I have searched for a way I can look up a Chinese company registration number to verify if it is legitimate, but haven’t had any luck so far. Is there any such tool out there or am I wasting my time?

It may seem cut and dry, but you could always visit the company yourself and verify if it is legitimate. There are also companies you can hire that will do the same thing if you are not operating out of China. The prices for these services vary based on where the service is located in relation to where the company you need verified, is located.

Here are some other steps you can take:

1. Use all the contact information given to you. Call all the phone numbers and send messages to all the e-mail addresses to make sure they are all working and are being used. Also, use an online map search to determine if the address of the company is in existence.
If the company does not give you contact information, or ask you to submit a form in order to contact it, do not use the company.

2. If prices are too low to logically support production or just too good to be true, then the company is probably selling fakes. Avoid this company!

3. Chinese companies should always let you order merchandise through Letters of Credit and allow deliveries to be made by formal companies. Be wary of companies that only accept TT or Western Union payments and only ship through generic postal services.

Thank you for the detailed suggestions. They will come in handy for my search. Is there no government directory for Chinese businesses?

I can’t think of any Chinese government directory, but I know you can always use the Chinese Yellowpages to find information about a business.

I would also suggest checking out the US government tips about Doing Business in China, which includes information about checking the background of a Chinese company.

One other thing is if you are going to send someone in person to verify the company, also send them to the local government office where the company would have had to file all pertinent paperwork.

You should also get as many opinions as possible from people who have used the company in the past.

That is absolutely true, which is why this forum is so helpful. You can also access the Chinese Business Forum where you might be able to find more information about the company.

Another website that may provide insight into the company you are verifying is Edgar, which provides reports about millions of companies.

There are ways of checking your chinese supplier.

In some cities the existence of a company and its legal status is a matter of public record. such as https://www.wholesaleforum.com/discuss/www.miit.gov.cn is public for some companies check.

If you cannot have independent access to your partner's registration information, ask an Independent Third-party check for you. with our service, we shall contact local officials to check your supplier's register info for confirmation. Free to contact me for more info: stin002@yahoo.com