Sign the importer that already sells into the channel you need and passes your checks. State-owned importers bring import rights for a short list of goods, big balance sheets and a way into state retail, and they decide slowly. Private importers move faster and sell harder, and you carry more credit risk.
Most of China’s foreign trade runs through private companies now.
In 2025, private companies handled 26.04 trillion RMB of China’s imports and exports, 57.3% of the total. State-owned companies handled 6.06 trillion RMB, or 13.3%. More than 780,000 companies recorded trade. Source: People’s Daily (人民日报), via the Chinese government portal (中国政府网), January 2026. https://www.gov.cn/lianbo/202601/content_7054775.htm
For a mid-sized brand, ownership changes four things: the licenses an importer holds, how fast it signs, how it pays and which shelves it can reach.
Why the question comes up at CIIE
CIIE is the one fair where a foreign brand meets state buyers in bulk, because they arrive in organized delegations.
The ninth China International Import Expo (CIIE) runs from November 5 to 10, 2026 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. Source: China International Import Expo Bureau (中国国际进口博览局), May 2026. https://www.ciie.org/zbh/cn/19BusEx/SerArea/ProAud/Q&A/20260527/61239.html
The eighth CIIE’s buyer corridor hosted 20 retail chains and leading ecommerce platforms plus 14 central state-owned companies, with more than 600 rounds of talks. Source: China International Import Expo Bureau (中国国际进口博览局), November 2025. https://www.ciie.org/zbh/businessEx/expoNews/20251112/54275.html
A card from a group with “China” in its name feels safe, and the family-owned importer from Chengdu at the next table can look like a gamble. Neither feeling is worth much until you’ve run the checks below. Our guide to China’s trade fairs covers who walks which show.
Don’t expect to sign on the stand. In our own distributor work, a first meeting to a signed contract runs three to five months (TheChinaPath distributor sourcing engagements, as published on this site). So a handshake in November means a contract in the spring.
State-owned vs private importer in China, side by side
| Line | State-owned importer | Private importer |
|---|---|---|
| Licenses | Required for 9 state-trading goods; 90% of the 2026 wheat quota and 70% of sugar go through state trading companies | Any company registered in China may import other goods, since Dec 30, 2022 |
| Speed to a signed deal | Slow. Central groups buy under set purchase methods and publish purchases above a threshold | Faster. One owner can say yes |
| Payment reliability | Large groups, pushed by the State Council to pay small Chinese suppliers in cash; the subsidiary you sign pays alone | Depends on the company; average credit terms in China run 81 days |
| Retail access | State chains and group-owned outlets, such as Sinopec’s 31,195 service stations | Online stores and private chains, plus regional wholesalers |
| Marketing effort | Low unless the contract sets a budget and names a team | Higher when your line earns them money |
| Typical fit | Staples under state trading; brands that need state retail | Consumer brands that need sell-out online and in private chains |
License, payment and retail figures: sources cited below, all checked on October 15, 2026. The other three rows are TheChinaPath’s reading from its own distributor work.
Speed is the row brands underestimate. A central state-owned group can’t simply pick a supplier it likes.
Outside mandatory tendering, central state-owned companies buy through four methods: comparison quotes from at least three suppliers, multi-round bidding among at least three, negotiation with at least two, or direct purchase in listed cases. Purchases above a set threshold are published. Source: SASAC and the National Development and Reform Commission (国务院国资委 国家发展改革委), 国资发改革规〔2024〕53号, July 2024. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/2024/issue_11566/202409/content_6973172.html
Three of the four need rival suppliers at the table. Build that into the timeline before you promise your board a first order.
Licenses and registrations
If you sell consumer goods, most of this section is good news.
China used to make every trading company file as a foreign trade operator before it could import. It stopped in 2022.
Article 9 of the Foreign Trade Law, on foreign trade operator filing, was deleted on December 30, 2022, and local commerce departments stopped the filing that day. Applicants for licenses, quotas and state trading status no longer have to show it. Source: Ministry of Commerce (商务部), January 2023. https://wms.mofcom.gov.cn/ztxx/dwmyzx/dwmyjyzbadj/art/2023/art_897a36464f8044bd90e35d408802da88.html
Ownership still decides a short list.
Nine goods are under import state trading: wheat, corn, rice, sugar, tobacco and tobacco products, crude oil, refined oil, fertilizer and cotton. A trader outside the state trading list, without a non-state allowance, may not import them. Source: Ministry of Commerce (商务部), state trading qualification service guide, updated August 2021. https://www.mofcom.gov.cn/zwdt/xzxksx/art/2023/art_a210ec25313747eab80abec4543cfc10.html
For grain and sugar, the quota notices put a number on it.
China’s 2026 tariff quota is 9.636 million metric tons for wheat, 90% of it state trade; 7.2 million for corn, 60%; and 5.32 million for rice, 50%. Quota marked as state trade must be imported through a state trading company. Source: National Development and Reform Commission (国家发展改革委), announcement 2025 No. 5, September 2025. https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xxgk/zcfb/gg/202510/P020251009506531316782.pdf
The 2026 sugar tariff quota is 1.945 million metric tons, 70% of it state trade. Source: Ministry of Commerce (商务部), announcement 2025 No. 64, September 2025. https://sw.beijing.gov.cn/zwxx/2024zcwj/202510/W020251011615787109423.pdf
If you sell rice or sugar in bulk, a state trader is close to unavoidable. If you sell olive oil or skincare, it isn’t, and ownership doesn’t change the registrations your product needs. A food importer, for instance, files with customs either way.
Overseas exporters or their agents and food importers file with the entry-exit inspection authority, which publishes the lists. Source: Ministry of Commerce policy database (商务部), Food Safety Law of the PRC, article 96, as amended September 2025. https://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=104105
Credit and payment
Brands sign state-owned importers for the balance sheet. Check whose balance sheet it is.
A subsidiary has legal personality and bears its own civil liability. Shareholders of a limited company answer only up to their subscribed contribution. Source: Ministry of Commerce policy database (商务部), Company Law of the PRC, articles 4 and 13, 2023 revision. https://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=98771
A trading arm three layers under a famous group pays you from its own accounts. If it fails, the group doesn’t owe you the money. The same law defines a state-funded company as one that’s wholly state-owned or state-controlled. A company with a minority state shareholder doesn’t count.
Beijing has told state groups to pay small suppliers faster. The rules protect Chinese companies.
Central state-owned companies are to set out four payment terms in their contracts and pay small and medium suppliers fully in cash. Where a contract names no payment method, large companies pay small ones in cash, not in commercial bills or receivable e-vouchers, and e-vouchers are capped at six months. Source: General Office of the State Council (国务院办公厅), 国办发〔2026〕24号, September 2026. https://policy.mofcom.gov.cn/claw/clawContent.shtml?id=106834
Small and medium companies are those set up inside China. Large companies buying from them pay within 60 days of delivery, or on a reasonable term the contract sets. Source: State Council (国务院), Regulation on Ensuring Payment to Small and Medium Enterprises, Decree 802, articles 3 and 9, in force June 2025. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/202503/content_7015401.htm
None of that covers a brand exporting from abroad. Sell through your own small company in China, and it does. Either way, write payment by wire and a due date into the contract, because commercial bills are how large buyers stretch terms.
With a private importer, the risk sits with one company and its owner. And late payment in China isn’t rare.
Companies in mainland China offered average credit terms of 81 days in 2026, and 86% suffered late payment. Source: Coface (科法斯), APAC Payment Survey 2026, via PR Newswire (美通社), August 2026. https://www.prnasia.com/story/543914-1.shtml
For either kind, first orders go on prepayment or a confirmed letter of credit. Our piece on payment terms with a Chinese distributor sets out the sequence.
Channel access: which shelves each one reaches
Ownership makes the biggest difference here. Some state groups own retail outright.
Sinopec had 31,195 Sinopec-branded service stations at the end of 2025. Its convenience-store goods and services earned 4.25 billion RMB of profit in 2025. Source: Sinopec (中国石化), 2025 annual report, March 2026. https://static.cninfo.com.cn/finalpage/2026-03-23/1225024063.PDF
When an importer belongs to a group that owns stores, it may be able to put your product in front of the group’s own buyers. Ask it to prove that with the names of the group stores it supplies today and what one imported line sold there last quarter.
Private importers rarely get through that door. In our experience they sell where sell-out gets measured, in online stores and private supermarket chains, and through regional wholesalers who take a truckload and want the next one. If your plan depends on sales through Tmall or JD.com, an importer that has never run an online channel is the wrong partner, whoever owns it.
Checks to run on both kinds of importer
Run the same list on every candidate. The guide to finding a distributor in China has the full set. These are the ones ownership changes.
- Who owns it. Read the shareholder chain on the business registry and follow it up to a state asset regulator or a state group, whatever the logo on the stand suggests.
- Who pays. Name the contracting entity, and read its own registered capital and filings rather than the parent’s.
- Customs record. Ask for its customs credit rating.
- Category licenses. The food filing or license your category needs, held in its own name.
- Proof of sell-out. Call two brands it carries and ask for their sales data.
Customs-certified AEO companies have an average inspection rate below 20% of the normal rate. Companies rated dishonest face inspection on 80% or more of their goods. Source: General Administration of Customs (海关总署), Decree 251, articles 30 and 31, in force November 2021. https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2021/content_5651731.htm
A dishonest rating means customs opens most of what you ship.
Every importer and distributor in Compass has been met in person and vetted on site, and a shortlist usually takes two to three weeks from the brief (TheChinaPath, as published on this site). We take no commission from the companies on it, so no company on a shortlist paid to be there. After signature, distributor management covers the relationship.
Common questions about state-owned and private importers
Is a state-owned importer safer to sell to?
On default risk, usually. The groups are large, and the State Council is pressing them to pay small suppliers on time. The subsidiary you sign still pays alone, and the 2026 cash-payment rules cover small Chinese suppliers, not a foreign exporter. Take prepayment or a confirmed letter of credit until it has paid you on time.
Can a private importer bring in rice or sugar?
Yes, under a non-state allowance or the non-state share of the quota. For 2026 that share is 10% for wheat, 40% for corn, 50% for rice and 30% for sugar. Quota marked as state trade goes through a state trading company, unless no import contract is signed by August 15.
Does a state-owned importer take a bigger margin?
Not by rule. As our distributor guide puts it, the markup depends on the channel, on who pays listing fees and marketing, and on who takes the credit risk. Compare offers on the shelf price your product reaches.
Do I need an importer at all?
Only for general trade, the duty-paid route to supermarket shelves. A cross-border store on Tmall Global or JD Worldwide sells to shoppers from abroad, so no Chinese importer takes title to the goods.
Updated October 16, 2026
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