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The Chinese Puzzle. How to verify a Chinese supplier of industrial equipment: a checklist
Sergey Volkov, Head of the Commercial Department, international transport and logistics company Holding Finance Broker
Working with any supplier, especially in another country, involves many risks—for example, cases where a “large factory” turns out to be ordinary intermediaries in a small office. Drawing on many years of experience in the Chinese market, I have prepared a checklist to help assess the integrity of potential partners and avoid losses.
Look for a supplier on trusted resources or offline
Attend specialized industry fairs and forums, for example:
- Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair) — a national import–export exhibition held each spring and autumn in Guangzhou. One of China’s largest and most representative trade forums, with more than 24,000 exhibiting companies across a wide range of goods from electronics and furniture to household chemicals and gifts.
- China International Import Expo (CIIE) — a themed exhibition focused on imports, held annually in the autumn in Shanghai.
- China Hi-Tech Fair (CHTF) — a technology exhibition in Shenzhen held annually around mid-November. Themes include electronics, IT, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and green technologies. Distinguished by a large number of participants in startups and innovation.
- China International Industrial Fair (CIIF) — an international industrial fair in Shanghai held annually in early November at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC). Covers mechanical engineering, metalworking machine tools, automation, 3D printing, parts, tools, and more.
- CPHI China — the largest pharmaceutical forum in Shanghai (typically in June), covering APIs, biotechnology, and the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, suppliers in China can be found on online platforms:
Alibaba — the most popular platform with Russian-language localization, listing tens of thousands of companies. However, it has a serious drawback: for one real factory, there may be 20–30 intermediaries, and it is challenging to tell a reseller from a manufacturer. When concluding a deal through Alibaba, you are effectively signing a contract with the platform and paying for the order to its account details.
Made-in-China.com — a large B2B platform that connects buyers with Chinese suppliers. It lists more than 6 million Chinese suppliers. Compared with Alibaba, it is better suited to industrial companies. One advantage is a robust supplier verification system.
Gongchang.com — a B2B platform oriented toward manufacturers, especially in the industrial sphere. It offers a wide selection of industrial goods, including large machines and production equipment.
1688.com — a platform oriented toward the domestic market. Prices are usually lower than on Alibaba or Made-in-China, and you can order small batches, for example, 15–20 units. Notable features: most sellers do not speak English, and the interface is entirely in Chinese. Foreign customers, therefore, have to use translators and intermediaries.
GlobalSources.com — a multichannel B2B platform from Hong Kong featuring manufacturers only, without intermediaries. Unlike Alibaba or 1688, it targets large-volume wholesale only. Minimum order quantities often start at 500 units. Each factory undergoes on-site verification, which ensures the stated production capability.
WeChat — a Chinese messaging app with built-in mini-apps, online marketplaces, and thematic forums. Russian entrepreneurs living in China share vetted contacts there. The drawback is that it is almost impossible for a newcomer to access such chats: you need a recommendation and help from acquaintances who are already in them. The messenger has a function to translate messages from Chinese into Russian.
Baidu — China’s counterpart to Google. With the right keywords you can find factory contacts directly, without intermediaries. The search engine works in Chinese, but modern browsers can automatically translate pages. If you manage to reach a real manufacturer, switch to messengers right away, since email is scarcely used in China.
Make sure the company is actually a manufacturer
It is common for “suppliers” in China to be resellers who take orders and place them with a producer. A first sign of a reseller is a manager who pushes too hard to close the deal; large plants are heavily loaded and are mainly interested in large, high-value orders. Working through such an intermediary risks long delays and, at times, loss of money and goods.
You can verify a supplier in several ways:
- Study the Chinese market and determine where exactly your product is made. If generators are produced in a specific region but the prospective supplier is registered on the other side of the country, there is a high likelihood it is an intermediary.
- If the company is listed on 1688.com, check the “Business model” (经营模式). A genuine producer is marked “Manufacturer/Factory” (生产型); an intermediary is marked “Trading/Wholesale company” (经销批发).
- Additional indicators of real production include narrow specialization in a single product category and fast, precise answers to questions, including on technical details.
Verify the supplier’s reputation
Once you have confirmed you are dealing with a real manufacturer rather than a reseller, assess its reliability. You can do this through: