1. Make a party-and-payment comparison
Compare the supplier’s information with the contract, purchase order, invoice and payment instructions. Identify the seller, manufacturer, exporter, payee and any entity promising to cover a default. A shared contact or group relationship does not automatically make each entity liable.
- Registered company: Chinese legal name, Unified Social Credit Code, registered address and registration status.
- Contracting party: names in the contract and order, signature block and seal.
- Performing party: the manufacturer, shipper and after-sales contact, and their relationship to the seller.
- Payee: account holder, banking jurisdiction and relationship to the contractual seller.
- Unresolved differences: for example, a mainland seller and Hong Kong payee; record the explanation and supporting documents still needed.
2. Check registration and define what the review covers
Use the State Administration for Market Regulation’s services portal to reach the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Search the exact Chinese name or Unified Social Credit Code, record the date and compare the result with the supplier’s business licence. Ask for the registered Chinese name if you have only an approximate English trading name.
Registration alone does not establish solvency, manufacturing capacity or export permissions. Registry research, litigation and enforcement searches, financial review, product compliance and a factory visit answer different questions. Agree the scope and have the report distinguish sources, findings and matters that could not be verified.
3. Check signing authority as well as the seal
The signatory’s role, authorisation, correspondence and subsequent performance may affect whether a contract binds the company. Articles 170–172 of the PRC Civil Code address acts within an employee’s authority, unauthorised agency and apparent authority. A seal image alone is not a reliable basis for a categorical validity conclusion.
Ask who signs and with what authority. Keep the complete final contract, signature pages and attachments. Resolve inconsistent names, alterations or personal assurances before payment. For electronic execution, retain records explaining how the document was signed.
4. Clarify third-party payments and changed instructions
A third-party payee may have a commercial explanation. Establish whether payment to it discharges your payment obligation to the seller, who remains responsible for delivery and against whom a refund would be claimed. A chat message saying ‘same group’ is not a substitute for documenting those responsibilities.
Verify changed bank instructions through a previously verified, independent contact channel. Preserve the original request, change notice and confirmation. If something is inconsistent, discuss it with your bank and adviser before paying. A successful small test payment establishes that funds can arrive, not that the transaction is genuine or recoverable.
- Obtain the contractual seller’s clear written confirmation of the collection arrangement.
- Explain and check any mismatch between the account holder and seller.
- Document delivery, refund and payment-confirmation obligations; assess an amendment or security where appropriate.
5. Translate the findings into payment conditions
A useful review separates verified facts, missing records, proposed contract changes and commercial decisions. The next step may be to obtain documents, change a clause or payment milestone, add inspection arrangements or pause the transaction.
Check specifications, acceptance criteria, delivery dates, sample-to-production differences, tooling and IP, refund triggers and dispute provisions against the actual order. An identity check does not replace contract review or technical and quality inspection.
6. What to provide for an initial enquiry
Start with the party names, transaction stage, amount and currency, intended payment date, contract or order draft and known mismatches. After initial checks, share licences, signature pages and payment instructions through the agreed channel. Do not put full bank details or trade secrets in the website summary.
If payment has already been made and goods or a refund are overdue, assess the claim, evidence and recovery route instead. Mention approaching payment, claim or procedural deadlines at first contact.
Conclusion
The objective is a consistent account of contractual responsibility, signing authority, payment arrangements and the conditions for your next payment. State unresolved differences clearly before making the commercial decision.
