You already have a supplier. That is the starting point. China Agent does not source a new one, and we do not take a factory commission for steering you toward anyone.

What I see go wrong before the wire is rarely a missing “feeling” about the deal. It is three names that should be one story and are not: the English name on Alibaba, the Chinese legal entity on the business license, and the bank beneficiary on the PI. When those three diverge, stop calling it paperwork. Call it a risk you can still check before money moves.

We do not give US customs legal advice, and we do not file entries. Entity and payment identity still matter for your commercial risk and for any later question about who you believed you were dealing with. Confirm customs questions with your broker or counsel.

The common mismatch

Buyers often pay the English storefront in their head. The license is a different Chinese company. The wire goes to a third account “for convenience,” or to a personal WeChat Pay name that never appeared on the commercial documents.

Sometimes the company is real and the mismatch is still fatal for your file. Sometimes the company is dissolved, out of scope, or sitting under litigation you never asked about. Either way, the moment to find out is before the deposit, not after WeChat goes quiet.

For the deeper cut on why license, PI, and bank must align, see The license, the PI, and the bank account must tell the same story .

What to check before money leaves

You do not need a lawyer to start this homework. You need the papers and thirty honest minutes.

1. Full Chinese business license scan. Not a cropped English card. Chinese legal name, Unified Social Credit Code (USCC / 统一社会信用代码), legal representative, registered address, status, business scope.

2. GSXT public record. Look the same USCC up on China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at https://www.gsxt.gov.cn/. Confirm the company exists, the status is operating, and the name matches the license.

3. Contract / PI party = license holder. The seller named on the commercial documents should be the licensed entity. Chop should belong to that entity.

4. Bank beneficiary = license holder. Wire instructions should name the same party. Personal accounts and “sister company” convenience accounts are flags until proven otherwise in writing.

5. Factory vs trader — in writing. Ask them to say which they are. If trader: name the manufacturing factory and the address where production happens. Buying from a trader is legal. Calling a trader a factory is how files die.

6. Address story. Registered address vs showroom vs claimed production floor. If those differ, write down why. Decide whether you need a person at the production door before you scale.

7. Soft sample / small order plan. Verification is not a substitute for a commercial test when you are still early. It stops you wiring a large deposit into a ghost while you learn whether the product and the relationship are real.

Under 19 U.S.C. § 1484), reasonable care sits with the importer of record. CBP’s Reasonable Care Informed Compliance publication and its June 2026 Forced Labor Enforcement Operational Guidance for Importers both expect you to know who sits in your chain and to keep ordinary-course records. Knowing the entity before the deposit is the cheap version of that duty. We still do not get anyone through CBP.

What the $95 Supplier Reality Check actually covers

Send one supplier: the company name as you have it, the address they gave you, and the bank details on the payment instructions. In two business days you get a written English verdict, not a spreadsheet dump.

We check, against Chinese public and registry sources where available:

• Whether the company is actively registered
• Legal person / ownership signals that matter for who can bind the company
• Registered address versus the operating address you were sold
• Business scope versus the product you intend to buy
• Public lawsuits and enforcement signals that should change how you read the deal
• Whether the bank beneficiary matches the licensed entity

The deliverable is short on purpose: relevant Chinese source lines translated where they matter, red flags called by name, and a clear “what to do next.” Sometimes that next step is “do not pay yet.” We can write that because we are not taking a commission on the order.

Fixed fee. One supplier. Two business days. That boring scope is the point. Boring is cheaper than a five-figure mistake.

Start here: Supplier Reality Check — $95.

“Real company” is not the same as “your factory”

A registered trading company is a real company. It can still be the wrong answer to the question you think you asked.

If they are a trader, that can be fine — if they name the actual factory, and you decide whether you need eyes on that factory before you commit. If they claim to be the manufacturer and the paper file already shows a trading scope, a showroom address, or a payee that is not the license-holder, you have an identity problem, not a translation problem.

The $95 check answers the paper story. It does not walk the floor. When you need a person at the named address, with dated photos and visit notes, that is the $795 Factory Reality Check on the due diligence page. The paper verdict can inform that visit. It does not replace it.

We are not a pass/fail product inspector. We do not stamp cargo for release. An on-site check is a dated record of who we met, what we saw, and what was missing. If the supplier will not let anyone in, that refusal stays on the page.

What you get — and what you do not get

You get a signed written verdict on one supplier. You get the mismatches called out before the deposit. You get a next action that is specific to that file.

You do not get a promise that the answer will be positive. You do not get a sourcing shortlist. You do not get a customs release guarantee. You do not get us acting as middleman between you and the factory.

China Agent verifies the supplier you already chose. We do not find you a replacement when the answer is yellow or red. That commercial decision stays with you.

After the first check: deposits keep coming

The first paper verdict opens the file. Orders two through twenty are where entity drift, payee changes, and quiet subcontracting show up.

That is what Monthly Support is for: China Supplier Control for US importers who already have suppliers. Not sourcing. Our team reads what the factory sends in Chinese, follows up on missing documents, watches entity and payee drift, keeps the China-side record current across orders, and walks into the supplier when the plan calls for a visit. Visibility starts from $995 a month plus setup, for up to three suppliers.

If you need someone in that city full-time on your instructions — deeper floor presence, samples, ongoing local collection — see Employee in China. Different door. Monthly Support is our people on your existing suppliers. Employee is your person, employed properly under Chinese law through our subsidiaries, working only for you.

Send one supplier for the paper cut, or WhatsApp / book a call with the company name, address, bank details, and what you are about to order. We will tell you what the China side can and cannot support before the next deposit leaves. We do not get anyone through CBP.

We do not source. We do not take factory commission. Confirm US customs requirements with your counsel or broker. We do not give US customs legal advice. We do not file entries.

FAQ

Q: How do I verify a Chinese supplier before I send a deposit?

A: Match Chinese legal name and USCC on the business license to the PI/contract party and the bank beneficiary; confirm status on GSXT; write factory vs trader in plain language; and decide whether you need an on-site check before you scale. A fixed-fee paper verdict (Supplier Reality Check, $95) can do that cut on one supplier you already chose.

Q: Does China Agent find me a factory if this one fails?

A: No. We verify the supplier you already have. We do not source, do not take factory commission, and do not act as a middleman.

Q: What does the $95 Supplier Reality Check include?

A: A written English verdict in two business days on one supplier: active registration, legal person signals, registered vs operating address, business scope vs product, public lawsuit/enforcement signals, and bank beneficiary vs licensed entity. It does not walk the floor and does not guarantee a positive answer.

Q: When do I need the $795 Factory Reality Check instead?

A: When paper cannot answer whether the named address is actually making your goods, or when the order size and risk justify a dated on-site record. Paper first if the entity itself is still unclear.

Q: Is verifying the supplier the same as getting through CBP?

A: No. Verification supports your commercial decision and your China-side reasonable-care file. Entry filing and admissibility sit with your broker, counsel, and CBP. China Agent does not file entries and does not get anyone through CBP.

Q: Why mention Monthly Support on a before-deposit article?

A: Because the deposit is not the last payment. If orders continue, entity and payee drift between shipments. Monthly Support keeps China-side verification running after the first check. Use $95 to open the file. Use Monthly Support when the relationship is ongoing.