Methodology
How we verify a Chinese manufacturer.
The due diligence framework behind every Equilinq project, published in full. Verification claims without methodology are just marketing, so here is ours.
Why this exists
Responsibility cannot be outsourced.
Imported goods must meet the same EU requirements as goods produced inside the EU, and the importer carries a gatekeeping role before anything is placed on the market. Outsourcing production to China does not outsource accountability. Verification is the first layer of risk control.
A cheap supplier can become an expensive mistake.
The purchase price is only part of the exposure. A supplier that cannot support EU compliance creates corrective costs, customs delays and operational disruption that are invisible at the quotation stage. Prevention through verification is cheaper than correction at the border.
The framework
The five checks
- 01
Legal verification
IS THE SUPPLIER A REAL REGISTERED ENTITY?
Registered company name, Unified Social Credit Code, date of establishment, registered address, and where available the directors and shareholders, all checked against formal Chinese registration records. Never against a website, a catalogue or a sales profile.
- 02
Commercial verification
DOES THE PROFILE MATCH THE CLAIMS?
The registered business scope must be consistent with the claimed manufacturing activity, the company age with the claimed experience, and the registered address with what appears on invoices, websites and documents. Mismatches are not proof of misconduct, but they are exactly where deeper checks start.
- 03
Compliance verification
WHICH EU RULES APPLY, AND CAN THEY SUPPORT THEM?
First identify the rules that apply to the product itself, CE marking or another regime. Then demand product-specific evidence: the EU declaration of conformity, technical documentation, test reports and labelling. A supplier who cannot produce coherent compliance evidence is a supplier who cannot lawfully reach the EU market.
- 04
Quality verification
CAN THEY PRODUCE CONSISTENTLY?
Compliance lives in production, not just paperwork. We assess the production setup and process control behind the product, and we use inspections, audits and sample checks on top of document review. A good sample is a starting point, never proof.
- 05
Transaction consistency
ARE THE LEGAL, PAYMENT AND EXPORT IDENTITIES ALIGNED?
The same legal entity must appear on quotations, contracts, invoices and bank details. Intermediaries must be disclosed, not discovered. Any change of contracting entity or payee identity during a project triggers re-verification before any money moves.
Note
A certificate is not compliance.
CE marking is a legal process the manufacturer must follow, not an approval stamp an authority hands out. The question is never whether a supplier can send a certificate. It is whether they can demonstrate product-specific compliance under the correct regime, with the documentation to back it.
This framework runs before any factory touches your project.
Every factory on an Equilinq project passes these five checks, and the Production Readiness Audit applies the same discipline to your product itself.
Start with your productResearch: Sultan Tuleugali, Equilinq. Based on European Commission and EU market access guidance.