How to check a China company when you only have its English name?
Question
I contacted an LED lighting supplier in Dongguan from Alibaba, and the other party has only given me my English name, like Sunrise Lighting Co., Ltd. In this case, business cards, product catalogs, and chats are all in English, and asking him for a Chinese name is always vague. I am worried that this name cannot be found at all, and I am not sure how to verify whether the company exists or how it is registered.
Answers (1)Write Your Answer ↓
Alibaba suppliers generally have contact information on the store page to see if there is a specific company address. If not, search for their English company name or contact information through Google to find their official website (the official website will usually mark the company's registered address). As long as you have an English company name and registered address, you can contact CheckChinaCompany to reverse the other party's real Chinese company name.
If the supplier's registered address cannot be found, you can directly ask them to provide a clear photo of the business license. The business license contains the full Chinese name and a unified social credit code. After getting the Chinese name, you can entrust a third party to conduct company background verification.
If none of the above two methods can obtain the supplier's Chinese name, I advise you not to cooperate with them. A normal and formal company will not try to hide its business license.
Getting a business license is only the first step. One thing you must beware of is to verify whether the business license provided by the other party is his own or someone else's. You can use translation software to compare Chinese company names with English company names to determine similarity. If the difference is too big, you need to ask the other party why. If cooperation is subsequently confirmed, make sure that the collection account name is consistent with the business license name when making payment.
People Also Ask
Can I search the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System directly using a company's English name?
No. The system only accepts the official Chinese registered name or the Unified Social Credit Identifier. It does not store English trade names that companies use overseas, so pasting just an English name won't pull up their business records. You first need to find the official Chinese registered name of that company before you can look it up.
Why is the English name printed on a Chinese company's business card different from a direct translation of its registered Chinese name?
Companies in mainland China do not have an official legal English name when they register. Those English names are mostly self-created trade names for foreign trade. Many businesses design separate English brand names for overseas markets, which can be very different from a literal translation of their Chinese registered name. For contracts and payments, always use the full Chinese name shown on their business license.
What risks do foreign buyers face if they only check an English name when verifying a Chinese supplier?
The biggest risk is matching the name to the wrong company. You might mistake a shell company or fraudster for a legitimate supplier. Some scammers steal other firms' English names for marketing, even though their actual registered business entity is completely different. Before closing any deal, get a copy of their business license and cross-check using the Unified Social Credit Identifier.