25 Questions to Ask a Chinese Supplier (Red-Flag Framework + Free Scorecard)

25 Questions to Ask a Chinese Supplier (Red-Flag Framework + Free Scorecard)

Most importers lose money not because they asked too few questions, but because they asked the wrong ones. 'What is your MOQ?' and 'What is your best price?' tell you almost nothing about whether a supplier will ship the right goods, on time, without stealing your design. After two decades of sourcing from Yiwu and the Pearl River Delta, we have learned to triage suppliers with a 25-question red-flag framework that maps to five risk zones: Identity, Capability, Compliance, Commercial, and Partnership. Ask all 25 and you will hear the lies before they cost you.

Why Most Buyers Ask the Wrong Questions

A supplier can answer price and MOQ questions perfectly and still be a trading company pretending to be a factory, a reseller of someone else's certification, or a shell that disappears after your deposit. Generic question lists float around the internet, but they rarely force a supplier to reveal risk. The fix is to group questions by the type of risk they expose, then score the answers.

The 5-Zone Supplier Questionnaire

We split the 25 questions into five zones. A weak answer in any single zone is a yellow flag; two or more in the same zone is a red flag worth walking away from. Use the free scorecard at the end of this post to rate each answer 0-2.

Zone 1 — Identity & Legal Existence (Q1–Q5)

Before anything else, prove the company is real and matches who you are talking to. In China every registered entity has a unified social credit code issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR).

• Q1. What is your exact legal company name as registered with SAMR?
• Q2. Can you show your unified social credit code and business license?
• Q3. How long have you been registered, and at this address?
• Q4. Are you a manufacturer, trading company, or both — and which for this product?
• Q5. Do you own the factory, or sublet or lease the production line?

A genuine factory answers Q4 without hesitation and can name the production line it owns. A trader will hedge. Cross-check the social credit code on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn) — the registry is public and free.

Zone 2 — Production Capability (Q6–Q10)

Capacity claims are the easiest to inflate. Pressure-test them with specifics about your actual product, not their catalogue.

• Q6. What is your real monthly capacity for this exact item?
• Q7. How many workers are directly on this production line?
• Q8. Which production steps are outsourced, and to whom?
• Q9. Can you show a live video tour of the line producing my category?
• Q10. What quality system (ISO 9001, BSCI, etc.) do you operate, and is the certificate current?

Zone 3 — Compliance & Certifications (Q11–Q15)

For the US and EU, compliance is where shipments get seized and brands get sued. Verify the certificate matches the exact product, not a sister SKU.

• Q11. Which certifications does this exact product carry (CE, FCC, FDA, RoHS)?
• Q12. Can you provide the test report from an accredited third-party lab?
• Q13. What materials are used, and are they REACH / Prop 65 compliant?
• Q14. Have you exported to my destination market before — with proof?
• Q15. What is your recall and non-conformance history?

Zone 4 — Commercial Terms & Hidden Costs (Q16–Q20)

The headline price is the least important number. Hidden costs in tooling, mold ownership, and Incoterms routinely add 20-40% to a 'cheap' quote.

• Q16. What is the true FOB price, and what exactly is excluded?
• Q17. What are tooling, mold, and sample charges, and who owns the mold?
• Q18. What are your payment terms, and what is the deposit?
• Q19. What is your lead time, and how do you handle delays?
• Q20. What are the Incoterms, and who arranges freight and insurance?

Zone 5 — Partnership, IP & Exit (Q21–Q25)

This is the zone most buyers skip and later regret. If a supplier won't discuss IP protection and exit terms up front, assume they plan to use your design elsewhere.

• Q21. Will you sign an NNN agreement (non-disclosure, non-use, non-circumvention)?
• Q22. Do you sell to my competitors or my end market directly?
• Q23. Can you provide 3 references from buyers in my region?
• Q24. What is your policy if defects exceed the AQL limit at inspection?
• Q25. How do we exit — minimum notice, and what happens to my tooling?

Beyond Questions: The 3-Level Verification

Answers are claims. Verification is proof. Run these three levels in order; stop at any level that fails.

The 3-Quote Rule and Sample Discipline

Never negotiate with one supplier. Get three written quotes from three independently verified suppliers, then order blind samples from each before discussing price. A supplier who refuses a sample order, or who ships a 'sample' that differs from production, has told you everything you need to know.

NNN vs NDA — Why Your Western Contract Won't Travel

A US-style NDA is close to worthless against a Chinese supplier: it must be enforced in a US court with no jurisdiction in China, and translating it into Chinese weakens it further. The standard that Chinese courts recognize is the NNN agreement — Non-Disclosure, Non-Use, and Non-Circumvention — drafted bilingually and governed by Chinese law.

The Supplier Scorecard (Free Template)

Score each of the five zones 0-2 (0 = red flag, 1 = partial, 2 = clean). A supplier scoring below 8 overall, or below 1 in any single zone, should not receive a deposit.

Conclusion

The 25 questions are only as good as the verification behind them. Ask all five zones, run the 3-level check, insist on an NNN, and never wire a deposit to a supplier you have not physically or digitally verified. To build a vetted shortlist without the travel, contact RND Sourcing and we will run the audit from Yiwu.