Find the registered Chinese name behind a supplier’s English name
Chinese companies have no legal English name — the name on the website is an unofficial translation, and the entity that can sign your contract and receive your wire exists only under its registered Chinese name. Enter the English name you know (or a Chinese name, or a USCC) and we’ll resolve it against 5,579 public-record supplier profiles.
Why the English name on the invoice is not a legal identity
China’s company registry records one name per company: the Chinese one. There is no field for an English name, no approval process for one, and no uniqueness rule — which means the English name you’ve been emailing is whatever someone chose to type. Literal translation, loose translation, brand name, yesterday’s new idea from the sales manager: all common, all interchangeable, all legally weightless.
Mostly this is harmless convenience. It stops being harmless at two moments: when you sign and when you pay. A contract with “Foshan Excellence Hardware Co., Ltd.” binds nobody if no entity of that name is registered anywhere — and a wire sent to a beneficiary that doesn’t match the registered name is exactly how invoice-swap fraud works. The fix is mechanical, not forensic: resolve the English name to the registered Chinese name once, then make every document — contract party, proforma invoice, bank beneficiary — agree with it.
The 18-character USCC on the business licence is the cleanest key: pure ASCII, uniquely assigned, printed on every licence, and checkable on the official registry. Name in Chinese + USCC together identify a supplier; an English name alone identifies nothing. Validate a USCC and run the full 8-step check →
What to do with the resolved name
- 01
Cross-check it against the business licence
Ask the supplier for a photo of their licence and match two fields: the Chinese name and the USCC. If either differs from what you resolved here — or from what a marketplace listing claims — you are looking at two different entities, and you should find out why before money moves.
- 02
Put the Chinese name on the contract
Name the registered Chinese entity as the contracting party, with the English trade name in brackets for readability. A contract against the Chinese legal name is enforceable in Chinese courts; one against an invented English alias may name nobody.
- 03
Pay only the registered name
The beneficiary on your wire must match the registered company name — not a personal account, not an unrelated Hong Kong company with a similar English name. Any mid-deal “our bank account changed” email is treated as compromised until confirmed on a live video call.
Common questions
Do Chinese companies have an official English name?
No. A Chinese company has exactly one legal name — the Chinese name on its business licence and in the government registry (gsxt.gov.cn). English names on websites, Alibaba listings and business cards are unofficial translations or invented trade names: the registry does not record them, nothing stops two companies using the same one, and one company may use several. The only stable identifiers are the registered Chinese name and the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (USCC).
Which name should go on my contract and wire transfer?
The registered Chinese name, exactly as printed on the business licence. Chinese banks match the beneficiary against the registered name, and a contract that names only an English alias is naming an entity that does not legally exist. Standard practice: write the Chinese legal name with the English trade name in brackets after it, and pay only a bank account held in that registered name.
Why do I see different English names for the same Chinese factory?
Because each English name is invented ad hoc — by the factory, a sales agent, or a marketplace. The same registered company can appear as a literal translation, a brand name, and a separately incorporated Hong Kong trading arm at once. Before treating two names as the same supplier, resolve both back to one registered Chinese name and USCC; before treating them as different suppliers, do the same.
The English name I searched is not in your library — is that a red flag?
No. FactoryBase profiles 5,000+ export suppliers, built mainly from Canton Fair exhibitor records, and China has millions of registered companies. To resolve the name manually: ask the supplier for a photo of their business licence, read the Chinese name and 18-character USCC from it, and confirm the record on gsxt.gov.cn. Or leave the name and website below and we will run the public-record sweep for you, free.
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