China’s business registry is free and public. Here is how to actually use it.
Every registered mainland Chinese company has an official record on GSXT — name, code, scope, capital, penalties. The catch: the registry speaks only Chinese, and it has never heard of your supplier’s English name. This is the manual for getting from the name on the invoice to the record that matters.
OFFICIAL SOURCE GSXT.GOV.CN · 4,996 FACTORYBASE PROFILES CARRY A USCC ON FILE
In short
- GSXT (gsxt.gov.cn, run by SAMR) is the authoritative registry for all mainland companies — free, public, Chinese-only.
- It searches by registered Chinese name or 18-character USCC. English trade names do not exist in the registry — resolve them first.
- Hong Kong entities live in a separate registry with English search. A mainland factory and its Hong Kong trading arm are two different companies.
What the record contains
A GSXT record mirrors the business licence and adds the history a licence photo cannot show: the registered legal name (the only name with legal force), the USCC, entity type, legal representative, registered capital, establishment date, registered address, business term, business scope — plus operating status (存续 means active), administrative penalties, and whether the company has been flagged for abnormal operations. For a buyer, three fields do most of the work: scope (does it contain manufacturing, 生产/制造, or only trade?), address (industrial zone or office tower), and capital against age. Our licence field guide reads each one in detail.
The three-step lookup from an English name
- Get the USCC. Ask for the business licence photo — every real company sends it within minutes — and read the 18-character code top-left. Or resolve the English trade name to the registered Chinese name with name lookup: English names are invented ad hoc and the registry does not record them, which is why searching them fails.
- Search GSXT. Paste the USCC (or the Chinese name) into gsxt.gov.cn, solve the captcha, open the record. Access from abroad can be slow; off-peak hours help.
- Compare, don’t admire. The record only earns its keep against the deal on the table: does the scope cover what you are buying, does the beneficiary account name match the registered name exactly, does the claimed factory city match the registered address? Mismatches are questions to ask before the deposit, not after.
Validate the code itself first
The USCC carries its own checksum, so a mistyped or invented code can be caught before you fight the captcha. Our free USCC checker validates the checksum and decodes what the 18 characters assert — issuing authority, registration region, entity type. If the decoded region contradicts where the supplier says they are, you have found your first question. A valid checksum does not prove the company exists; the registry record does.
Hong Kong is a different registry
GSXT covers mainland entities only. Hong Kong companies register with the Companies Registry (CR number, Business Registration number) and are searchable in English. The pattern that trips buyers: a mainland factory quoting through a Hong Kong trading arm. Both entities can be perfectly legitimate — but your contract and your wire go to one of them, and that one is the one to verify, in its own registry.
When GSXT fights back
The registry is authoritative, not convenient: Chinese-only interface, aggressive captcha, and patchy accessibility from overseas networks. That inconvenience is why paid “China company report” services exist — most resell the same public record. FactoryBase’s approach is the middle path: 5,580 export-supplier profiles with the registry facts already extracted and sourced (4,996 carry a USCC on file), free, with links back to the official record so you can confirm anything that matters. Absence from our library is not a red flag — China has millions of registered companies; we sweep exporters.
Common questions
What is GSXT?
GSXT — the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System at gsxt.gov.cn — is China’s official business registry, run by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR). Every legally registered mainland company has a record there: registered legal name, 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (USCC), business scope, registered capital, legal representative, establishment date, address, and administrative penalties. It is free and authoritative — and searchable only in Chinese.
Can I search the China business registry in English?
Not directly — GSXT accepts the registered Chinese name or the USCC, and it has no official English interface. The practical route: get the supplier’s business licence (every real company sends it within minutes), read the USCC off it, and paste that into GSXT. If all you have is an English trade name, resolve it to the registered Chinese name first — that is exactly what FactoryBase’s free name-lookup does from public-record profiles.
What is a Chinese company registration number?
Since 2015 it is the 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (USCC), printed top-left on every business licence — one code covering registration, tax and organisation identity. Older 13-digit registration numbers and separate tax IDs were merged into it. If a supplier gives you a "registration number" that is not 18 characters, ask for the licence photo.
Does GSXT cover Hong Kong companies?
No. Hong Kong has a separate Companies Registry (CR number and Business Registration number) with its own English-language search. Many mainland factories invoice through a Hong Kong trading arm — legitimate and common, but the Hong Kong entity is legally a different company. Verify whichever entity is actually named on your invoice, in its own registry.
GSXT will not load or the captcha keeps failing — what now?
Access from outside China can be slow and the captcha is unforgiving; try off-peak hours or a different network. As a cross-check, FactoryBase profiles Chinese export suppliers with registry facts already extracted — 4,996 profiles carry a USCC on file — and each profile links its sources so you can confirm on the official record when GSXT cooperates.
FactoryBase is an independent directory built from public records — suppliers cannot pay to change what their record says. USCC checker · Name lookup · What Alibaba badges verify