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Working with China, explained.

Practical notes on sourcing, factories, production and shipping from people working on the ground in China.

A business buyer at a desk in Shanghai comparing a Chinese business licence, a supplier quotation and bank payment details on a laptop screen

How to Verify a Chinese Supplier Before Paying

A business licence can prove that a company exists. It cannot prove that this is the company you should pay.

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A sourcing specialist comparing several Chinese manufacturer profiles and product specifications across a laptop, notebook and printed samples

How to Find a Manufacturer in China Without Relying on Alibaba

Alibaba is a useful directory. The mistake is treating the directory as the market.

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A sales representative discussing a product sample with a buyer, with a production floor and workers visible through glass in the background

Chinese Manufacturer or Trading Company? How to Tell

The question is not whether traders are bad. It is whether you know who is doing what.

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An inspector and factory engineer beside active industrial machinery during an on-site factory audit in China, with the inspector taking notes

Factory Audit in China: What Should Be Checked

A factory tour shows you a factory. An audit should answer whether that factory can handle your order.

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An inspector at a warehouse table opening cartons and checking finished products against a printed specification, with a caliper and packaging visible

Pre-Shipment Inspection in China: What Buyers Should Check

The inspector is not there to decide what 'good' means. That decision should have been made before the cartons were closed.

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A large lot of boxed products in a warehouse next to a smaller separated inspection sample, with an inspector counting and recording defects

AQL Inspection: What the Numbers Mean

AQL is not 'the percentage of bad products you agree to receive'. That shortcut causes a lot of bad inspection decisions.

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An approved product sample on a factory workbench with a version tag, drawing and material swatches, with an engineer comparing it to a fresh production unit

Golden Sample: The Reference That Stops Production Arguments

The sample on your desk is useful only if the factory knows exactly which sample it is supposed to reproduce.

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A buyer and factory representative at a sample-room table discussing a small batch of products, material swatches and packaging

MOQ in China: What Can Be Negotiated

MOQ is often presented as a fixed number. In practice it is usually the visible result of several different minimums.

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Finished export cartons at a factory loading area with a truck waiting outside, while a logistics coordinator checks pickup details with factory staff

EXW vs FOB When Buying from China

EXW can look cheaper on the quotation and still give a foreign buyer more work than expected.

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Cartons from several suppliers grouped into organised zones in a warehouse before one outbound shipment, with a warehouse operator scanning cartons

Consolidating Orders from Multiple Chinese Suppliers in China

Consolidation saves little if the goods arrive without labels, dimensions, documents or a plan for what happens next.

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