Verifying a Chinese Robot Supplier: A Due-Diligence Checklist

Why verify at all

A single research humanoid runs $15–50k (a Unitree G1 lists from $16,000 US); a multi-vendor cell easily clears $50k. That is enough money, and enough lead time, that a fake or unauthorized seller can cost you a quarter. Chinese robotics is a legitimate, fast-moving industrial sector — the checks below are the same ones you would run on any overseas supplier, not a special "China tax." Do them in order; each step is cheap, and the order front-loads the cheapest, most decisive checks.

1. Business licence and registration

Every mainland Chinese company has a business licence (营业执照) carrying a Unified Social Credit Code (USCC) — an 18-character alphanumeric string. Ask for a photo of the licence and verify it:

• The USCC should resolve on a national registry lookup (e.g. GSXT, the State Administration for Market Regulation system). Third-party aggregators like QCC or Tianyancha mirror the same data with an English UI.
• Check registered capital, registration date, and business scope. A company registered three months ago with a scope that doesn't mention manufacturing or export is a trading shell, not a maker.
• Confirm the legal representative's name matches the bank account you'll pay into. Payment must go to the company account on the proforma invoice, never a personal account.

A mismatch between the licence name, the domain, and the bank beneficiary is the single most common fraud signal. Stop there if they don't line up.

2. Export licence and shipment history

A factory that sells domestically is not automatically set up to export. Ask:

• Do they hold customs / foreign-trade registration (报关权) in their own name, or do they export through an agent? Either is fine — but you need to know whose name is on the customs declaration.
• Can they show prior export records to your region? Redacted bills of lading or a customer reference in your market are strong evidence. Public trade-data services (e.g. ImportGenius, Panjiva) index US and some EU import records by consignee — a quick way to confirm a supplier has actually shipped abroad.
• Who is the importer of record at your end? Settle this before the box leaves China, not when it's stuck at the port. See our import playbook.

3. "Are you an authorized distributor?"

For branded hardware — Unitree, Inspire, AgiBot and the like — many sellers on marketplaces are resellers, and some are not authorized at all. An unauthorized reseller can quote a real price and still leave you with no manufacturer warranty and no RMA path.

• Ask directly: "Are you the manufacturer, an authorized distributor, or a trading company?" A straight answer is itself a signal.
• For a claimed distributor, ask for the authorization letter and verify it against the manufacturer's official sales contact. Most top makers publish an overseas sales email — a two-line message confirms or kills the claim.
• Match the model to the maker. Our supplier profiles list which brands each maker actually produces.

4. Public milestones — and their sources

Big funding rounds and shipment claims are useful context, but treat them as marketing until sourced. Robotics startups routinely announce round sizes; unit-shipment numbers are frequently self-reported and rarely audited. When a figure matters to your decision:

• Anchor it to a named, dated source — a company press release, a filing, or reporting that cites one. "Industry sources say" is not a source.
• Prefer funding and headcount (harder to fake, often in registries or reputable press) over units shipped (usually self-reported, per company announcements).
• Recognize that a well-funded company can still be the wrong supplier for a one-unit order, and a small maker can be the right one. Milestones inform risk; they don't replace the paperwork checks above.

5. Certifications for your destination

Certifications are destination-specific, and the burden of proof is on the supplier. Ask for the actual certificate and test report, not a logo on a PDF.

The battery is the long pole: without a UN 38.3 test summary, freight forwarders won't accept lithium packs, and spare batteries ship under stricter rules than installed ones — see our shipping guide. A supplier who can't produce a UN 38.3 summary on request has never exported that unit by air. Certification claims a manufacturer hasn't documented should carry a † in your own notes until you see the file. For what a marking legally does and doesn't cover, verify with your customs broker or counsel.

6. Factory video or site visit

This is what separates paperwork from reality — and it is the check most fraudsters can't pass.

• Live video call, not a pre-recorded tour: ask them to walk the line, show the model you're buying powered on, and pan to a whiteboard with today's date. A recorded "factory tour" proves nothing.
• Serial-numbered video inspection of your unit before the balance payment — powered on, running your acceptance checklist.
• For volume orders, a third-party inspection (SGS / TÜV-class) runs roughly $150–350† per visit and is cheap insurance.

7. Sample and demo policy

• Components (actuators, sensors, LiDAR): a legitimate maker will run a demo video of your target task and often sell a single evaluation unit — MOQ 1 is normal across our actuators and dexterous-hand catalog.
• Robots: expect a live video call with the actual unit class, not a stock clip.
• A refusal to demo, or a demand for 100% payment upfront from an unverified supplier, is a red flag. So is a price far below every other quote.

8. References

Ask for two customers in your region or industry, and actually contact one. Questions that surface problems: Did the spec on the PI match what arrived? How was the RMA handled? Did lead time hold? A supplier with real export history can always name a reference; one that can't, usually can't.

Mapping to Sourcebotics' verification levels

We publish the same three checks as a badge on every product card, table row and supplier profile.

A spec marked † is manufacturer-reported and not yet independently verified — treat it as a claim to confirm, not a fact.

A note on end-use screening

One counter-intuitive signal: a legitimate agent asks what you'll use the robot for. End-use screening protects both sides — it keeps the transaction inside export-control and sanctions rules and confirms the hardware actually fits your application. A seller who never asks, and will ship anything anywhere for a wire transfer, is not being helpful; they're skipping compliance. We screen end-use on every RFQ, and we'd rather lose an order than ship the wrong one.

The printable checklist

Run 1–5 and 8 before you sign a proforma invoice; run 6 and 7 before you pay the balance. If a supplier stalls on any check that costs them nothing — a licence photo, a live call — that stall is your answer.