains a difference. A bill of lading alone does not identify the customs exporter.
What it does not prove. An agreed export agent is ordinary practice, not a warning sign. A matching exporter still proves nothing about who owns the goods, who receives the money, or whether the shipment exists. Read the detail
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V12 · STEP 14
Record the limits and the decision
Summarise sources, dates, unresolved items and what the whole sequence still cannot prove. Record who decided, and whether this order proceeds, pauses or escalates.
What it proves. The evidence the decision rested on, the limits carried forward, and who owns the next step.
What it does not prove. None of this constitutes supplier certification, a delivery guarantee, or any assurance of recovering money. Read the detail
LIMITS / SUMMARY
What the whole sequence still cannot prove.
| Step | Check | What it still does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| V1 | Collect the legal identity | A licence photo proves none of: that the company exists, that the licence is genuine, or that the person who sent it may act for that company. |
| V2 | Recalculate the check character | A code copied from another company's licence passes. Passing proves the string is well-formed, never that it belongs to this supplier or that the company is trading. |
| V3 | Match the registry record | Nothing about actual operations, capacity, who may act, or future performance. An empty result is not proof the company is unregistered. |
| V4 | Compare the business scope | Manufacturing wording does not prove an owned plant, and scope wording says nothing about capacity for your specific order. |
| V5 | Review adverse records | An empty result is not a clean record, and a record is not proof of fraud. Neither exhausts debts nor establishes solvency. |
| V6 | Check who may sign | A name in a record does not prove that your contact is that person. A chop photo or job title alone cannot settle signing authority or contract validity. |
| V7 | Test the production claim | Video does not prove site control, and a past audit does not guarantee a future batch. |
| V8 | Tie evidence to this order | A management-system certificate does not establish product or batch conformity. Read the actual scope of each document and check unmet import requirements separately. |
| V9 | Reconcile the four names | Matching names prove none of account ownership, chop authenticity, payment authority or that the money is safe. |
| V10 | Confirm any change to payment instructions | Confirmation does not prove the account belongs to the supplier, nor that the original instruction was ever safe. |
| V11 | Read the platform's own limits | A badge does not guarantee this order, does not assure a refund, and off-platform payment is generally not covered at all. |
| V13 | Screen the party against the lists that bind you | A clear screen covers the name you entered and the list version you read. It says nothing about suppliers further up the chain, about entries added after your check, or about whether a shipment will be released. |
| V14 | Reconcile the exporter on the transport documents | An agreed export agent is ordinary practice, not a warning sign. A matching exporter still proves nothing about who owns the goods, who receives the money, or whether the shipment exists. |
| V12 | Record the limits and the decision | None of this constitutes supplier certification, a delivery guarantee, or any assurance of recovering money. |
Running all fourteen produces a dated, reviewable record. It is not supplier certification, not a delivery guarantee, and not an assurance that money can be recovered. Buyers import under their own country’s rules, and this page is not legal or compliance advice. Currawong is the trading name of 济南深与国际贸易有限公司.
Common questions
Do I have to run all fourteen checks on every order?
No. Give each check the right subject and timing. Identity comes first (V1 to V3) because every later step needs one subject to attach to. Which of the remaining steps apply depends on what you are buying and how much is at stake. Record the checks you did not run, so the gap stays visible at the next release decision.
When should I repeat the sequence?
Start before the deposit and update at each release. A completed check carries the date it was run. It does not become a standing status: registry particulars change, and so do the parties on an order. If a payment instruction, a shipment or a named company changes, revisit the affected steps. Re-running the whole list is rarely necessary.
Where do the registry steps read from?
The identity and record steps read the national enterprise credit information publicity system at bt.gsxt.gov.cn. That portal states registered particulars as at the date queried. It does not state production capability, export authority, or who will receive your payment, which is why the later steps in this sequence exist at all.
How we checked
The check-digit test on this page ran on 11 August 2026 against 2,149 codes extracted from two official disclosure files. Our checker returned a consistent check digit for all 2,149. The test covers arithmetic on that sample and says nothing about company identity.
Starting a first order with this supplier? Begin at the company identity check: every later step needs one confirmed subject.
Already being asked for a deposit? The checks that matter before money moves are free to read.