Identity verification · Practical guide

The business license looks real—but does it belong to your supplier?

A convincing image proves little until its Chinese legal name and credit code are matched against current records and your transaction documents.

The recurring mistake

A buyer receives a business-license image and checks only whether it has a red seal. The image may be old, altered, borrowed from another company, or genuine but unrelated to the English storefront and salesperson. The useful question is not “does this look official?” but “does the current public record identify the same legal person I am contracting and paying?”

Core fields to extract

企业名称: Chinese legal company name.
统一社会信用代码: Unified Social Credit Code.
法定代表人: legal representative.
成立日期 and 营业期限: establishment date and operating term.
住所: registered address.
经营范围: registered business scope.
登记状态: current registration status.

Then compare the transaction

The legal name should be traced across the license, official registry result, contract, invoice, marketplace order and bank beneficiary. English trade names are not unique legal identifiers. A mismatch needs an explanation; it should not be silently “translated away.”

What a valid license does not prove

That the company owns the factory shown online.
That the salesperson is authorized.
That certifications apply to your product or entity.
That the company is solvent or will deliver.
That the bank account belongs to it.

Minimum pre-payment result

You should be able to state, in plain English: the exact Chinese legal entity; whether it is currently active; how it relates to the claimed factory; whether major public warning signs were found; and whether the contract and beneficiary are consistent with that identity.

Official starting point: China’s National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT). Availability, CAPTCHA and Chinese-language access can vary. Commercial databases can assist discovery, but material findings should be checked against authoritative records where available.

Long-tail searches this case answers

Query	Intent
verify Chinese company business license	Identity validation
check China company registration number	Registry lookup
Chinese business license Unified Social Credit Code	Field interpretation
how to know if Chinese supplier is legitimate	Pre-payment diligence