If the account name does not match the contracting entity, stop. That single mismatch accounts for more first-order losses than every other finding on this page combined.
The five things we match
The entity
The Chinese name and Unified Social Credit Code on the contract, against the registry: does it exist, is it still active, is it listed as abnormal, has it been renamed.
The chop
The name carved on the seal, read and matched against the registered Chinese name. A chop in a different name binds a different company — or nobody.
The signatory
Whether the person signing is the registered legal representative, and if not, whether an authorisation has been produced at all.
The registered scope
Whether the entity’s registered business scope actually covers the goods or services it is contracting to supply. A trading scope on a manufacturing contract is worth knowing about first.
The bank account
Whether the account name on the payment instructions is the contracting entity — or a personal account, a Hong Kong company, or a name you have never seen.
The group around it
Related entities, shared officers, former names and deregistered siblings — the context that explains a mismatch, or fails to.
Why the account name is the one that matters
Chinese banks require that a company account be in the company’s registered name, so a legitimate supplier can almost always invoice and be paid in the name on your contract. When the instruction points somewhere else, there are three explanations and they are not equally likely: a genuine offshore invoicing entity in the same group, an informal arrangement the supplier would rather you did not examine, or an intercepted email thread in which the instruction never came from your supplier at all.
All three look identical in your inbox. Two of them are recoverable if you ask before the transfer and neither is recoverable afterwards. The check costs a fraction of one percent of a typical deposit.
Which check do I need?
| Where you are | What to book | From |
|---|---|---|
| Comparing suppliers, no contract yet | Supplier Registry Check | US$95 |
| Contract or proforma invoice in hand, deposit due | Contract Counterparty Check — this page | US$150 |
| Contract is bilingual and you read only one half | Bilingual Contract Version Check | US$180 |
| About to make this supplier your only supplier | Supplier Due Diligence | US$180 |
| A customer or regulator is asking who makes your product | Compliance-Grade Supplier File | US$690 |