Is a Chinese supplier a factory or a trading company? How to tell from public records
Four public records answer it together: the business scope on the company's registration, a production site bound to it on an official register, the factory named on its product certificates, and the staff it insures. When all four point to the same company and address, the records are consistent with it being the maker. When they don't, each mismatch tells you which question to ask.
The four records
All four sit in Chinese registers. The certificate record exists only for products under China's CCC and CQC schemes. For many goods made for the EU (textiles, furniture, packaging), the check is the other three records plus the test or audit report.
| record | where | what it shows | if it's empty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered scope | the business register (gsxt.gov.cn) | the activities the company registered | rare; ask for the business licence |
| Production site | the national pollutant discharge permit platform | a site bound to the legal person, with its address | a question, not an answer: low-emission units hold only a registration, and units outside the national classification list need neither |
| Factory on the certificate | the issuing body's register (CQC, or another body designated for CCC) | applicant, manufacturer and factory for each certificate | normal for products outside China's CCC and CQC schemes |
| Insured staff | the annual report on the business register | staff the company pays pension insurance for | a question for the supplier |
How to read them:
- Scope. "Manufacturing of …" is necessary, not sufficient: trading companies list it too. A scope with only sales, wholesale or import and export says the company registered to trade.
- Certificate. The factory field settles it, not the manufacturer field, which can name a brand owner.
- Insured staff. The company files this figure itself. It leaves out agency workers and staff insured elsewhere, so a low number is a reason to ask, not proof on its own.
- For goods made for the EU, look also at the factory name and address on the test report or the audit report the supplier sends.
When the records disagree
| what you find | the likely reading | the question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| The certificate names another company's factory | the product is made somewhere else | Where will my order be produced, and by which company? |
| The scope leaves out manufacturing | the company is registered to trade | Which company runs the factory? |
| The permit sits at another address, or in another province | the site is not the registered seat | At which address are the products made? |
| Scope says manufacturing, but no site on record and few insured staff | the site may belong to a sister company, or production may be outsourced | Is your production at this site? Can we visit? |
A trading company is not a bad supplier
Buying through a trading company can be the right choice: smaller quantities, mixed containers, someone who speaks your language. The point is not to avoid them. It is to know who makes your order, so that the certificates, the factory audit and the contract name the right company. Even when all four records agree, ask whether your order is made at that site: a factory can subcontract a product.
How Clacta helps
A free Cross Check shows the registered scope, the registered address with a satellite view, the customs export filing and the insured headcount, each with its source.
A Deep Check puts the question "Is this a genuine factory, or just a trader?" on one card: certificates, factory site, company registration and staff side by side, read from those Chinese registers for you, with one of the questions above for each point where the records don't agree.
Sources
- National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统), gsxt.gov.cn: registration, registered scope, annual reports.
- National Pollutant Discharge Permit Platform, Ministry of Ecology and Environment: permits and registrations bound to a legal person.
- China Quality Certification Centre (CQC) and the other bodies designated for CCC: applicant, manufacturer and factory per certificate.
Cross-check, Clacta.