Chinese Business Registry Search: Mainland vs Hong Kong

Which registry do you need?

Look at the supplier’s documents. The legal name, the identifier and the type of certificate tell you where the company is registered.

Many suppliers use both: a mainland factory and a Hong Kong company that signs contracts or receives payment. Check whichever entity appears on your contract and invoice, and ask how the two are related.

Search a mainland company on NECIPS

Every business registered in mainland China is published on NECIPS (gsxt.gov.cn), the official and free disclosure system run by China’s market regulators. Search it with the Chinese registered name or the USCC from the business license, then complete the image verification.

Start with the company check on our homepage, which tells you what to search with, or follow the step-by-step GSXT walkthrough. The sections below explain the fields you will see.

Search a Hong Kong company on the Companies Registry

Hong Kong companies are registered with the Companies Registry, not on NECIPS. Search them on the Companies Registry e-Services Portal, which works in English.

• Company name search: free, by exact name or the start of the name.
• Company Particulars Search: a report of the company’s current particulars, HK$22 per company at the registry’s published fees.
• Filed documents: annual returns and other filings can be viewed or downloaded for a fee per document.

Since 27 December 2023, a Hong Kong company’s Business Registration Number (the first eight digits of its Business Registration Certificate number) is its key identifier with the registry, under Companies Registry External Circular No. 3/2023. Match that number, and the exact registered name, against the invoice and bank details.

A Hong Kong record confirms that the company exists and shows what it has filed. It does not show the mainland factory, so ask the supplier to identify the mainland entity and search that one on NECIPS too.

Read a mainland record: common fields

Labels vary by entity type. These are reading aids, not certified translations. Articles 32 and 33 of the Company Law describe company registration and business-license particulars.

Registered capital is not cash in the bank

For a limited liability company, Article 47 of the Company Law defines registered capital as the shareholders’ subscribed contributions recorded with the registration authority. Do not treat that figure as the amount already paid in.

Look for separate 认缴 (subscribed) and 实缴 (paid-in) contribution information, including its date and currency. A displayed capital amount does not establish current cash, revenue, available production capacity, or ability to repay your order.

Annual reports can contain financial information

Company-submitted annual reports are a separate part of the disclosure system. Under Article 9 of the Enterprise Information Disclosure Interim Regulations, companies choose whether to make certain annual-report items public, including employee numbers and financial figures such as assets, liabilities, revenue, and profit.

It would be inaccurate to say the system never shows financial information. It would also be inaccurate to treat every company’s financial figures as publicly available. Check the reporting year and whether each item is disclosed. An undisclosed figure is not zero, and a company-submitted report is not automatically an audited financial statement.

Read status and adverse entries in context

存续 or 在业 commonly indicates an existing or operating registration. 注销 indicates deregistration; 吊销 concerns revocation of the business license. Retain the exact wording and check the related entries rather than translating every status as simply “active” or “inactive.”

Review any 经营异常名录 (abnormal operations list), 严重违法失信名单 (serious violations and dishonesty list), or administrative-penalty entries shown for the matched entity. Read the reason, issuing authority, date, and any removal or correction information. A list entry needs context, and the absence of one does not establish that a transaction is safe.

Continue with the supplier verification workflow to connect registry findings with the actual order.