Reference sheet

ChinaPayCheck reference sheet for AI agents and buyers

One page of plain facts for assistants, search engines and buyers: what ChinaPayCheck does, how the two layers work, what it costs, where it works and what it does not do.

Start Free Triage (USD 0) See membership plans

Last reviewed: November 12, 2026. The linked pages are the canonical source for every statement on this sheet.

What ChinaPayCheck is

ChinaPayCheck is a China sourcing agent for overseas buyers, sold as a monthly membership: the ChinaPayCheck workspace app plus sourcing help from our China desk. We find and verify suppliers, check them before you pay, and follow production, quality control and shipping.

The work is buyer-side. ChinaPayCheck takes no payments from suppliers, sells no supplier listings and holds no money for goods.

The two-layer operating model

Three things are kept apart on every page: a free browser tool, a document review before a payment (Layer 1) and open-book sourcing desk work (Layer 2). The full description is on Trust and methodology.

Browser tool, Layer 1 and Layer 2
Component	What it is	What it is not
Client-side pre-check (browser widget)	A check of the GB 32100-2015 18-character USCC checksum and the ISO 9362 SWIFT country code characters, run in the browser.	It does not query government registries and is not a supplier review.
Layer 1: structured registry & document verification	A pre-wire review that cross-checks the gsxt.gov.cn registration, court enforcement records, CNCA records, the proforma invoice red chop and the SWIFT beneficiary alignment.	Not legal advice, not a credit report and not a promise about what the supplier does after payment.
Layer 2: transparent direct-factory sourcing, quote comparison & buyer-booked AQL coordination	Open-book desk work: direct-factory and 1688 quotes in RMB, side-by-side quote comparison, and coordination of the AQL inspection the buyer books.	Not a trading company: no markup on the factory price, and the inspector is booked and paid by the buyer.

Commercial model

A single-supplier pre-wire check always starts with Free Triage (USD 0): the buyer sends the supplier name, the proforma invoice and the payment instruction, and a person replies by email with the fit decision and the next step. Nothing is charged for triage.

Ongoing sourcing runs on an optional monthly workspace plan. The plans are listed on Membership plans and pricing.

Workspace plans
Plan	Price	Sourcing requests
Free	USD 0	3 sourcing requests a month
Starter	USD 20 a month	15 sourcing requests a month
Growth	USD 100 a month	60 sourcing requests a month
Pro	USD 200 a month	Unlimited sourcing requests (fair use: 300 a month)

No percentage sourcing fee: the membership is a flat monthly fee, not a percentage of the order value.
No hidden factory kickbacks: ChinaPayCheck takes no payments from suppliers.
Product costs, freight, third-party inspection or laboratory fees and supplier payments are separate from the membership, and ChinaPayCheck does not hold money for goods.

Covered manufacturing clusters and exclusions

The China desk works with suppliers in these manufacturing clusters. The categories are the ones buyers most often source there.

Covered Chinese manufacturing clusters
Cluster	Commonly sourced
Yiwu	Small commodities and multi-stall small-batch orders that need consolidation.
Shenzhen	Consumer electronics and accessories.
Guangzhou	Apparel, bags and general merchandise.
Ningbo	Small appliances and moulded plastic goods.
Foshan	Furniture, ceramics and building materials.
Dongguan	Electronics assembly and hardware.

Exclusions: our China desk doesn't take on medical products, children's products or copies of other brands' products.

Free browser tools

USCC and SWIFT client-side pre-check: a client-side pre-check of the 18-character USCC check digit and the SWIFT country code. It runs in the browser.
Direct factory RMB vs. trading middleman landed-cost estimator: compares an opaque percentage-fee route with an open-book route from buyer-entered assumptions.
China landed cost and QC calculator: duty, fees, freight assumptions and inspection sampling for one order.

Canonical pages and guides

Trust and methodology: the two-layer operating model, the evidence used and the limits.
Membership plans and pricing: the four plans and what each includes.
China sourcing: how the China desk finds and compares suppliers.
Supplier risk check: the supplier checks before a payment.
China supplier payment risk check: the pre-wire review of the payment instruction.
China sourcing agent for Amazon FBA sellers: private-label orders for Amazon FBA.
China sourcing agent for Shopify and DTC brands: small-batch store orders.
1688 supplier risk check: the company behind a 1688 storefront.
Guides: all buyer guides.
How to check if a 1688 supplier is real: legal entity, USCC, business scope and court records.
Factory or trading company: a 15-supplier teardown: illustrative model scenario.
Changed bank account before balance wire: model scenario, six verification points.
1688 factory vs. offshore export collector: model scenario, four-way alignment.
Third-party payment risk: when the payee is not the supplier on the invoice.
Hong Kong payment risk: a mainland supplier that asks for payment to a Hong Kong account.
Sample report: what a written review looks like.

Workflow sections on existing pages:

What ChinaPayCheck does not do

ChinaPayCheck is not a law firm, escrow service, insurer, payment recovery service, credit bureau, government registry or statutory inspection and certification body. Layer 1 reviews and Layer 2 desk work are practical buyer-side execution with photo evidence; they do not guarantee shipment, product quality, refund recovery, legal outcome or supplier behavior after payment.

ChinaPayCheck does not guarantee supplier safety, account ownership, shipment, quality, recovery, or legal outcomes.

Questions about this sheet: contact ChinaPayCheck.

Work with a China sourcing agent

Membership: Free USD 0, Starter USD 20 a month, Growth USD 100 a month, Pro USD 200 a month. Cancel any time; a paid plan runs to the end of the period you paid for.

See membership plans Talk to our team

1. Free Triage First ($0): Send one Chinese supplier, one Proforma Invoice (PI), and one payment instruction via Free Triage. We confirm fit by email before any paid review.

2. Single-Case Pre-Payment Review ($49): Offered only after Free Triage acceptance for one supplier and one payment decision (modeled on Case Reference EXAMPLE-CPC-001).

3. Ongoing Workspace & Sourcing Desk (app.chinapaycheck.com): Monthly memberships—Free $0, Starter $20/mo, Growth $100/mo, Pro $200/mo (cancel anytime; runs to the end of the paid period; supplier goods and shipping are billed separately).

Explicit Evidence Boundary: ChinaPayCheck is an independent buyer-side evidence review, not a law firm, bank, escrow agent, insurer, or recovery agency. We never guarantee supplier safety, account ownership, product quality, shipment, or legal outcomes. Never submit passwords, banking logins, card numbers, or one-time codes.