Print one sheet per candidate. Fill it in before you book the first call. One “stop” is enough to ask a hard question. Two usually end it.

The reasoning behind each line is in how to verify a Chinese company on Qichacha and GSXT.

The company

Legal name in Chinese: ______________________________
Unified social credit code (统一社会信用代码): ______________________________
Record pulled from GSXT on (date): ______________ By: ______________
Record pulled from Qichacha or Tianyancha on (date): ______________
Name on the draft contract matches the code above: [ ] yes [ ] no

The eight fields

Registration date and status (成立日期, 登记状态)

Pass: status is 存续 or 在业 (active), and there’s an annual report for every year since founding.

Stop: 吊销 (license revoked) or 注销 (deregistered), missing annual reports, or a set-up date that contradicts what you were told.

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Registered and paid-in capital (注册资本, 实缴资本)

Pass: paid-in capital is on file, and any unpaid balance is due within five years.

Stop: large subscribed capital with nothing paid in and a due date decades away, or a GSXT flag for missing the June 30, 2027 deadline.

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Business scope (经营范围)

Pass: the scope covers what the company will do for you, including 货物进出口 (import and export of goods) if it imports, and the permit or filing your category needs.

Stop: no trading or sales activity in the scope, or “our partner holds the license”.

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Shareholders (股东)

Pass: the people you met are in the registry, and ownership has been stable.

Stop: owners you’ve never heard of, a recent change of owner, or an equity pledge (股权出质).

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Branches (分支机构)

Pass: a branch or subsidiary in each city the company says it covers.

Stop: “national coverage” with nothing registered outside one city. Remember you sign with the legal entity, never with a branch.

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Court judgments (裁判文书)

Pass: a few cases, mostly as plaintiff collecting unpaid invoices.

Stop: repeated sale-of-goods suits (买卖合同纠纷) brought by suppliers.

Pass [ ] Stop Case numbers to ask about: ______________________________

Dishonest-debtor list (失信被执行人)

Pass: no current listing, no past listing in the database’s history, no consumption restriction (限制消费) on the legal representative.

Stop: any listing, current or past, or a case closed because the court found no assets (终结本次执行).

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Administrative penalties (行政处罚)

Pass: none in the last three years, or minor ones outside your category.

Stop: a penalty in your category, such as expired goods or a labeling breach.

Pass [ ] Stop Note: ______________________________

Questions for the first call

Scan of the business license received, credit code matches.
Every judgment above explained, by case number.
Actual owner named, if the registry shows someone you haven’t met.
Two brands the company carries now, with a contact at each. Called: [ ] brand one [ ] brand two
Warehouse visit booked for (date): ______________

What this sheet can’t check

Beneficial ownership is filed with the authorities but not published. Mediated disputes don’t appear on China Judgements Online. Market-regulation penalties come off GSXT after three years, or three months for small fines. Sell-out is in nobody’s registry. Ask for it.

Where the rules on this sheet come from

Companies file an annual report between January 1 and June 30 each year. One that misses two years in a row and can’t be reached at its registered address has its business license revoked. Source: State Administration for Market Regulation (市场监管总局), 企业信息公示暂行条例, articles 8 and 18, as revised March 10, 2024. https://www.samr.gov.cn/xyjgs/flfg/art/2024/art_be55c2e3a54a43e5ab12794c9dc87600.html

An LLC’s shareholders must pay in their subscribed capital within five years of founding, and subscribed and paid-in amounts are published on GSXT. A branch has no legal personality. Source: PRC Company Law (公司法), 2023 revision, articles 13, 40 and 47, in force July 1, 2024. https://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=98771

Companies registered before June 30, 2024 must bring any remaining subscription period down to five years by June 30, 2027. Source: State Council (国务院), July 2024. https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202407/content_6960452.htm

A listing for obstructing or evading enforcement, or for breaking a court order, runs two years and can be extended by one to three. A listing is deleted within three working days once the debt is paid. Source: Supreme People’s Court (最高人民法院), Provisions on Publishing the List of Dishonest Judgment Debtors, 2017 amendment, articles 2 and 10. https://www.court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/37182.html

Market-regulation penalties that were only a public criticism or a lower-band fine come off GSXT after three months; all others after three years. Source: State Council Gazette (国务院公报), SAMR Order 45, article 13, in force September 1, 2021. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2021/content_5647362.htm

Cases closed by mediation are not published online, except where disclosure is needed to protect state, public or third-party interests. Source: Supreme People’s Court (最高人民法院), 法释〔2016〕19号, article 4, carried by China News Service (中国新闻网), August 2016. https://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2016/08-31/7989135.shtml

Beneficial-owner information goes to the People’s Bank of China. State bodies and institutions doing anti-money-laundering checks may obtain it and must keep it confidential. Source: State Council Gazette (国务院公报), 受益所有人信息管理办法, in force November 1, 2024. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11386/202406/content_6955755.html