DOMAIN LOOKUPS
Do WHOIS lookups tell you anything about a Chinese supplier?
Use WHOIS or RDAP to read domain dates and available contact details. Hidden contacts or a failed lookup do not establish who runs the supplier website.
Field notesCN / WORLD
Understand your supplier’s records.
Choose the document or claim you need to check: a licence photo, company name, capital figure or factory address. Each guide explains what to compare and what still needs separate evidence. For a record lookup, start with the China company registry guide. For datasets and methods, see the research index.
- No “safe supplier” guarantees
- Sources and dates on every note
- Limits stated, not hidden
NOTES / 01
Published notes.
Choose a question below. For the underlying datasets, methods and limits, see the research index.
2026-08-09
LICENCE PHOTOS
What a licence photo can and cannot prove
Compare the name and code on the photo with a dated record. The image alone does not authenticate the document or its sender.
THE LICENCE ITSELF
What a Chinese business licence proves, field by field
Find the company name, code, address, status and capital fields. Learn what each field means before comparing it with your order documents.
FACTORY OR TRADER
Trading company or manufacturer in China: how do you tell?
Read the registered business scope, then seek evidence about the production site. A registration record alone does not prove who makes your order.
REGISTERED CAPITAL
China registered capital: why it is not a solvency signal
Separate subscribed capital, paid-in contributions and cash available for your order. Check the relevant dates before interpreting a capital change.
STATUS LINE
Revoked, deregistered, in business: reading the status line
存续, 在业, 吊销, 注销: what each state means for a buyer, and why revoked-but-not-deregistered is the one that catches people mid-deal.
SCOPE LINE
Why import and export is its own line in a Chinese business scope
Read import-export wording in its dated context. The scope line alone does not establish current export eligibility or identify the exporter for your order.
CONTRACTING IDENTITY
China supplier legal representative vs contract signatory: what to record before you contract
How to keep a public legal-representative field, a deal signatory and supplier-provided role statements as separate dated evidence records—without deciding signing authority or contract validity.
ENTITY HISTORY
China supplier change-record check: how to read dated company changes
How to keep an official company change, the current record and deal documents as dated evidence lines—without treating a change as proof of fraud or supplier risk.
ENTITY IDENTITY
China supplier legal-name check: English sales name vs Chinese legal entity
How to preserve an English sales label, Chinese legal entity, Unified Social Credit Code and deal documents as four dated evidence lines—without converting a match into a safety verdict.
SOURCING RISK
China supplier registered address vs factory site: what to check
How to keep an official registered address and a claimed production site as two dated evidence questions—without calling an address difference proof of fraud or proof of a factory.
PUBLIC RECORDS
China supplier annual reports, abnormal lists and penalties
How three China-side public-record categories become dated questions, not a composite judgement about a supplier, factory or transaction.
FACTORY SHOWCASE
What a buyer-ready factory profile must prove
The evidence threshold for a future public profile: legal identity, named site relationship, scoped product and document evidence, commercial boundaries, dated sources and visible gaps.
SOURCING RISK
Factory or trading company? The registered business scope is the first free signal
What the 经营范围 line can and cannot tell you before you pay for any deeper check. It stays a wording signal, never proof of where your order is made.
Research behind these notes
| Measurement | What it establishes | Frame | Taken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered-scope count | Import-export wording in this manufacturer frame (74.6%) | 264 companies, whole frame | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Change-log count | How fast the official record moves: 54.9% amended within 12 months, median 39 changes | Same 264 companies | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Official-source availability | Whether official verification hosts serve their front page: five of eight did not | 8 hosts: 3 browser-user-agent rounds and an extra CLI request; 2 controls | 8 Aug 2026 |
| Check-character strength | Injected single-character errors detected in this experiment: USCI 100%, VIN 92.5% | 2.9 million injected errors, fixed seed | 9 Aug 2026 |
| Single-result confirmation | What a name search returns: 42.5% nothing, 50.9% exactly one row | 106 manufacturers, whole frame | 18 Aug 2026 |
These articles explain what registry fields mean. These are the measurements they draw on when a number is quoted, so you can see what sits behind the number instead of taking it on faith.
Some guides reuse the same samples
Several guides ask different questions about the same manufacturers. Reusing a sample does not provide independent confirmation. When you cite a result, include its source, observation date and sample limits. Find the datasets and methods in the research index.
NEXT CHECK
Reading a supplier?
Run the free first-pass checks.
Start with the in-browser factory-or-trader reading, then prepare a dated China-side public-record check when you need an official snapshot with stated limits.