DUE DILIGENCE / 01
Build the evidence file before you need the verdict.
A supplier due diligence checklist — vendor due diligence checklist, in most procurement playbooks — should produce separate evidence for legal identity, transaction authority, manufacturing capability, product and order fit, the payment path and the next release decision.
A supplier can have a current registration record and still be the wrong factory for your order. A capable factory can still send unexplained payment instructions. A matching beneficiary can still ship a non-conforming product. Keep those questions separate so one positive signal cannot silently stand in for the rest.
Establish the exact legal identity
Get the current business licence, Chinese legal name and 18-character Unified Social Credit Code. Search the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System and note the date. Compare the name, code, status, address and listed representatives with the supplied documents.
The State Council’s market-entity registration regulation provides the registration framework. A public-record match establishes a registered identity; it does not establish reliability, factory control, product compliance or payment safety. If you arrived from the broader question is ordering from Alibaba safe?, most of the answer sits in the order terms, not the registry.
Use the step-by-step company registration check →
Read how annual reports, abnormal-list entries and penalties remain dated public-record signals →
See our 46-company measurement of capital, status and scope fields →
Check who can act for each company
List who quotes, signs the contract, issues the invoice and exports the goods. Record their company names and known contact details. Ask for a written explanation of each different entity. Put its role in the contract.
Check material changes with a contact you knew before the change. A stamp image, forwarded email or chat account cannot confirm authority on its own. If you still do not know who can act, pause the decision and seek advice for your transaction.
Keep the public legal-representative field separate from the deal signatory →
Check whether the factory can fulfil your order
Identify the company and the actual production site separately. Ask who runs the key processes, which equipment is used and what is outsourced. Check the claimed capacity against your order. Use evidence for your product type.
ISO does not certify companies; independent bodies do. Check the certificate’s holder, issuer, site, scope, dates and status. Use IAF CertSearch where records are available. A management-system certificate does not certify your product or prove that this order meets its specification.
Agree the product and the evidence you need
Agree the specification and approved sample. Record materials, tolerances, labels and packaging. Set the inspection method, acceptance criteria and rules for changes. Give each required test or document an owner and version.
Check the rules for your product and destination with the relevant regulator or a qualified adviser. A supplier certificate does not transfer your duties to the supplier. Check which models, materials and shipments it covers.
Booking an inspection answers a different question: an inspection tells you what is in the cartons. It does not tell you which company you contracted with or where the money went.
A supplier-level review cannot replace product testing, shipment inspection or the regulatory evidence required for the destination market.
Turn the approved seller, specification and evidence into a controlled PO baseline →
Turn the finished lot and inspection report into a buyer-owned release decision →
Match the payee to the contract
Compare the registered supplier, contract seller, invoice issuer and bank beneficiary. Ask about each mismatch before payment. The People’s Bank of China source below describes account-name consistency for a mainland China unit account.
A trading company, export agent or affiliate may have a valid role. Get documents that explain it. Check changed bank details through a known contact, using details obtained separately from the change request. The FBI warns about this pattern in business email compromise.
Whether the counterparty can absorb a problem is separate from whether the money path is consistent. Different records answer it: see what a Chinese supplier’s public record can and cannot say about financial risk.
Record your next decision
Every completed item needs an owner, a dated source, an unresolved-exception field and a next decision. Use “continue”, “hold”, “escalate” or another internally defined state instead of a vague pass mark.
Name the action you can take now: request a sample, approve a contract, pay an invoice, release production or accept a shipment. Each later decision needs its own review.
For a formal approval file, check the company named on the contract and payment records. A certificate cannot establish that link.
A name-search result is still a candidate. The single-result study shows why you must compare the Chinese legal name and credit code with the licence, contract and payee.
MEASURED / CURRENT IS NOT THE SAME AS EVER
Check historical records as well as current status
On 21 August 2026, we queried seven historical-record categories for 45 company candidates selected from an NHTSA manufacturer list. The 315 calls completed without a recorded request failure. A completed request does not prove complete record coverage.
| Historical dimension | Companies with a record | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Prior registration details (name, address, scope) | 40 of 45 | 89% |
| Prior shareholders | 33 of 45 | 73% |
| Prior outbound investments | 9 of 45 | 20% |
| Prior operating anomalies | 3 of 45 | 7% |
| Prior judicial assistance | 2 of 45 | 4% |
| Prior administrative penalties | 1 of 45 | 2% |
| Prior administrative licences | 0 of 45 | 0% |
Five of these 45 candidates returned at least one historical anomaly, judicial-assistance or penalty record. The categories overlap. This is not a representative sample of Chinese suppliers, and the records do not establish current risk or whether a past issue was resolved.
A previous name, address or shareholder is not a verdict. Compare the dated record with the documents for your order and ask about any difference that affects the contracting entity.
For your supplier file: record both current and relevant historical results, their dates and unresolved differences. An empty result may reflect the provider’s coverage; it does not prove that no event occurred.
See the sample selection and lookup method. The figures above count companies with returned records, not confirmed factories or approved suppliers.
CONTROL SHEET / 02
The minimum record for each evidence lane
| Evidence lane | Minimum record | Common unresolved exception | Decision affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal identity | Chinese name, credit code, dated registry result and supplied licence | Record is absent, inactive, changed or inconsistent | Whether to continue identity review |
| Transaction authority | Contracting entity, signatory, known contact and entity-role map | Seller, invoice issuer or agent role is unexplained | Whether to approve the contract or instruction |
| Manufacturing capability | Site, process, equipment, capacity, subcontracting and certificate scope | Evidence belongs to another site, model or company | Whether to sample, audit or place the order |
| Product and order fit | Controlled specification, sample, inspection plan and destination evidence owner | Test, model, material or acceptance criterion is missing | Whether to release production or shipment |
| Payment path | Contract, invoice, beneficiary, bank route and change confirmation | Different or newly changed receiving entity | Whether to release a specific payment |
| Next release decision | Reviewer, date, evidence version, open exceptions and authorised action | Evidence is stale or the requested action exceeds its scope | Continue, hold or escalate |
Recheck before the next commitment
Recheck the affected evidence when you add a supplier or change the contract, product or bank details. Check again before you release production, pay or accept goods. Set review dates for your order; the file is not a permanent approval.
A prior clean result is historical evidence. It is not proof that the company, factory, product, email instruction or bank account remains unchanged.
If those refreshes feed a scorecard and do not just sit in a file, note which row cannot come from your own order history. Quality, delivery and cost do, but legal standing is the scorecard row most often guessed.
Add the checks for your destination
Use this core checklist in any market. Add the rules and advice for your product and destination. For Australia, the Australia-specific checklist is a regional add-on with import, product-safety and biosecurity sources.
Do not replace the global identity, capability or payment lanes with a destination checklist. They answer different questions and should remain separately dated.
METHOD / 03
How this checklist was prepared
Currawong’s China-side verification desk reviewed the official sources below on 30 July 2026. GSXT and the State Council source support the registered-identity lane. ISO and IAF support the certification-scope boundary. PBOC supports the mainland unit-account naming point. The FBI source supports independent confirmation of changed payment details.
The six-lane control sheet is our synthesis of those narrow sources and practical order controls. We did not inspect any reader’s supplier, site, product, certificate, contract, bank account or transaction. This is general evidence-organising guidance. It is neither legal, banking, compliance, inspection nor sourcing advice.
PRIMARY SOURCES / 04
Official sources used for this checklist
Links and page content were checked on 30 July 2026. Re-open the current source before a material decision because public records, certificates and procedures can change.
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System Official public system used to query a Chinese market entity’s registered identity and current record.
- State Council: Regulation on the Registration and Administration of Market Entities Official registration framework for market entities in China.
- ISO: Certification Explains the distinction between ISO standards and certification performed by external certification bodies.
- IAF CertSearch: Certificate search Global database for checking accredited management-system certificates where participating records are available.
- People’s Bank of China: Bank account naming response Official explanation of the naming consistency expected for a mainland China unit bank account.
- FBI: Business Email Compromise Independent-channel verification guidance for altered account numbers or payment procedures.
COMMON QUESTIONS / 05
Keep the answer tied to the decision
- Is a valid Chinese business licence enough?
- No. It supports a registered identity at a point in time. Factory control, order capability, product evidence and the payment path need separate checks.
- Does an ISO certificate prove product compliance?
- No. Check the certificate type, site, scope, issuer, accreditation and status. A management-system certificate is not product certification or order acceptance evidence.
- Can a trading company be a valid supplier?
- Yes, if the evidence fits your order. Check its identity, role, link to the factory, duties under the contract and payment path. The “trading company” label alone does not decide this.
- How does this fit a formal supplier approval program?
- Use the six checks as inputs to your approval file. Your program still needs its own criteria, review dates and authorised decision-maker. This checklist does not set your thresholds or approve a supplier.
- When should the checklist be refreshed?
- Recheck when a company, specification, site, certificate or payment instruction changes. Review again before you approve the next step, such as production or payment.
- Will this checklist tell me that a supplier is safe?
- No. It helps you record the evidence, gaps and next steps. You still need to review your own order and seek qualified advice where needed.