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Alibaba Supplier Verification: How to Verify a Chinese Supplier

A step-by-step check for a Chinese supplier, with a tool that decodes the 18-character licence code and reads the business scope in your browser.

Alibaba supplier verification means checking, before you pay, that a supplier is a real, registered business and is what it claims to be. This guide gives the steps: compare the platform profile with the business licence, look the company up in China’s national registry, hold a live video call, order a sample and arrange an inspection. The Supplier legitimacy checker on this page helps with the first steps. It decodes the 18-character unified social credit code and reads a pasted business scope in your browser, lists risk signals and next checks, and queries no website. It uploads nothing. It is a list of signals, not an audit, a guarantee or a verdict on any company.
Alibaba supplier verification example

How to use the Supplier legitimacy checker

  1. Answer the questions about where you found the supplier, the verification status shown, and whether Trade Assurance is offered.
  2. Say what the supplier claims to be and how wide its product range is.
  3. Record what any third-party audit report says.
  4. Enter where the supplier asks you to pay and how much before shipping.
  5. Mark whether the supplier refused a live video of the production floor, a factory audit, the business licence or a sample.
  6. Say whether the price is far below other quotes you have.
  7. Optional: enter the 18-character unified social credit code. The checker decodes it and checks the check character.
  8. Optional: paste the business scope in Chinese. The checker flags manufacturing words (生产 / 制造 / 加工) and trade words (批发 / 销售 / 进出口) with English meanings.
  9. Read the result. It shows risk signals marked High, Medium, Reassuring or Note, each with a reason and source links. It also shows a “Looks like a manufacturer”, “Looks like a trading company” or “Unclear” card with the evidence, and a list of next checks.

Select Print checklist to print a one-page check sheet. Take it with you to calls or to your supplier meetings so you can tick off each check as you complete it.

How do I check a Chinese business licence?

You check a Chinese business licence by reading it against what the supplier tells you, then confirming it in the national registry. The licence is always the starting point, and its Business Scope (经营范围) lists the activities the company is officially permitted to offer.

Start with the company’s Chinese name on the licence and match it to the registry entry. Then read the Business Scope. Manufacturing words such as 生产 (produce), 制造 (manufacture) and 加工 (process) suggest the company is permitted to make goods. Trade words such as 批发 (wholesale), 销售 (sell) and 进出口 (import and export) suggest it buys and sells. A company can have both. China Checkup warns that some trading companies pretend to be manufacturers, so confirm what the licence says in the registry instead of trusting a copy.

China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (gsxt.gov.cn, in Chinese) is the official state registry for business entities. It has been online since the end of 2016 and is free to use. You can search it by the registered Chinese name or by unified social credit code. When we tried to open it on 2026-10-17 the server returned an error, so open it yourself and try again later if needed. Ask the supplier for the exact registered Chinese name, because a search by English name may not find the right entity.

What is the unified social credit code?

The unified social credit code is the 18-character identifier that Chinese businesses use for registration, and it appears on the business licence. Each part of the code carries a meaning, and the last character is a check character that catches many typing mistakes.

Character 1 is the registering department, where 9 means market regulation, which covers businesses. Character 2 is the organisation type; for department 9, 1 is an enterprise, 2 is an individual business and 3 is a farmers’ professional cooperative. Characters 3 to 8 are the administrative region code of the registration authority. Characters 9 to 17 are the organisation code, and character 18 is the check character. The letters I, O, S, V and Z are never used, so a code containing them is malformed.

A code that passes the check character test is well formed. It does not prove that the company exists or is active. Only the registry can show that. The checker decodes the code in your browser but never looks it up, so you still need to search gsxt.gov.cn.

Sources read for this page

Opened on the dates shown; notes say where we used a substitute.

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify an Alibaba supplier?

Start with the badge, then check the licence and the registry. Gold Supplier means a third-party institution has verified the business as legally registered. Verified Supplier adds an assessment of profile, production and processes by third parties. Trade Assurance Supplier means the supplier accepts payment through Alibaba.com, which gives payment and order protection. Use the checker on this page to turn your answers into a list of signals and next checks.

Should I hire a third-party inspector?

Whether a paid check is worth the cost depends on the order. The paid options are a third-party factory audit and a pre-shipment inspection, and Alibaba’s how-it-works page recommends production inspections. Alibaba’s Verified Supplier page says its on-site checks are done by a third-party inspection company and the report is open to buyers. That page does not name the company, so ask the supplier for the report and the inspector’s name.

What can I check for free?

You can do four checks at no cost: compare the platform profile with the business licence, look up the code or Chinese name in the national registry, hold a live video call from the production floor, and ask for a sample. You should also compare the company name across the profile, licence, contract, invoice and bank account holder. If any name differs, stop and ask why before you pay.

What should I do if the supplier asks to change payment details?

Confirm the change through a separate channel, such as a phone number you already have, and do not reply to the request itself. Check the sender address and any links for misspelled domains, because the FBI’s guidance on business email compromise tells you to check both. If you have already sent money, contact your bank immediately to ask for a recall, and file a complaint at ic3.gov.

Does a supplier that refuses a video call mean it is a scam?

A refusal is a warning sign, not proof of fraud. Mark it in the checker so it appears as a risk signal, then ask again in writing and for a specific reason. A supplier that is genuine but has a weak online presence may still refuse, so judge the refusal together with the other answers.

  • Factory vs trading company — Use this when you need to understand what the manufacturer and trading company labels mean before you ask a supplier about its production.
  • What the badge means — Use this when you see a Verified Supplier badge and want to know exactly what it covers.
  • Is Alibaba legit? — Use this when you are deciding whether to buy through the platform at all.
  • How to find a manufacturer — Use this when you are still searching for a supplier and want to start with a factory rather than a trading company.