Canton Fair: checking a supplier you met at the show

A Canton Fair exhibitor is not always a manufacturer: many are trading companies. Before the first order, check its business licence, have the factory that will actually produce assessed, and approve a production sample, not the booth sample.

Suppliers and purchasing · By Guerric Laspougeas · Published 6 October 2026

What the show reveals, and what it hides

The Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair) is China’s oldest export trade show. In a few days, buyers find suppliers for almost every product family there. But the booth is a shop window:

• many exhibitors are trading companies, which subcontract to one or more factories;
• the samples on display are hand-picked, sometimes made separately, and not always by the factory that will produce;
• the stated capacities (headcount, floor space, certifications) are self-declared.

A trading company is not a bad choice in itself: it can consolidate products and handle export. But you need to know who you are dealing with, and where your product will actually be made.

At the show: the right questions

• The company’s exact name in Chinese and English, and a copy of its business licence (营业执照).
• The factory address, and whether the exhibitor owns it.
• Its current customers in your market, and the European standards its products already meet, with the test reports.
• The minimum order quantity, production lead time and payment terms.
• Whether it accepts a third-party inspection before shipment, paid by you: a refusal is a warning sign.

After the show: check before paying the deposit

1. Check the company from your desk: our guide how to verify a Chinese supplier details the four free public registers (licence, capital, business scope, lawsuits).
2. Have the factory assessed: an initial evaluation confirms on site that the factory exists, makes this type of item and can handle your volumes; a due diligence goes deeper into the company’s history.
3. Approve a production sample, not the booth one, and make it your reference sample.
4. Write the rules into the purchase order: specifications, AQL, third-party inspection, balance paid after a passed inspection.
5. Inspect the first order: initial production check then final random inspection.

For a product subject to CE marking, also check the conformity documents, and beware of logos with squeezed letters: see our guide CE marking or “China Export”. For the whole process, read our guide to quality control in China.