The terms that appear in Chinese company registries and in our reports, explained in plain English. Every entry is written to be read on its own.
An 18-character code that uniquely identifies a legally registered entity in mainland China. The first two characters indicate the registration authority and entity type, the next six the administrative division, followed by a nine-character entity identifier and a check character. It appears on the business licence and in every official registry, and it is the most reliable way to confirm you are looking at the right company.
The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, the Chinese government's official company registry portal. It is the authoritative source for registration details, shareholders, legal representative, registered capital, business scope, annual reports, administrative penalties and abnormal-operation listings. Searching is free, but the content is in Chinese.
The list of permitted activities recorded in a company's registration. It is the fastest public signal separating a manufacturer from a middleman: a genuine factory's scope contains terms for production or manufacturing, while a trading company's scope lists wholesale, retail or trading. Operating outside the recorded scope is a licensing and compliance risk.
The distinction that matters most before you pay a deposit. A factory holds production licences, a scope covering manufacturing, factory premises and usually customs records; a trading company brokers goods made by others and adds a margin. Many marketplace listings labelled 'manufacturer' are trading companies, so the storefront label is not evidence.
The capital a company declares when registering. Since China moved to a subscription system, the figure is a declared commitment rather than proof of paid-in funds. A large number therefore does not by itself prove financial strength, and a very small number for a company claiming factory-scale output is a warning sign.
The natural person who legally represents the company and whose name appears on the business licence. This is a person-level accountability link: checking whether the same individual is tied to multiple companies, abnormally operating entities or enforcement records is a standard risk screen. Personal contact details are not public and we do not obtain them.
A mainland China company owned entirely by foreign investors, with no Chinese partner required. A WFOE is a separate legal person from its overseas parent, so the registered capital, shareholders and legal representative in the Chinese registry describe the local entity, not the foreign group behind it.
A person or company that a Chinese court has recorded as able to satisfy a judgment but refusing to do so. The status is published on the China Enforcement Information Disclosure Network and on Credit China, and usually comes with restrictions on high-value spending and travel. A match against a supplier or its legal representative is among the strongest publicly available warning signs.
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