Before you pay a Chinese supplier, make sure these names match
The name you see in a chat is often not the legal name of the company. The English name on a store page may be a brand. The company named on the quotation or proforma invoice may be a third entity. And the bank account you are asked to pay may belong to someone else again.
Before any deposit leaves your account, line up the names. If they do not match, stop and get a written explanation you accept. This check does not prove quality. It tells you which legal entity you are actually paying.
Which names to line up
I look at four strings, character by character:
- The registered company name on the Chinese business licence (营业执照).
- The company name used on the store or in the chat, including any English trading name.
- The company name on the quotation, proforma invoice or contract.
- The beneficiary name on the payment instructions.
They should describe the same legal entity. An English brand can sit next to the Chinese legal name; it should not replace it. A WeChat or WhatsApp display name is not a legal name.
This is the first of the seven checks I use before a deposit. The wider method — a written spec, a shortlist, and the same desk checks on each name — is in Before you pay a deposit in China.
How to check the licence name
Ask the supplier for a clear copy of the full business licence, not a cropped logo. Read the official company name (名称) and the unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码).
Then look the credit code up in China's National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统). Confirm that the name is the same, and that the company is active — typically 存续 or 在业, not revoked (吊销) or cancelled (注销). If an operating term is shown, check that it has not expired.
Compare the Chinese characters exactly. A similar name is not the same company. If you cannot complete the lookup, mark the name Unknown. Do not treat a missing lookup as fine. A field-by-field reading of the licence is in How to read a Chinese business licence and its registered scope.
What a mismatch usually means
A mismatch is a question, not always a verdict. These are the patterns I see most often:
- The store uses a short English brand, but the licence, invoice and bank account use the same Chinese legal name. That can be normal. Ask them to put the Chinese legal name on the invoice and the payment instructions, next to the brand if they want to keep it.
- The invoice or contract names a different company from the licence you were sent. Ask which entity will invoice you and receive the payment, and why. Get the answer in writing, and run the same licence check on that entity before you pay.
- You are asked to pay a personal bank account, or a company that is not the one on the licence and the contract. I treat this as a hard stop until there is a written explanation you accept. Do not pay a personal account.
- Only an English name appears on the payment instructions, with no Chinese legal name. Ask for the exact Chinese characters as they appear on the licence, and check that the beneficiary name on the transfer is that legal name.
Where the four names match and the company is active in the public record, I label the entity match Verified. Where I have only the supplier's word, it stays Supplier-claimed. Where I cannot finish the check, it stays Unknown.
What this check cannot do
Matching names tells you which company you are paying. It does not tell you whether that company makes the product, whether a certificate is genuine, or whether the goods will match a sample.
A desk check reads documents, public records and platform pages. It does not visit the factory, does not inspect a shipment, and does not promise quality or delivery. If you need a site visit or a pre-shipment inspection, that is a separate step, and it should happen before a large deposit, not after a problem appears.
Before you pay
Send the supplier these three requests in writing, and keep the replies:
- A full copy of the business licence.
- A quotation or proforma invoice that shows the same legal name.
- Payment instructions that show the same beneficiary name.
If any one of the three is missing, or the characters do not match, do not pay yet. Close the gap first.
If you want a second pair of eyes, send me the licence, the invoice and the account name. I will tell you whether the names line up, and what is still Unknown.
This is general information, not legal or payment advice. China Supply Check provides desk verification only. Orders for a full desk review go through Upwork from suppliercheckchina.com.