How to Verify a Chinese Company in the Official Registry (GSXT)

To verify a Chinese company, get its Chinese legal name or 18-character Unified Social Credit Code from its business licence. Search that identifier in the official National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT). Compare the live record with the licence, then check the registration status and any risk notices. The public search is free; GSXT may require a real-name account or on-screen verification to view the full record.

Do this before signing a contract, wiring a deposit or accepting the company as a supplier or partner. The registry tells you whether the entity exists as claimed; it does not tell you whether it will perform a contract.

This guide explains what you can verify yourself, where to look, what the records actually tell you, and where public search stops and due diligence begins. It works both as a China company verification routine and as a guide to searching the Chinese company registration record.

What to check, and where

For the full buying process, use our first-order China sourcing checklist to plan samples, inspection and payment.

Start with the official registry

Companies established in mainland China are registered with market regulation authorities. Their core registration information is published through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, usually called GSXT after its domain.

A search by the company's exact Chinese name or its Unified Social Credit Code returns the registration record, which normally shows:

• the registered Chinese name and the Unified Social Credit Code;
• the company type and the date of establishment;
• the registered capital and the paid-in position where disclosed;
• the legal representative's name;
• the registered address;
• the business scope;
• the current registration status; and
• shareholders and, where filed, key personnel.

Two details matter for search accuracy. The registered Chinese name is the decisive identifier; a name on an English website or sales document may be a translation or trading name. The credit code is often an even better search key because similar names can be confusing.

How to search the registry, step by step

1. Ask for the current business licence (营业执照). Copy the Chinese name (名称) and Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码) exactly.
2. Open GSXT, use the enterprise search field and complete any on-screen verification. Search the credit code first; try the exact Chinese name if you do not have the code.
3. Open the matching enterprise record. Confirm that the code and name match the licence, then read the registration status, establishment date, legal representative, address and business scope.
4. Open the public notices for penalties, abnormal operations and serious dishonest conduct. Save the date and details of any relevant entry.
5. If the website is temporarily inaccessible, try again or ask your local adviser to obtain the same official record. Do not treat a screenshot supplied by the counterparty as a live registry check.

There is no single English-language registry that replaces this check. If you cannot read the Chinese fields, have someone translate the live official record and keep the original alongside the translation.

What the status field tells you

The registration status is the quickest risk signal in the record. Common entries:

• 存续 (existing/operating) means the company is currently registered and not in a termination process.
• 注销 (deregistered) means the company no longer exists as a legal person. Any contract signed in its name after deregistration is a serious problem.
• 吊销 (licence revoked) means the authority has cancelled the licence, usually for sustained non-compliance, but the company has not completed deregistration. Dealing with a revoked company is high risk.
• 迁出 / 清算 and related entries indicate relocation or an ongoing liquidation.

An "existing" status is a starting point, not a clean bill of health. It confirms the company is on the register, nothing more.

Layers of risk the public system exposes

Beyond the basic record, the same system and connected public sources surface several categories of warning information:

• Administrative penalties imposed by market regulation and other authorities.
• Abnormal operation listings (经营异常名录), typically triggered by missed annual reports or an unreachable registered address. A company currently on this list has an unresolved compliance problem.
• Serious illegal and dishonest enterprise listings, the more severe tier.
• Equity pledges and chattel mortgages, which show whether the company's assets or shares are encumbered.
• Court judgments and enforcement, searchable through the courts' public judgment and enforcement databases. A company listed as a dishonest judgment debtor (失信被执行人) has refused to perform an enforceable court obligation, which is one of the strongest negative signals available.

For a material deal, save the dated results and investigate anything that conflicts with the documents or claims you were given.

What public search cannot tell you

Public records answer structural questions. They do not answer commercial ones. The gaps matter:

• Registered capital is not cash in the bank. A high subscribed figure tells you the shareholders' commitment, not the company's liquidity, and under the current Company Law much of it may not be paid in yet.
• The registered address is not necessarily where the company operates. Many companies register at an address provided for registration purposes.
• Public records do not show financial performance. Turnover, profitability and tax payment history are not public.
• A clean record does not prove the person you are dealing with represents the company. Verifying that the individual signing is the legal representative, or holds a valid authorisation, is a separate step.
• Affiliations are easy to miss. The company on the contract may be a small affiliate of a famous group, or an unrelated company trading on a similar name.

This is why verification has levels. Registry search is the floor, not the ceiling.

Verify the documents you are shown

Counterparties routinely provide a scanned business licence as proof of identity. Treat it as a lead, not evidence:

• cross-check the licence details against the live registry record, since a scan can be stale or altered;
• check any term shown on the licence and confirm that the company status is current as of your search date, not merely the scan date; and
• where the stakes justify it, obtain an official registration extract (档案/机读档案) from the market regulation authority, which is the authoritative version.

The same discipline applies to licences and permits. A business licence proves the company exists; it does not prove it holds a food production permit, a medical device licence or any other industry approval. Regulated activities need the specific permit verified against the issuing authority's records where possible.

When to commission fuller due diligence

Public search is usually enough for a first screen. Fuller investigation becomes proportionate when:

• the transaction involves prepayment, long-term supply commitments or exclusivity;
• you are acquiring equity in, or merging with, the company;
• the counterparty will hold your IP, your goods or your customers' data; or
• anything in the public record looks inconsistent with what you have been told.

Fuller due diligence can include litigation and credit checks beyond the public databases, site visits, verification of operating history through customs or tax-facing channels, reference checks with existing customers, and confirmation of beneficial ownership through the company's filings. For equity transactions, legal and financial due diligence by qualified advisers is the norm rather than the exception.

A short verification routine for a new counterparty

1. Get the company's exact Chinese name and Unified Social Credit Code from its business licence.
2. Pull the live registry record and check status, establishment date, capital, legal representative and business scope.
3. Screen for administrative penalties, abnormal-operation listings and serious-dishonesty listings.
4. Search the court judgment and enforcement databases for the company and, for material deals, its legal representative.
5. Confirm the individual you are negotiating with is the legal representative or holds a documented authorisation.
6. For regulated activities, verify the specific industry permit separately.
7. Escalate to fuller due diligence if the deal size or any red flag justifies it.

None of this guarantees a good counterparty. It removes the avoidable risks, which in practice are the ones that cause the most preventable losses.

Common questions

How do I check if a Chinese company is real?

Get its exact Chinese legal name or 18-character Unified Social Credit Code from the business licence, then search it in the official National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (GSXT). The record confirms the company exists and shows its status, capital, legal representative and business scope.

Is the Chinese company registry search free and available in English?

The public GSXT search is free, but the interface and records are in Chinese, and full records may require real-name verification. Have the live record translated rather than relying on an English name or a screenshot from the counterparty.

What does the registration status on a Chinese company record mean?

存续 means the company is currently registered and operating; 注销 means it has been deregistered and no longer exists; 吊销 means the licence was revoked for non-compliance but deregistration is not complete. Anything other than an active status is a serious warning.

Does a clean registry record mean a Chinese company is safe to pay in advance?

No. The registry confirms the legal entity, not its solvency, commercial reliability or willingness to perform. For prepayments or long-term commitments, escalate to fuller due diligence beyond the public record.

Related reading

• China's foreign investment negative list
• China registered capital rules and the five-year deadline
• Protecting intellectual property in China
• China business licence and Unified Social Credit Code
• Representative office in China

Official sources

• National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System
• State Administration for Market Regulation: real-name access to GSXT
• China Judgments Online (court judgments)
• National court enforcement information disclosure
• State Administration for Market Regulation

Public records are updated by the registering authorities and may lag recent filings. For material transactions, verify against an official extract close to the signing date.

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