Long-form, no fluff. The real way to source from China.

Quality Control · 16 min read

Choosing a China Inspection Company: What to Ask Before You Book One

How to tell a real third-party QC provider from a box-ticker, why the inspection brief matters more than the inspector, and what to ask any company — including us — before you book an inspection.

Fundamentals · 15 min read

Your First China Order, Step by Step: The Complete Sequence

The actual order in which a first China import happens — from writing the spec to the delivery truck — with what to have ready before each step and where to go for the depth behind it.

Tariffs & Compliance · 18 min read

Anti-Dumping & Countervailing Duties on Chinese Goods: The Importer's Guide

AD/CVD is the most expensive surprise in importing from China. How goods fall inside a scope written in prose rather than codes, why cash deposits are provisional, and how importers end up owing years of back duty.

Shipping & Logistics · 19 min read

China 3PL, Warehousing and Consolidation: Holding Stock Before It Ships

When it pays to hold or combine stock in China instead of shipping direct from each factory — consolidation, inspection and re-work at source, duty timing, bonded versus ordinary storage, and the control risks of leaving your inventory in someone else's building.

Sourcing Tactics · 19 min read

Chinese Business Culture and Negotiation Etiquette: A Practical Guide for Buyers

Working with Chinese suppliers is a relationship before it is a transaction. Guanxi, face, WeChat, who actually decides, and the cultural mechanics that decide whether your emails get answered.

Platforms · 16 min read

Dropshipping With a 1688 Sourcing Agent: How the Model Actually Works

What a '1688 agent' actually does, why 1688 is a domestic Chinese platform rather than an export one, where quality control really sits in a per-order dropship model, and the point at which it makes sense to stop and place a real factory order.

Regulatory & Compliance · 15 min read

CBAM & CSDDD: What the EU's Supply-Chain Rules Actually Ask of a China Importer

CBAM and CSDDD are two different EU regimes that both reach back into Chinese supply chains — a carbon price on specific input categories, and a due-diligence obligation that can land on you even when you're not the company it names. What each actually requires.

Fundamentals · 16 min read

Importer of Record, Customs Bonds and EORI: Becoming a Legal Importer

Before your first container leaves China, somebody has to be the legal importer at destination. This is what that role means, what the US customs bond and the EU/UK EORI registration actually do, and what happens to goods that arrive without them.

Segment Playbooks · 18 min read

Marketplace Supplier Compliance: What Walmart, Temu and TikTok Shop Demand of Your China Supply Chain

Walmart, Temu and TikTok Shop each run a different commercial model, but all three push the same core compliance demands back onto your factory — and a supplier who can't produce a current, correctly-scoped test report is one platform audit away from a suspended listing.

Segment Playbooks · 14 min read

Product Photography and Listing Content: Sourcing It From China Without the Copyright Trap

Why supplier-supplied photos are usually not yours to use, when to shoot at the factory versus at destination, what a listing actually needs, and what to put in writing before you pay.

Payments · 17 min read

RMB vs USD Currency Risk: A Practical Guide for China Importers

Most China quotes are priced in USD, but the factory's costs are in RMB. Here's where currency risk actually sits in your import timeline, and the hedging options a mid-size importer can realistically use.

Regulatory & Compliance · 16 min read

UFLPA & Forced-Labour Compliance: Due Diligence for Importers Buying from China

What the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act actually requires of a US importer — how the rebuttable presumption works, why it is an upstream-input problem rather than a factory-location problem, and what supply-chain tracing looks like in practice.

Segment Playbooks · 19 min read

Amazon FBA Prep and Labelling at the Chinese Factory: Getting It Right Before the Container Loads

What Amazon requires on units and cartons, what Chinese factories consistently get wrong, and how to write FBA prep into the purchase order so a fulfilment centre can't refuse or surcharge your shipment.

IP & Legal · 18 min read

Purchase Orders & Supply Contracts for China: What Makes Them Enforceable

Why an Alibaba chat log won't protect you, what separates a real PO from a wish list, how to write a contract-grade spec with AQL acceptance criteria, and the clauses — governing law, payment, defect remedies, mould ownership — that make a China order claimable when something goes wrong.

Sourcing Strategy · 13 min read

Chinese New Year, Golden Week and the Factory Shutdown Calendar

China's holiday calendar is a production-planning problem before it is anything else. What Chinese New Year, National Day Golden Week and the smaller breaks actually do to your order, and how to build an order calendar that survives them.

Quality Control · 19 min read

Defect Claims Against Chinese Suppliers: How to Actually Get Compensation

What to do when a shipment from China arrives defective: the evidence protocol, the escalation ladder from negotiation to Trade Assurance to legal action, and what factories will realistically agree to.

Tariffs & Compliance · 18 min read

HS Code Classification for China Imports: How to Get the Commodity Code Right

How HS and HTS classification actually works, how to classify a product using the General Rules of Interpretation, why your supplier's suggested code is not authoritative, and how to get binding certainty before the goods sail.

Regulatory & Compliance · 18 min read

Packaging, Labelling & Country-of-Origin Marking for China-Made Goods

The three layers of packaging and who specifies each, why country-of-origin marking is a customs requirement rather than a branding choice, who should own your barcodes, the market markings that have to appear by destination, and how to write packaging into a purchase order so it can actually be inspected.

Quality Control · 17 min read

The Sample Approval Workflow: From First Sample to Golden Sample

How the China sampling sequence actually works — factory sample, development sample, pre-production sample, golden sample — what to check at each stage, and how to give feedback a factory can act on.

Sourcing Strategy · 18 min read

Sourcing Agent vs Trading Company vs Factory-Direct: The Three Ways to Buy From China, Compared

Factory-direct, trading company, or sourcing agent — the three ways to buy from China, how each one actually makes its money, and when each is genuinely the right choice. From a sourcing agency, so discount accordingly.

Platforms · 16 min read

The Complete Guide to Alibaba Trade Assurance in 2026

What Alibaba Trade Assurance actually covers, the dispute timeline that nobody publishes, the failure modes to plan for, and how to use it alongside independent supplier verification.

Quality Control · 18 min read

AQL Inspection 2.5 Explained: How Pre-Shipment QC Actually Works in China

What AQL 2.5 means, how the ISO 2859-1 sample size tables work, what major/minor/critical defects are, and what an inspection report actually looks like — without the marketing fluff.

Sourcing Agents · 11 min read

Best China Sourcing Agents Compared: Sourcify, Leeline, Easy Imex, Imex Sourcing & Us

Honest comparison of major China sourcing agents — what each does well, what each does poorly, fee structures, and the bottom-funnel question of which to actually hire. Including ourselves.

Events · 14 min read

Canton Fair 2026: How to Attend Effectively (and When Not to Bother)

The world's largest trade fair runs twice a year in Guangzhou. Who should actually go in 2026, what to do in each three-day phase, what to skip, and the practical logistics that determine whether the trip pays off.

Regulatory & Compliance · 12 min read

CE, FCC, RoHS, REACH: Certifications You Actually Need from China Electronics

What CE, FCC, RoHS, and REACH actually require for Chinese electronics imports — testing scope, lab requirements, costs, and the compliance shortcuts that backfire.

IP & Legal · 14 min read

Custom Moulds and Tooling in China: Who Owns It, How to Protect It

If you commission a custom mould in China, who actually owns it — and what stops the factory from running your design for someone else? Practical IP protection for serious importers.

Tariffs & Compliance · 22 min read

China Import Tariffs & Duties 2026: Complete Guide for US, UK & EU Importers

What you actually pay to import from China in 2026 — Section 301 tariffs, the de minimis change, EU CBAM, UK post-Brexit treatment, and the HTS-code lookup process. Honest numbers, not marketing.

Quality Control · 17 min read

Quality-Issue Frequency Report: The Top Defects Across 25 Product Categories from China

What defects actually show up in Chinese factory production — by category, with frequency labels and the inspection methods that catch each one.

Shipping & Logistics · 12 min read

How Long Does Shipping from China Take in 2026? Real Lead Time Data

Real door-to-door lead times from China to major destinations in 2026 — by mode (sea FCL, sea LCL, air, rail), by origin port, and by destination region. Reviewed periodically — check the last-reviewed date on the page.

Sourcing Strategy · 11 min read

The 2026 China Sourcing Pricing Report: Average MOQs and FOB Prices Across 24 Categories

Real 2026 MOQ ranges and FOB price ranges across 25 product categories, drawn from active sourcing engagements. The numbers buyers actually pay, not what suppliers list.

Verification · 16 min read

Wire Fraud and China Supplier Scams: 11 Patterns and How to Avoid Them

Eleven specific scam patterns we see attempted on Chinese-supplier transactions every quarter, the tells for each, and the defensive moves that stop them.

Sourcing Strategy · 10 min read

China vs India Sourcing: Where Each Wins in 2026

Where India genuinely competes with China in 2026 — and where it doesn't. Real comparisons across textiles, leather, jewelry, electronics assembly, pharmaceuticals, and IT-adjacent hardware.

Sourcing Strategy · 11 min read

China vs Mexico for US Importers: Nearshoring Math in 2026

When nearshoring to Mexico actually saves US importers money in 2026, when it doesn't, and the USMCA / IMMEX dynamics that determine the answer per category.

Sourcing Strategy · 13 min read

China vs Vietnam Manufacturing in 2026: A Decision Framework for Importers

Honest, category-by-category comparison of sourcing from China versus Vietnam in 2026. Real wage data, real lead-time differences, and the dual-sourcing strategy most serious importers actually use.

Shipping & Logistics · 14 min read

Container Shipping from China: LCL vs FCL Costs, Lead Times & Customs in 2026

When LCL beats FCL, when it doesn't, real $/CBM rates by season, origin-port differences, and the customs steps that catch first-time importers off guard.

Regulatory & Compliance · 14 min read

CPSIA & EN 71 Explained: Children's Products from China

What CPSIA (US) and EN 71 (EU/UK) actually require for children's products imported from China — testing, lab requirements, certifications, and the most common compliance failures.

Tariffs & Compliance · 14 min read

De Minimis Is Gone: The End of the $800 Rule and What Replaced It

The $800 de minimis exemption is gone — for every country of origin, not just China. What happened, why the dropship parcel model died with it, and what importing small consignments looks like now.

Segment Playbooks · 14 min read

How European Brands Source from China After Brexit & CBAM in 2026

EU and UK importers face different regulatory landscapes for China sourcing in 2026 — Brexit-era UK rules, EU CBAM, the EU's CSDDD, and VAT structures. Practical guide.

Verification · 15 min read

The Complete Factory Audit Checklist: 60 Things to Check on a China Factory Visit

What an actual factory audit covers — sixty specific points across legal, capability, quality, ethical and security categories. The checklist we use on every audit, with what each finding means.

Fundamentals · 12 min read

First-Time Importers: 12 Mistakes That Kill 80% of First China Orders

After hundreds of first-time-importer projects, the failure modes cluster. Here are the 12 mistakes that account for most of them — and the fixes that prevent each.

Regulatory & Compliance · 13 min read

FDA, EU 1935/2004 & Food Contact: Importing Food-Contact Items from China

What FDA (US) and EU Regulation 1935/2004 require for food-contact items — silicone, ceramic, plastic, metal — when imported from China. Testing, migration limits, and common failures.

Sourcing Strategy · 11 min read

Hong Kong vs Mainland China Sourcing Companies: Which to Use

When buying through a Hong Kong company makes sense versus going directly mainland — tax, banking, payment-flow, and accountability tradeoffs.

Shipping & Logistics · 18 min read

FOB vs CIF vs DDP vs EXW: Incoterms 2020 Explained for China Importers

The four Incoterms that matter when buying from China — what each one means, who pays for what, where risk transfers, and which to use when. With a worked example showing the dollar difference.

Sourcing Tactics · 12 min read

How to Negotiate MOQ with Chinese Factories: 9 Tactics That Actually Work

MOQs are negotiable. Here are nine specific tactics that get Chinese factories below their stated minimums — without paying premium-per-unit prices that wipe out the savings.

IP & Legal · 12 min read

NNN Agreements vs NDAs: Protecting IP When Manufacturing in China

Why a Chinese-law NNN is dramatically more enforceable than a Western NDA, what NNN clauses to include, costs, and the IP-protection stack that goes around it.

Payments · 12 min read

How to Pay Chinese Suppliers: Wise vs PayPal vs T/T Wire vs Letter of Credit

The five practical payment methods for Chinese suppliers in 2026 — fees, transit times, security, and which to use for orders of different sizes.

Shipping & Logistics · 10 min read

Sea vs Air Freight from China: When Each Makes Sense in 2026

Air freight is 5–10× the cost of sea per kg, but 4× faster. The decision framework that tells you which to use for which shipment, with real 2026 rates.

Segment Playbooks · 13 min read

How to Source for Amazon FBA from China: A 2026 Playbook

Sourcing private-label products for Amazon FBA in 2026 — factory selection, FBA prep requirements, freight forwarding, prep services, and the Section 301 tariff math that makes or breaks margins.

Segment Playbooks · 13 min read

Sourcing for Shopify Brands from China: The 2026 Playbook

Building a private-label Shopify brand from Chinese suppliers — product selection, branding, fulfillment, freight, and the unit economics that work in 2026.

Regional Strategy · 12 min read

Yiwu vs Guangzhou vs Shenzhen: Which Chinese Sourcing City for Your Product

The three biggest Chinese sourcing cities have very different specialisations. Practical guide to which city for which product, with how-to-visit-each notes.

Verification · 18 min read

Supplier Verification: 30-Point Checklist for Importers

A comprehensive 30-point checklist for verifying Chinese suppliers before placing orders. Business legitimacy, factory authenticity, quality systems, and red flags.

Platforms · 16 min read

Made-in-China vs Alibaba vs 1688: Which Platform Should You Use in 2026?

Made-in-China vs Alibaba, with 1688 as the third option: an honest comparison of the three major Chinese B2B platforms. Pricing differences, scam risks, and when to use each.

Fundamentals · 28 min read

How to Source from China in 2026: A Complete Guide for Importers

A practical, no-fluff guide to sourcing products from China in 2026 — from finding factories to verifying quality, navigating tariffs, and shipping. Written by a sourcing team based in China.