Service · China & Hong Kong counterparty check
Know who you are paying, and what still needs to be proved
A registered company is only the starting point. Before the deposit leaves your account, Sinospect examines the supplier, any separate invoicing company, the beneficiary instructions and the person negotiating your order, establishes how they connect to your transaction, checks that the factory can make what you are buying, and tells you what the evidence supports and what remains unresolved. A named analyst prepares the file and a reviewer signs the recommendation and the conditions for the order. Desk work from Ningbo and Hong Kong, four business days, report in English or French.
- Buyer-side control point
- Before the advance or milestone payment
- Turnaround
- Four business days after payment and the last document
- Fee
- USD 490 one Mainland entity · USD 690 with a Hong Kong company · paid in advance
- Report language
- English or French · registers read in Chinese
Quick answers
What does pre-payment due diligence on a Chinese supplier cover?
The object of the check is the relationship between the parties: how the supplier, any invoicing company, the beneficiary instructions and the person negotiating connect to your order. Each of them can be real while the connection between them is unproven. Five layers, read before the money moves. The two companies behind the quotation are read at their registers, the account and the person you are dealing with are tied to those filings, the factory's ability to make your equipment is checked against licences, certificates and export records, the courts and enforcement lists are swept, and the file closes with cleared, cleared with conditions, or not cleared, plus the clauses the order should carry. A company-verification report bought online returns the first layer on one entity; this check returns the decision.
| Layer | What it settles | Read at |
|---|---|---|
| Entity | Registration, status, capital, business scope, legal representative, shareholders, and the same for any Hong Kong company that invoices for the factory | GSXT, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System; Hong Kong Companies Registry e-Services Portal and Inland Revenue business registration |
| Money and people | Beneficiary account in the exact registered name of the contracting entity and in its jurisdiction; the negotiator located in the filings and confirmed by call-back on the registry-listed number | Bank details, proforma or draft agreement supplied by you; registry records; switchboard call |
| Capability | Whether this entity can make this equipment: business scope against the product, production licences the equipment class needs, certificates resolved at the issuing body, export record, site footprint, manufacturer or trading company | Licence and certificate registries, customs credit records, satellite and street imagery, supplier documents |
| Litigation and enforcement | Judgments, enforcement entries, dishonest-debtor listings, administrative penalties and abnormal-operation records on both entities | China Judgments Online, the enforcement information platform, Credit China; Hong Kong Judiciary cause lists and the Gazette |
| Verdict and conditions | Cleared, cleared with conditions, or not cleared, each finding weighted, and the conditions written for the order: milestone split, acceptance gate, stop rule on any change of account | Prepared by a named analyst and reviewed before issue; certification page signed |
Desk scope only. Registers and documents are read in the original language from Ningbo and Hong Kong; no site visit is included, and none is needed for the first four layers.
How does this differ from a company verification report bought online?
Online reports return register fields on one Mainland entity, usually automated, for a few tens or hundreds of dollars, and leave the decision to you. Sinospect reads both companies behind the quotation, matches the account and the person to the filings, judges whether the factory can make the equipment on order, and writes the verdict with the conditions for the purchase order. The same team can then continue in the factory when a finding calls for it, which a data vendor cannot do.
What does the check cost and how long does it take?
USD 490 for one Mainland contracting entity, USD 690 when a Hong Kong contracting or invoicing company is added, and USD 190 for a 48-hour beneficiary-and-entity check when a supplier you already work with sends new bank details. The fee is paid in advance by bank transfer or card, and the report follows four business days after the later of the payment and the last of your documents. For context, automated register products sell at roughly USD 10 to 50, manually researched single-entity reports at USD 100 to 400, and a lawyer's legal opinion at USD 1,500 to 2,500.
01 · Scope
Where Sinospect intervenes
The check runs on the counterparty you are about to pay, not on a market survey. It starts from the documents you already hold, the quotation or proforma, the draft agreement, the registration papers the supplier showed you and the bank details you were given, and reads each of them against the public record.
Engaged when
- A deposit or milestone payment is due to a supplier you have not met, under a quotation, a proforma or a draft manufacturing agreement.
- The quotation, the contract and the bank details name different companies, or a Hong Kong company invoices for a Mainland factory.
- The supplier has sent new bank details, or asks to be paid through a third company or a personal account.
- A partner, a board, a bank or a tender file needs an independent record on the counterparty before the transfer is approved.
02 · Controls and evidence
Control points checked
Control point
Both entities read at the register, not from the supplier's PDF
The Mainland licence is read at GSXT for status, registered capital, business scope, legal representative and shareholders; the Hong Kong company at the Companies Registry e-Services Portal and the Inland Revenue business register for incorporation, standing, directors and annual returns. The papers the supplier gave you are then compared with the record, and any difference is a finding in its own right.
Control point
The beneficiary account tied to the contracting entity
Account name compared character for character with the registered legal name, bank and jurisdiction compared with the seat of the contracting company, and the invoicing party compared with the party that signs the agreement. A personal account, a third company or a second jurisdiction is recorded as a stop condition. The check is a documentary reconciliation plus the call-back; no bank confirms an account holder to a third party, and this is not an escrow or a guarantee.
Control point
The negotiator located in the filings
The name and role you were given are searched in both companies' filings, the person's authority to bind the company is stated, and a call-back on the registry-listed switchboard number confirms the person is who the filings say, with the limits of the Hong Kong register stated plainly.
Control point
Capability for this equipment, not just a licence
Business scope read against the product on order, production or export licences the equipment class requires, ISO and product certificates resolved at the issuing body, customs credit rating and export record, and the site footprint on imagery, so a trading company presenting another factory's line, or a scope that does not cover the equipment, is caught before the deposit.
Control point
Courts, enforcement lists and penalties swept on both sides
China Judgments Online, the enforcement information platform and Credit China for the Mainland company; the Judiciary cause lists and the Gazette for the Hong Kong company. Each entry is weighted as clear, noted low, noted material or failing, and the weighting is explained.
Evidence reviewed
Evidence read for the check
Everything is read at source, and every material finding carries its source, its date and its limitation, in one of four grades: verified at the register, corroborated, asserted by the supplier only, or unanswered. A document that does not resolve at the body that issued it is returned as a finding, not a footnote. A question still unanswered after two documented attempts is reported as a limitation, the reviewer decides, and nothing is chased indefinitely.
- Public registers
- GSXT record, court and enforcement platforms, Credit China, customs credit record.
- Hong Kong Companies Registry e-Services record, business registration enquiry, Gazette.
- Your documents
- Quotation or proforma, draft agreement, registration papers as shown by the supplier, bank details, the negotiator's name and role.
- Capability evidence
- Licences and certificates resolved at the issuing body, export record, site imagery, and the supplier's technical file where one exists.
03 · Deliverables
Deliverables issued
Deliverable
For · Buyer, partner or boardThe due-diligence report
Six to eight pages. The first page states the transaction assessed, the material findings, the strength of the evidence behind each one, the questions still open, and the recommendation with its conditions. The evidence annex and the seven scope sections follow, and the certification page is signed by the preparing analyst and the reviewer.
Deliverable
For · Whoever signs the agreementVerdict with conditions for the order
Cleared, cleared with conditions, or not cleared, and the conditions written as clauses: milestone split, acceptance gate before the balance, the account to pay and the stop rule on any change.
Deliverable
For · FinanceBeneficiary-account confirmation
The exact account name, bank and jurisdiction that match the contracting entity, and what to do if a different account is ever proposed.
Deliverable
For · Project ownerNext step, if one is needed
Where a finding cannot be settled from the desk, the report names the next control in the same order: a recorded video verification, a one-day visit, or a witnessed acceptance test, each quoted separately.
04 · Risks controlled
Risks controlled
Risk
The deposit goes to an account that is not the contracting entity's, through a redirected email or a third company presented as the supplier's collector.
Control response
The account name is matched character for character with the registered entity, the jurisdiction with its seat, and any later change is treated as a stop condition to be confirmed by voice on the registry-listed number.
Risk
The agreement is signed with a Hong Kong company that neither owns nor controls the factory, so the remedies sit against an entity with no assets.
Control response
The link between the two companies is established from shareholders and directors on both registers, and where none exists the verdict says so and the conditions bring the factory into the order.
Risk
The licence is real but the company cannot make the equipment: a trading company, a scope that does not cover the product, or a certificate that does not resolve at its issuer.
Control response
Scope, licences, certificates and export record are checked for this equipment class, and an unresolved capability finding triggers the next control at the factory rather than a cleared verdict.
05 · Background resources
Related
- Service · Supplier qualification in ChinaThe parent service: qualifying a shortlist before award, with an on-site audit where the file warrants it.
- Service · Hong Kong company verificationWhat the Hong Kong register shows, what it protects, and how the company is tied to the Mainland factory.
- Resource · The supplier changed its bank detailsThe hold-and-verify procedure before you pay, and what to do if the money has already gone.
- Resource · Protecting a deposit on China equipmentHow supplier evidence, payment terms and quality gates work together before funds are committed.
06 · Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can you verify the person I am negotiating with?
Sinospect checks whether the name you were given appears in the filings of either company, in what role, and whether that role carries signing authority; where the registry lists a switchboard number, the person is confirmed by a call to that number rather than to the number on the business card. In Hong Kong the public register shows a director's name and correspondence address; residential addresses and full identity numbers have been protected since October 2022, so a matching name is recorded as a match on the register, never as proof of identity.
What happens when the supplier or a register does not answer?
The question is asked twice, through documented channels, and both attempts are recorded. If it is still open, the report states it as a limitation, says what it would take to close it, and the reviewer decides whether the verdict can stand on the rest of the evidence. Where a finding cannot be settled from the desk, the next step is named in the same order: a recorded video verification with the factory, a one-day visit in Zhejiang or Jiangsu, or a witnessed acceptance test, each quoted separately.
Is a cleared verdict a guarantee that the supplier will perform?
No. The verdict states what the public registers and your documents show on the search dates, with each finding weighted and the conditions the order should carry. It settles who you are paying and whether the counterparty is what it claims to be; it does not audit the factory's finances or guarantee delivery. Any later request to redirect payment is a stop condition under the report, not a variation.
Can I see what the report looks like before ordering?
Yes. An anonymised six-page sample of the exact deliverable is downloadable from this page: cover verdict, evidence annex, the seven scope sections and the certification page signed by the preparing analyst and the reviewer. Names, identifiers and figures are redacted; the structure and the reasoning are the real ones.
Who does the work
The people behind your check also work on real orders
Sinospect’s team works across supplier sourcing, technical clarification, samples, inspection coordination, finance and shipping. That experience shapes the questions asked before payment: which company is making the commitment, who is entitled to speak for it, where the money is going, and which claims still need evidence. Your assignment has a named preparing analyst and a reviewer. Where the uncertainty needs a factory visit, a technical test or another specialist check, the report says so and names the next step, rather than presenting a desk review as proof of everything.
What that looks like on real files
Engine power packs sourced through the maker’s own channels
For a set of engine power packs, the team went through the engine maker’s regional office to reach a nominated supplier instead of taking marketplace quotations. One quotation was kept as a price reference and left off the buyer’s shortlist because the engine identification and the radiator configuration could not be confirmed before purchase.
A custom press accepted on documented evidence
For a custom magnetic press, the team arranged factory access, custody of the test material, instruments and calibration, recorded where the demonstration conditions differed from the powder maker’s stated condition, obtained the buyer’s written decision on each open point, and issued a release recommendation that separates what was verified from what the buyer chose to close.
Samples kept as the reference for the production check
For glass containers, the buyer tested the samples in production and approved them. The team keeps the approved samples as the physical reference and checks the production order against them for weight, thickness and finish before it ships, so approval and inspection refer to the same object.
07 · Getting started
What to send for a pre-payment check
The check starts from what the supplier has already given you. Send it as it is; Sinospect confirms the fee and what is missing before any work starts.
The companies
The registered Chinese name or the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code of the factory, and the name and company number of any Hong Kong company on the quotation, the agreement or the invoice.
The quotation, proforma or draft agreement
Whatever names the contracting party, the signatory and the payment schedule, even as a draft still under discussion.
The bank details you were given
Account name, number, bank and SWIFT code exactly as supplied, with the email or document they came in.
The person negotiating
Name in Chinese if you have it, role as stated, and the phone or messaging contact used so far.
The equipment
Equipment list, specification or datasheet, so the capability layer is checked for what you are actually buying.
Everything you share is used only to prepare your report and is not passed to the supplier, who is not told a check is running. The fee stands on its own: any visit, inspection or supply that follows is scoped separately, and on this check Sinospect has no supply interest and receives nothing from the supplier.
A deposit due to a supplier you have not met?
Send the company names, the bank details and the draft agreement. Sinospect confirms the fee, what it needs and what it cannot settle from the desk, and the report follows four business days after payment and the last of your documents.