Chinese Company Verification: Frequently Asked Questions

Concise answers to the questions foreign buyers, investors, and lawyers ask most often about verifying Chinese companies. Each entry links to the relevant in-depth guide for fuller treatment.

On Chinese government databases

What is GSXT, and is it the same as NECIPS?

Yes. GSXT (国家企业信用信息公示系统) and NECIPS (National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System) refer to the same system, operated by China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). It is the official corporate registry for mainland Chinese companies.

See: Why Verifying Chinese Companies Is Different.

Can I search a Chinese company by its English name on GSXT?

No. GSXT only accepts the legal Chinese name or the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code. English-name search returns nothing.

This is the most consistent point of failure for foreign buyers — see Find the Legal Chinese Name.

Are Tianyancha and Qichacha the same as the official government registry?

No. Tianyancha (天眼查), Qichacha (企查查), and Qixinbao (启信宝) are commercial Chinese aggregators that pull from official sources and resell access. They are useful but not authoritative — for legal certainty, the official source is GSXT.

Is the data on GSXT up to date?

Chinese companies are required to file annual reports and to update changes (name, shareholders, legal representative, address) within 30 days. In practice, the data on GSXT lags real changes by days to weeks for active filings, and substantially longer for failures to file. Treat GSXT data as accurate as of the snapshot timestamp shown.

On company identity

What is the Unified Social Credit Code, and where do I find it?

The Unified Social Credit Code (USCC) is an 18-character alphanumeric identifier issued to every Chinese legal entity since 2015. You will find it on the Business License (top-left), inside the round red corporate seal, and in any GSXT search result.

It is China's equivalent of a Companies House Number, EIN, KvK Number, or OGRN.

See: Unified Social Credit Code (USCC).

Can two Chinese companies have the same name?

Two unrelated companies cannot have the same Chinese name within the same administrative jurisdiction — Chinese trademark and registration law prevents this. Across different provinces, identical Chinese names are theoretically possible but very rare.

However, two unrelated companies absolutely can have the same English name, anywhere. The English name is informally adopted and not legally protected. This is the basis of many supplier-impersonation scams.

How do I verify a Chinese supplier's Business License is real?

Cross-check every field on the Business License against the GSXT record under the same legal Chinese name or USCC. Any discrepancy means the document is fake, outdated, or belongs to a different company.

A common scam pattern is a Photoshopped Business License where only the company name field has been altered while other fields remain authentic. The GSXT cross-check catches this immediately.

See: The Chinese Business License.

On capital and financial signals

What is the difference between registered capital and paid-in capital?

Registered capital is the amount shareholders have committed to contribute. Paid-in capital is the amount they have actually transferred to the company. For most small Chinese companies, paid-in capital is far below registered capital — sometimes zero.

Use paid-in capital as the more reliable signal of a company's actual financial backing.

See: Registered vs. Paid-in Capital.

Can I sue Chinese shareholders for unpaid registered capital?

Yes, under specific circumstances. If a Chinese company becomes insolvent owing you money, creditors can — under Chinese corporate law — pursue shareholders directly for the unpaid portion of their subscribed capital. This is one of the more effective recovery strategies in cross-border debt collection from China.

It depends on having clean evidence of registration figures, identifying the actual shareholders, and litigating in a court with jurisdiction.

Why is the Business Scope so important?

Because Chinese export law requires that a company's Business Scope explicitly cover the goods being shipped and include "import/export" wording. A supplier whose Business Scope does not match what they are selling you is operating outside lawful authority and may not be able to clear customs, claim VAT export rebates, or file required tax declarations.

See: Chinese Business Scope.

On the people behind the company

Who is the Legal Representative, and why does this matter for me?

The Legal Representative is the natural person legally authorised to bind the Chinese company in transactions. They can sign contracts without a power of attorney; anyone else needs one. They are also personally exposed to enforcement measures (exit bans, consumption restrictions, criminal liability for specific corporate offences).

For foreign creditors, the Legal Representative is often the most effective enforcement target.

See: Chinese Legal Representative.

What if the contract is signed by someone other than the Legal Representative?

Anyone other than the Legal Representative needs a written power of attorney from the company. The power of attorney should bear the company's official red seal and identify the authorised signatory. Without this, the company can later disclaim the contract — and Chinese courts will often accept that disclaimer.

Can a Chinese company have multiple Legal Representatives?

Generally, no. A Chinese company has exactly one Legal Representative at any given time. Branches and certain alternative structures may have a "Person in Charge" with similar functions for the branch, but the principal company has one.

On risk signals

What is the dishonest debtor list, and how serious is it?

The dishonest debtor list (失信被执行人) is China's registry of judgment debtors who have been formally classified as bad-faith by the courts — typically because they hide assets, refuse to comply with judgments, or actively obstruct enforcement. Inclusion is the strongest negative signal in Chinese commercial credit data.

A company or Legal Representative on this list should not be a counterparty.

See: Chinese Litigation, Enforcement, and Risk Signals.

What does "abnormal operations" mean on a GSXT record?

A company is classified as abnormally operating (列入经营异常名录) when it fails to file required annual reports, cannot be reached at its registered address, or has other compliance lapses with SAMR. The classification is reversible — the company can rectify and be removed — but at any given moment indicates current non-compliance.

For foreign buyers, abnormal operations status is a meaningful red flag pending explanation.

Are court announcements as serious as actual judgments?

Court announcements (法院公告) are public notices from courts seeking to serve process or notify parties of proceedings. They indicate a pending matter — sometimes one the company is actively trying to avoid by evading service.

Less severe than a final judgment, but more significant than no record at all. Worth treating as a yellow flag.

What are "final cases" and why do they matter?

Final cases (终本案件) are cases where the court has formally suspended enforcement because the debtor has no recoverable assets. They are essentially "judgments unpaid because the debtor is empty".

A high count of final cases against a company is a near-certain insolvency signal — even if the registration looks fine on the surface.

On using verification services

Can I rely entirely on a foreign credit agency report (Dun & Bradstreet, Bureau van Dijk, Refinitiv)?

These agencies typically source their China data from the same Chinese government systems described in this guide series, often via Chinese aggregators. They add value through risk scoring and cross-referencing, but the underlying data quality is constrained by the same Chinese sources.

Their pricing for individual reports tends to be high (US$500–2,000), which is why specialised China-focused platforms (including ChinaCheck) have emerged. For cross-border trade decisions, a specialised platform delivers the same underlying data, faster, at lower cost.

See: DIY vs. Verification Service.

What does ChinaCheck do that I cannot do myself?

ChinaCheck pulls real-time data from the official Chinese corporate registry (GSXT) and the related government systems, translates the result, and produces a structured PDF in your language (English, Arabic, or Russian) within minutes. The platform handles language barriers, CAPTCHAs, geographic restrictions, and the cross-database aggregation manually doing the same task would require.

Reports are priced at flat fees from US$19.90 (basic registration) to US$249.90 (full due diligence with litigation, IP, and enforcement data).

Can ChinaCheck verify Hong Kong companies?

ChinaCheck currently focuses on mainland Chinese companies registered with SAMR (the GSXT system). Hong Kong companies are registered with the Companies Registry under separate regimes. For Hong Kong, use the Companies Registry's official integrated search at icris.cr.gov.hk.

Hong Kong-based subsidiaries of mainland Chinese groups are common, and we can verify the mainland parent through ChinaCheck while pointing you to the Hong Kong registry for the local subsidiary.

What if the report says "no records found" for a section like trademarks?

This means the company has no registered trademarks (or other IP) at the time of the search. For small trading companies this is normal — they don't manufacture branded goods. For a "factory" supposedly producing branded goods, an empty trademark record is a red flag worth investigating.

The report distinguishes between "no records" (genuine absence) and "data temporarily unavailable" (the underlying source was unreachable at the time of the query).

On scope and process

Can ChinaCheck verify a specific factory rather than just the company?

ChinaCheck verifies the legal entity. For a factory, the legal entity is the Chinese company that owns or operates the factory. The verification confirms the entity exists, has appropriate scope, capital, and clean enforcement records.

For verification of the physical factory — production capacity, equipment, working conditions — you need on-site inspection, which is operational diligence beyond the public-record layer.

How current is the data when I run a check?

ChinaCheck pulls real-time data on each request. The underlying Chinese government registry updates within days to weeks of corporate changes, and Chinese companies are required by law to file changes within 30 days of occurrence.

For high-stakes matters, we recommend running the verification close to your decision point rather than relying on a report from months earlier.

What languages are reports available in?

For MVP launch: English, Arabic, and Russian. Subsequent phases will add Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hindi, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Filipino, Thai, then Japanese, Korean, Burmese, Malay, Turkish, and Urdu.

The interface and the report are both available in your selected language. Reports are delivered as PDF files appropriate for printing, archiving, and sharing with colleagues, advisors, or insurers.

Is there a refund if the report fails to generate?

If core company data (basic registration) cannot be retrieved — for example, because the Chinese registry has no record of the company you queried — the order is automatically refunded in full. For partial data unavailability (one or two sections returning empty), the report is delivered with those sections clearly marked.

What's next

You've reached the end of the Guides series. If you want to put this into practice, run a verification on any Chinese company directly:

The platform handles the language barrier, the cross-database aggregation, and the audit trail — leaving you with a clean PDF report you can hand to your team, your lawyer, or your insurer.

For deeper application, revisit the 10-Point Verification Checklist — it consolidates everything from the previous guides into a sequenced workflow you can use before any wire transfer or contract signing.