How can I verify a Chinese supplier's business license and avoid scams?

Question

Accepted Answer

Direct Answer

Ask every supplier for their unified social credit code (an 18-digit number on the license) and verify it for free on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn. Cross-check four fields: the company name, the legal representative, the registered address, and the business scope, and confirm the entity is not on the abnormal-operation or serious-violation list. RND SOURCING runs this check on every supplier before a deposit is released, and treats any mismatch between the license, the registry, and the physical signboard as a scam signal.

Detailed Explanation: What the License Actually Proves

A Chinese business license is only as trustworthy as the registry behind it. The license shows an 18-digit unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码), the legal entity name, the legal representative (法定代表人), the registered address (注册地址), and the approved business scope (经营范围). None of that is proof on its own — anyone can edit a PDF.

The proof comes from matching the license against the official public registry, which is maintained by the State Administration for Market Regulation and is free for anyone to query. A legitimate supplier has nothing to hide and will give you the code without hesitation.

Unified social credit code 18 digits + letter; the single key to the national registry.
Legal representative Cross-check the named person against who you are actually dealing with.
Registered address Paste it into a map; an industrial-zone pin beats a virtual-office pin.
Business scope Must include what you are buying; 'sales only' means no factory.

A compliance officer reviewing a stack of supplier documents with a laptop and magnifier — License verification starts with the 18-digit code and the official registry.

Real-World Example: The Code That Belonged to Another Company

Case study — RND SOURCING compliance check, 2025

A European buyer received a polished license and a competitive quote for $42,000 of promotional goods. The supplier refused a video call and pushed hard for a fast deposit. RND SOURCING entered the 18-digit code into gsxt.gov.cn and found the entity was registered in a different province, listed as a dormant food-trading firm, and flagged on the abnormal-operation list (经营异常名录).

The code had been lifted from an unrelated company. RND SOURCING sourced an audited alternative and blocked the payment before any money left the buyer's account.

OutcomeThe buyer avoided a $42,000 advance-fee scam; the replacement supplier passed full license and on-site verification within 9 days.

Key Data: The Numbers Behind a License Check

Verification is cheap and fast — the cost is in skipping it. These are the figures RND SOURCING works to on every new supplier.

gsxt.gov.cnOfficial registryFree, public, maintained by SAMR

18Digits in the codeUnified social credit code length

4Fields to reconcileName, rep, address, scope

0 RMBCost to verifyNo fee on the official system

gsxt.gov.cn is the authoritative source; third-party sites such as Tianyancha, Qichacha, and Aiqicha are useful for a second pass but can lag the official record by days.

Extreme close-up of the 18-digit unified social credit code on a Chinese business license — The unified social credit code is the single key to gsxt.gov.cn.

Step-by-Step: Verify on gsxt.gov.cn

Run this in order; any failure is reason to pause.

1

Request the code

Ask for the 18-digit unified social credit code from the license, not just a company name.

2

Open gsxt.gov.cn

Enter the code (or the exact company name) in the search box; solve the captcha if prompted.

3

Match the four fields

Confirm company name, legal representative, registered address, and business scope all line up with what the supplier claims.

4

Check the blacklists

Read the abnormal-operation list and serious-violation list. Any entry is a red flag.

5

Print the report

Use the 'information print' button to save the Enterprise Credit Information Publicity Report as your audit trail.

Common Mistakes That Let Scams Through

These are the tells RND SOURCING sees most often in failed due diligence.

Trusting the PDF A license image proves nothing until it is matched against the live registry.
Checking the name only Scammers register look-alike names; the code and legal rep are what expose them.
Ignoring the blacklists An entity on the abnormal-operation list is a known compliance risk.
Paying before verification Once the deposit is sent, your leverage disappears; verify first, always.

A buyer noticing a red-flag discrepancy on a verification screen — A mismatch between the license and the registry is a scam signal, not a typo.

How RND SOURCING Protects You

With 20+ years on the ground in Yiwu, RND SOURCING treats license verification as the first gate, not an afterthought. We pull the code from gsxt.gov.cn, reconcile all four fields, screen the blacklists, and confirm the physical signboard matches the registry before you wire a cent.

If a supplier resists a code check or a video call, that resistance is itself the answer — and we move you to an audited alternative.

Ask RND SOURCING to verify your supplier

RND SOURCING — Yiwu, Zhejiang, China. Written by our compliance desk from first-hand supplier audits.