To verify a Chinese supplier's court records, search its Chinese name, and its legal representative's, on zxgk.court.gov.cn and wenshu.court.gov.cn. For a deposit, the line that matters most is "enforcement terminated" (终本): a court searched for the supplier's assets and found nothing to take (SPC Termination Provisions, arts. 1 and 3). Dishonest-debtor entries are deleted once paid (SPC Dishonest Debtor Provisions, art. 10) and mediated cases are not published (SPC Publishing Provisions, art. 4), so a clean result proves little. Search before the deposit and again before the balance.
Suppose your sourcing agent sends a screenshot. The supplier's Chinese name is in the search box, and the tabs below read: dishonest debtors 0, consumption restrictions 1, enforcement terminated 2. The note says "not blacklisted, looks fine." We would read the same screen the other way.
How to verify a Chinese supplier on the enforcement site
One search on zxgk.court.gov.cn covers four records. A judgment debtor (被执行人) entry means someone won a judgment or award against the supplier and applied for enforcement. Plenty of solvent companies have one that closed within weeks.
A court may impose a consumption restriction (限制消费) when the debtor does not pay within the period in the enforcement notice (art. 1). For a company it binds the legal representative, the principal managers and the actual controller as well (art. 3).
The dishonest-debtor list (失信被执行人) is narrower. A court adds a debtor that can pay and refuses, hides assets, lies about them or breaks a restriction order (art. 1).
"Enforcement terminated" is the record buyers skip. A court may close a case this way only after three months, a full search of bank accounts, vehicles, property and securities, and no assets found or none that could be sold (Termination Provisions, arts. 1 and 3), and the case is then published on the same site (arts. 12 and 13). The debt survives and the court rechecks every six months for five years (arts. 8 and 9). But the creditor went home without its money.
Our view: two terminated cases in recent years are a stronger warning than one dishonest-debtor entry. The dishonest list tells you about behavior. A terminated case tells you a court already looked and found nothing to take, which is where you would stand if your deposit never came back. The factory may still make your goods well. It should not be holding your money.
Chinese supplier lawsuits on China Judgments Online: which side was it on?
On wenshu.court.gov.cn, read the cause of action (案由) and the supplier's role before the outcome. A factory suing customers for unpaid invoices is normal. Four buyers suing it over quality in one year is a pattern worth one written question.
Labor cases are different. We read several wage claims by workers in one year as a sign of cash trouble on the factory floor, which tends to show up as missed delivery dates first.
Two limits. Mediated cases stay off the site (Publishing Provisions, art. 4), and a pending case has no judgment yet; judgments go online only after they take effect (art. 7). If a court had to serve the supplier by public notice because it could not be found (Civil Procedure Law, art. 95), the notice appears on rmfygg.court.gov.cn. Then ask whether the address on your contract still reaches anyone.
When the boss is the one restricted
Search the legal representative and, if you know it, the controlling shareholder by name. A restricted person may not fly, take a G-series high-speed train or stay in a star-rated hotel without the court's approval (Restriction Provisions, art. 3). If the owner keeps promising to meet you at the Canton Fair and never arrives, this can be why.
Deleted entries leave no trace on the official list (Dishonest Debtor Provisions, arts. 2 and 10). Commercial Chinese data apps keep the history and help as leads; check them against the court record before you act.
Which court record should stop a deposit, and which should not
A current dishonest-debtor entry against the supplier or its legal representative: we stop there. Pay nothing in advance; if you still want the goods, pay after inspection or against shipping documents.
An "enforcement terminated" case in the last three years: no deposit, or a small one tied to a sample, and keep the balance until the goods pass inspection.
An active consumption restriction: ask in writing for the case number and the plan to pay. A supplier that answers with a closing notice is not the one that goes quiet.
Old enforcement cases marked as paid, or lawsuits where the supplier is the plaintiff: ordinary. Record them and move on.
None of this counts if the name and credit code you searched are not the ones on your contract; see whether a supplier is a factory or a trading company.
A search log to keep with the purchase order
- Date of the search, and whether it was before the deposit or before the balance.
- The exact Chinese name and 18-digit unified social credit code searched.
- Each site searched, with the count shown on each enforcement tab.
- Case numbers of anything found, and a screenshot file name for each page.
- The written question you sent the supplier, and its answer.
Run it twice. A supplier clean when you paid the 30% can pick up an enforcement case before the balance falls due, and the balance is the money still in your hands. What to agree before that first 30% is in our note on deposits.
Sources
- Supreme People's Court, Provisions on Publishing the List of Dishonest Judgment Debtors (Fa Shi [2013] No. 17, amended by Fa Shi [2017] No. 7), articles 1, 2 and 10, gongbao.court.gov.cn/details/dc27fdfb3cf9926456af691c1ee94f.html
- Supreme People's Court, Provisions on Restricting High Consumption and Related Consumption by Judgment Debtors (amended by Fa Shi [2015] No. 17), articles 1 and 3, gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/3428801e5872c885b0a421b4e30ece.html
- Supreme People's Court, Provisions on Strictly Regulating the Termination of the Current Enforcement Procedure (Trial) (Fa [2016] No. 373), articles 1, 3, 8, 9, 12 and 13, court.gov.cn/fabu/xiangqing/30111.html
- Supreme People's Court, Provisions on Publishing Judgments on the Internet by the People's Courts (Fa Shi [2016] No. 19), articles 4 and 7, gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/415f49dd8baaa04b479d57af9616ef.html
- Civil Procedure Law of the PRC (2023 amendment), article 95, gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/886331ece0f6611a370642e89f08c6.html
- Translations are mine and unofficial.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I search a Chinese supplier's court records by its English name? No. Courts record the registered Chinese name, so get it and the unified social credit code first.
- How long does a company stay on China's dishonest-debtor list? Until it pays, if it was listed for refusing to pay; then the entry goes within three working days. Entries on other grounds last two years, longer in serious cases.
- Should I drop a supplier because it has been sued? Not by reflex. Check which side it was on and what the case was about.
- Do I need a Chinese lawyer to search court records? Not to run the searches. A lawyer helps with reading the judgments and deciding what a record means for your payment terms.
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Related reading
- Is Your Chinese Supplier a Real Factory or a Trading Company? How to Check Before You Pay
- Paid a 30% Deposit to a Chinese Supplier? Only 20% Can Be Doubled, and Only If the Contract Says 定金
- “Pay My Personal Account”: Say No to a Chinese Supplier; a Hong Kong Company Can Work
This article is general information on PRC law as of 10 November 2026 and does not constitute legal advice. The answer in any matter depends on its documents and facts.