HI-COM Partner Insight
Chinese company & payment details pre-check
- No account needed
- Instant, in your browser
- Reviewed by our Shanghai team on request
Paste the details you have. Anything missing can stay blank.
Copy and paste from their documents, no need to read Chinese. Only the website you enter is read by our server; nothing else is sent until you ask for your report.
Input checks assessed: 0 · Not a risk score
-
Not provided Company name As written on the contract or invoice.
Question to ask
-
Not provided Website Optional: their website or email address, if you have it.
Website declarations & sources
Question to ask
-
Not provided Credit code 18 characters, on their business licence. Optional.
Question to ask
-
Not provided Bank account holder The name on the bank details.
Question to ask
-
Not provided Bank location The SWIFT / BIC code on the bank details.
Question to ask
Four checks.
One clearer picture
of your partner.
To check a Chinese company before you pay, compare four details from its contract, invoice and bank details. They must be consistent with each other and with Chinese and international standards. If one of them does not fit, ask your partner to explain before any money leaves your account.
From shared details
to clearer next steps.
HI-COM Partner Insight reads the details your partner has already sent you and tells you, line by line, what is consistent and what to clarify. No account, no Chinese typing.
Paste their details
Copy the company name, credit code, bank account holder and SWIFT code from the invoice, contract or business licence, and their website if you have it. Any detail you don’t have can stay empty.
Use what you have. No account needed.
Read the live result
Each detail has an explanation: what was observed, what needs clarification or what cannot yet be confirmed. Open a point to find the question to ask your partner.
Keep the Partner Insight Report
Enter your email to download the Partner Insight PDF immediately. Select the HI-COM follow-up option for a deeper review: we will email a confirmation with your PDF attached, then reply within 1 working day with the next steps.
Run Partner InsightInstant pre-check · PDF report
18 characters.
Each part tells you something.
The Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码), also called USCC or USCI, is the 18-character identifier printed on a mainland Chinese business licence. Explore its five parts below.
Illustrative format: 91440300MA5F3K8280 · Select a part to explore
Registration authority: 9 identifies the market regulation authority for companies and businesses.
Under authority 9, 1 indicates an enterprise. 2 indicates an individual business and 3 a farmers’ cooperative.
The six-digit administrative area where the entity was registered. In this example, 440300 identifies Shenzhen.
The organisation code identifies the entity within the registration system.
Calculated from the preceding 17 characters. It helps detect typing errors, but a valid format does not confirm the company’s registration or ownership of the code.
Read the complete USCC reference
The code is defined by GB 32100-2015, printed on the business licence (营业执照) and used as the taxpayer number on official invoices (发票).
| Position | Meaning | In the example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Registration authority: 9 = market regulation authority (companies and businesses) | 9 |
| 2 | Entity type under authority 9: 1 = enterprise, 2 = individual business, 3 = farmers’ cooperative | 1 (enterprise) |
| 3–8 | Administrative area where the entity was registered | 440300 (Shenzhen) |
| 9–17 | Organisation code of the entity | MA5F3K828 |
| 18 | Check digit calculated from the 17 characters before it | 0 |
What a valid code proves, and what it does not
Because the 18th character is calculated from the others, a single wrong character usually breaks the code. A code that “does not add up” is either a typo or not a real licence number: ask for a clear copy of the business licence. A valid code only proves that the format is correct. It does not prove that the code belongs to the company you are dealing with: for that, the code and the exact Chinese name must be looked up together in the official register.
To do that yourself, follow our step-by-step guide on how to check a Chinese company on NECIPS (GSXT), the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.
The name behind
the business.
The last characters of a Chinese company name give its legal form, and the legal form tells you who is liable if something goes wrong. Always use the full registered Chinese name, including the suffix, in your contract and when you check the bank details.
| Chinese | Usual English | What it means for a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| 有限公司 有限责任公司 | Co., Ltd. Limited liability company | The most common form for suppliers and trading companies. A separate legal person; its liability is limited to its own assets. |
| 股份有限公司 | Co., Ltd. / Corp. Company limited by shares | Usually a larger company; the legal form required for a listing on a mainland Chinese stock exchange. |
| 分公司 | Branch | Not a separate legal person: the parent company bears its liabilities. Check which entity signs and invoices. |
| 个人独资企业 | Sole proprietorship | Owned by one individual, who is personally liable for its debts. |
| 个体工商户 (getihu) | Individual business | Not a company: a business registered to a person. Its credit code starts with 92. Fine for small purchases; ask about its legal form before a large or long-term contract. |
What a Chinese supplier’s website can confirm
A company website is not an official record, but it should tell the same story as the contract. Check that the legal name in the footer matches the name you are signing with, that the address or phone area code points to the same city as the credit code, and that the company writes from its own domain rather than a free email service. A domain registered only a few months ago deserves a closer look. HI-COM Partner Insight compares these points for you when you enter the website or an email address.
Hong Kong companies are a different case
Hong Kong companies also use “Limited” and 有限公司, but they are registered in Hong Kong and have no mainland Unified Social Credit Code. A Hong Kong company is a separate legal entity from a mainland factory, even inside the same group. If your contract is with one and the invoice comes from the other, ask why.
Make the final details
match the agreement.
Bank account holder and SWIFT code
- The account holder must be the company you signed with, under exactly the same Chinese name. One different character can mean a different company.
- A short name of two to four characters, such as 王伟, is usually a person, not a company.
- Under ISO 9362, characters 5 and 6 of the SWIFT / BIC code give the bank’s country: CN for mainland China, HK for Hong Kong.
- Treat “new bank details” announced by email just before a payment as suspicious. Confirm by phone with a contact you already know.
Sources: FBI IC3 2024 Internet Crime Report · ISO 9362:2022
Who can sign for a Chinese company?
- The legal representative (法定代表人) is named on the business licence and can bind the company.
- A contract is normally stamped with the company chop (公章) or the contract chop (合同专用章). The name on the chop must match the registered Chinese name exactly.
- Anyone else, such as a sales manager, should show a written authorisation (授权委托书) stamped by the company.
For contract clauses and payment terms that protect you, read working with Chinese suppliers: legal safeguards before you pay. Need the licence or contract in English? See our certified Chinese translation service.
A useful first check.
A team when you need more.
The consistency pre-check
HI-COM Partner Insight tests whether the details you received are consistent. Official registration and background records require a separate review. This pre-check does not confirm:
- that the company is registered and still active
- who its legal representative is
- court records, enforcement cases or administrative penalties
- trademarks and who owns them
You can look up a credit code on gsxt.gov.cn (in Chinese). The status should read 存续 or 在业 (active), and the name must match the contract exactly.
Go further with our team
- Before a first deposit or a first order with a new partner
- When a partner changes its bank details
- When the account is held by a person or by a different company
- Before signing a distribution, agency or manufacturing agreement
Select the HI-COM follow-up option in the report form to receive a confirmation email with your Partner Insight Report attached. Our Shanghai team will reply within 1 working day with the next steps for a review of the official Chinese records. You can also contact us directly.
Request a full checkIs HI-COM Partner Insight free?
Yes. The live check and the Partner Insight Report are free. Enter your email to download the PDF immediately; a HI-COM follow-up is optional.
Will I also receive my Partner Insight Report by email?
If you select the HI-COM follow-up option, your confirmation email includes the PDF as an attachment. If you only request the Partner Insight Report, it downloads directly from the page and no confirmation email is sent.
Does the check confirm that a Chinese company exists?
No. It checks whether the details you received are consistent with Chinese and international standards. Registration status, legal representative and court records are checked in the official Chinese records by our Shanghai team, on request.
Can I check a Chinese company with only its website?
Yes. Enter the website or an email address from your partner. Our server reads the public homepage and looks for the company name, the city (address, phone area code or ICP filing) and the age of the domain, then compares them with any other details you enter. A website that cannot be read is not a warning sign in itself.
Where can I find a Chinese company’s Unified Social Credit Code?
On the company’s business licence (营业执照), and as the taxpayer number on official Chinese invoices (发票). It always has 18 characters.
Is the USCI number the same as the Unified Social Credit Code?
Yes. USCI (Unified Social Credit Identifier), USCC and Unified Social Credit Code are different English names for the same 18-character code (统一社会信用代码).
What is a getihu (个体工商户)?
A getihu is an individual business registered to a person, not a limited company. Its credit code starts with 92. It can be a legitimate supplier for small orders, but ask about its legal form before a large or long-term contract.
Do Hong Kong companies have a Unified Social Credit Code?
No. The Unified Social Credit Code only exists for entities registered in mainland China. A Hong Kong company is registered in Hong Kong and is a separate legal entity from any mainland company in the same group.
My Chinese supplier wants to be paid into a Hong Kong account. Is that a problem?
Not necessarily: many mainland groups invoice through a Hong Kong company. But confirm which entity you sign with, and that the account belongs to that entity, before paying.
Why does the bank account holder name matter?
Because the money goes to whoever holds the account. If the holder is a person, or a company whose Chinese name differs from your contract, you may be paying someone other than your contractual partner.
Who can sign a contract for a Chinese company?
The legal representative named on the business licence, or a person holding a written authorisation stamped by the company. The contract should carry the company chop or contract chop matching the registered Chinese name.
What happens when I ask HI-COM for the full check?
Select the HI-COM follow-up option in the report form. We will confirm your request by email, and our Shanghai team will reply within 1 working day with the next steps for reviewing the official Chinese records. If the Partner Insight Report cannot be attached to the confirmation, our team will send it with the reply.
Move forward
with a clearer picture.
Run Partner Insight now, or ask our consultants to verify the company in the official Chinese records before you sign or pay.
WeChat 18618132520Scan the QR code or add our ID