How to start sourcing products from China
Last update: 11 Jul 2025
If you’re looking to source products from China, you may have encountered the following challenges:
- It’s hard to find trustworthy, affordable suppliers without sourcing agents on the ground or knowledge of the language and culture
- Paying Chinese suppliers can get expensive, with high fees, unfavourable conversion rates and complex rules
- It can take a long time for payments to settle, interfering with relationships and your inventory
In this article, we’ll share a step-by-step guide to sourcing suppliers and how to simplify the search and payment processes, including:
- Sourcing products from China: How to get started in 4 steps
- How to pay suppliers faster and more affordably with WorldFirst
- How to open a WorldFirst account
- How Party Bestbuy keeps inventory flowing with WorldFirst
Ready to start sourcing products from China? Open a WorldFirst account for free today to pay suppliers the easy way.
Sourcing products from China: How to get started in 4 steps
Sourcing products from China can be a bit complicated, especially if you don’t have a local presence.
Here’s where to start:
1. Research suppliers to find the most affordable and reputable options
There are a few different ways to find reputable suppliers in China, each with its own unique advantages and challenges:
Use online platforms and wholesale marketplaces
Sourcing suppliers online is by far the easiest option for e-commerce businesses. You don’t need local connections in China, intermediaries or expensive trips to source from online marketplaces.
Some of the top wholesale marketplaces to source online from China include:
- 1688.com: This previously untapped supplier goldmine primarily serves the domestic market in China, and until recently was somewhat inaccessible to users abroad. The site is entirely in Chinese, which can make it difficult for international buyers to navigate. However, the platform has 10 million active sellers across 1,700+ product categories categories, and prices for high-volume orders can be up to 40% less than on other sites.
Thanks to 1688.com’s direct integration with WorldFirst, it’s now significantly easier to make cross-border payments on the platform. Find out more here: WorldFirst and 1688.com: All you need for wholesale sourcing in Singapore. - TaoWorld: Alibaba’s top bulk-buying platform, TaoWorld connects merchants and sourcing agents with 800,000+ suppliers and over 100 million products from 4,000 brands. The platform also offers support for fulfillment and logistics functions, offering 72-hour shipping on select global routes. Suppliers must be paid in CNH, which can be done via TaoWorld’s direct integration with WorldFirst.
- Alibaba: One of the largest and most well-known online B2B marketplaces in the world, this wholesale platform connects global buyers with over 200,000 suppliers, selling over 200 million products across dozens of categories. Users can compare and connect with pre-vetted suppliers, pay securely and track shipping all through the same platform.
Work with China sourcing agents or sourcing companies
A sourcing agent’s job is to find and negotiate with trustworthy suppliers, helping businesses overcome language, cultural and logistical barriers and perform quality control.
Working with a local sourcing agency can take some of the complexity out of the search for suppliers. They tend to know the market, and can often leverage their relationships with Chinese manufacturers for more negotiating power. They can also play a critical role in quality assurance by inspecting products and factories on your behalf.
Besides the cost, the main downside to working with a sourcing agent is the reliance on one individual or company to act as your intermediary. Unless you have a very strong relationship, you won’t have complete control over your product quality and costs. Your agent can change suppliers at any time or mark up your costs without you ever knowing about it.
Another concern is that any damage to the relationship with your agent or agency can mean losing your factory contacts as well. In some cases, you won’t even know who your suppliers were or how to reconnect with them if you lose contact with your agent.
Attend trade shows and supplier expos
Trade shows are an excellent way to connect with reputable suppliers in China. At these large-scale events, you can meet suppliers in person, handle product samples and view presentations and demonstrations.
Unfortunately, trade shows aren’t always a practical option, especially for smaller companies. They can be expensive and time-consuming. Though most don’t charge merchants for admission, you still typically have to fly to China, pay for your hotel and travel expenses, hire an interpreter and sometimes apply for a visa (if applicable).
There are a handful of local supplier expos, like Enterprise Singapore, where you can meet suppliers in your own country. However, these events usually only happen once or twice a year, and may also involve travel and associated expenses.
2. Vet potential suppliers for quality and legitimacy
Once you’ve chosen a handful of suppliers you’d like to work with, you still need to do your due diligence. There are a number of different ways to vet Chinese suppliers and make sure they’re operating legally and offering high quality products.
Verify the suppliers’ documents and details
The Chinese government maintains a public online database of registered businesses, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, or NECIPs. You can use this site to verify the authenticity of a supplier’s business licence and other business details by searching for their USCI number or Chinese business name.
If possible, you should also request a copy of your supplier’s export licence and verify it with an expert third party. A legitimate export licence should include information (in Chinese) like the company name, official address, 18-digit registration number and a QR code link to NECIPS.
You may also wish to obtain and review any available financial documents or credit reports through a third-party authentication service like Glo-BIS or ChinaCheckup.com. At this early stage of the vetting process, it’s also a good time to verify that the products this supplier sells are compliant with Chinese export laws.
Read more: Importing from China to Singapore: How to keep costs low and suppliers happy
Do your research on each supplier
There are some straightforward ways to check the legitimacy of a supplier. For instance, it’s a good idea to Google the supplier’s name along with words like “fraud” and “scam” to see if anything appears. You should also check for any publicly available information about past lawsuits they were involved in.
Read reviews from other customers either on your sourcing platforms or any social media or business directories. Ideally, your supplier should have plenty of mostly positive reviews, and they should seem like they were written by legitimate customers.
When you source suppliers via a marketplace like Alibaba, TaoWorld or 1688.com, you can also look for other evidence that suppliers are reputable.
Each of these sites has its own system of badges, awards, customer reviews and other trust signals for verified and reliable suppliers. These sites can also help you identify sellers who’ve completed high transaction numbers, with accounts that have been around for at least a few years.
Visit and audit factories on-site, where possible
If possible, arrange to visit the factory in person, or have a sourcing agent or trusted contact visit on your behalf. You want someone on site who speaks the language, and can assess the condition of factory equipment, employee working conditions, compliance with local laws and more.
If you can’t send your own representative to a factory, you can contract with a third-party factory inspection service. These companies can inspect and audit your factories for safety, quality, production capacity and ethical and environmental practices.
Sample the product and assess supplier communication
Whether or not you arrange for a site visit, it’s crucial to request product samples before making a large order. Start with a small minimum order quantity (MOQ) test order or have custom samples made to ensure the factory is capable of producing your products to the appropriate standards and specifications.
As you learn more about your suppliers’ factories and products, take the opportunity to observe their communication practices. Pay close attention to how long they take to respond to messages and how thoroughly they address questions and concerns. Find out whether you’re dealing directly with the actual factory or communicating through an intermediary trading company, since this can add additional layers of complexity.
When you finalise your first test order, use a secure payment platform like WorldFirst to make your payment. Take advantage of in-platform messaging services to keep written records of all supplier transactions and communications, in case of any issues or disputes.
3. Negotiate terms and arrange logistics
If you haven’t sourced products from China before, you’ll need to clear some logistical hurdles before receiving your first shipment. You can read about each of these steps in much more detail in our guide to importing from China to Singapore, but the basic steps are:
- Set up a multi-currency account to access lower fees and faster payment settlements by paying suppliers directly in Chinese currency
- Register your business with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory (ACRA) in Singapore, get a Unique Entity Number (UEN), and activate your Customs account
- Get appropriate permits for any items on Singapore’s list of controlled goods
- Apply for security, usually in the form of banker’s guarantees and insurance bonds
- Obtain import permits, either through a declaring agent or a service like TradeNet
- Prepare documentation for cargo clearance, including your commercial invoices, packing lists and insurance
Once you’ve completed all the necessary administrative steps, you’ll need to work with your supplier to coordinate international shipping. In some cases, your supplier will handle the logistics, while in others, you’ll be responsible. Make sure you understand the differences in pricing and timelines between air freight, sea freight and express shipping.
When you’re ready to make your first order, make sure you discuss payment methods and terms and negotiate prices with your suppliers. Always get everything in writing to avoid confusion or disputes.
Know that if you aren’t able to pay in Chinese currency, suppliers may quote you a price in USD (or, rarely, SGD). This price is usually higher, in order to protect against currency risk, but having a way to pay in CNH or CNY can help you land a more affordable deal.
- Open 20+ local currency accounts and get paid like a local
- Pay suppliers, partners and staff worldwide in 100+ currencies
- Collect payments for free from 130+ marketplaces and payment gateways, including Amazon, Etsy, PayPal and Shopify
- Save with competitive exchange rates on currency conversions and transfers
- Lock in exchange rates for up to 24 months for cash flow certainty
4. Arrange to pay suppliers in local currency
China has two different currencies, onshore and offshore renminbi, or CNY and CNH.
On many wholesale marketplaces, Chinese suppliers will only accept payments in CNY (onshore renminbi), not CNH (offshore renminbi). In order to pay these suppliers, you’ll need a presence or agent in mainland China who can handle your currency conversions.
You may also be able to pay suppliers if you have a CNY account with an international bank, but these are hard to find due to currency controls.
Another option is to pay from a CNH account, which can allow you to receive and manage payments in offshore renminbi. But many Chinese suppliers can’t or don’t accept CNH, so you’ll still need a way to convert currency.
If you try to use a regular Singaporean corporate bank account to pay Chinese suppliers, your bank will charge you a percentage based fee to convert SGD to Chinese currency. But if your supplier quotes you a price in USD, you might have to convert from SGD to USD to CNY to CNH and back again, incurring FX fees and unfavourable currency conversion rates along the way.
Adding complexity to this process is the fact that CNY is restricted for spending only in China, while CNH is traded freely. This means that, while the two currencies typically have a 1:1 exchange rate, this can fluctuate, introducing further volatility into your currency calculations.
A better alternative is to set up a multi-currency account that lets you hold and trade currency in CNH and CNY. In the next section, we’ll look at how international buyers can use a multi-currency account for faster, more cost-effective supplier payments to China.
Read more: Making supplier payments in RMB: What cross-border businesses need to know
How to find and pay suppliers faster and more affordably with WorldFirst
Sourcing products from China is a complex process with many logistical puzzles to solve. But finding and paying suppliers is much easier with WorldFirst.
For more than two decades, WorldFirst has been helping international businesses pay suppliers in China more quickly and simply.
Regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and partnering with leading global banks like J.P. Morgan, Barclays and DBS, we’ve managed over $300 billion in transaction volume, and empowered over a million businesses to grow in global markets.
Here’s how a WorldFirst account can help you source products from China:
Choose from over 10 million suppliers in 1,700 categories, and pay them instantly with direct 1688.com integration
Finding suppliers online is challenging especially without a trustworthy sourcing agent or a local presence in mainland China. The process can be expensive and time-consuming, and you can’t always count on products meeting your quality standards.
WorldFirst is changing all of that, with our direct integration with 1688.com. This exclusive integration gives you access to over 10 million suppliers across 1,700 categories, for up to 40% less than other B2B platforms when you source in bulk.
Our exclusive partnership with 1688.com lets you pay Chinese suppliers without needing a Chinese bank account. With a WorldFirst account, you can hold funds and pay in CNH, and we’ll automatically convert your funds to CNY.
Thanks to the integration, payments are instant, so you don’t have to worry about funds taking days to settle or delaying your inventory. They’re also fully compliant with all local regulations and Alipay policies, so you can check payment rules off your list of logistical to-dos for sourcing from China.
When you buy from 1688.com via WorldFirst, you can get direct delivery to multiple major marketplace warehouses in China, or arrange your own logistics for international delivery. You can also take advantage of smaller MOQs to sample products or trial a supplier for reliability – some suppliers allow orders of as few as one or two units.
Source directly from TaoWorld with WorldPay payments in CNY
WorldFirst also lets you easily and securely pay suppliers on TaoWorld, Alibaba’s top bulk-buying platform. While access to TaoWorld is less restrictive than 1688.com, paying suppliers on the platform can still get expensive.
The site accepts credit card payments, but charges 3% for currency transactions. With WorldFirst’s WorldPay, you can pay any of TaoWorld’s 800,000+ suppliers in your choice of currency, and sellers receive their secure payments in CNY, all for only an 0.8% fee.
When you pay on TaoWorld with WorldFirst, there are no annual spending limits and no hidden fees to make instant, real-time payments. You can set up automatic payments for repeat orders and, for a limited time, enjoy 100% cashback in USD on all transaction fees.
Save money on holding, exchanging and paying in local currency
WorldFirst doesn’t just make it easier to use supplier platforms. It also helps you save money on all your payments. With a multi-currency account from WorldFirst, you can create 20+ currency accounts and make payments in 100+ currencies, including SGD, USD, GBP, EUR and JPY.
With your WorldFirst account, you can hold CNH without paying any setup fees, monthly fees or holding fees to maintain your accounts. You also get access to more favourable conversion rates, plus low FX fees compared to traditional banks and other providers. Fees to transfer, pay and withdraw currency are clear and transparent on our website
With WorldFirst, you can manage all of your payments and spending from the same platform. WorldFirst also gives you local account details, the ability to hold currency in CNH and the ability to convert automatically to CNY, so you can save even more on currency conversion, FX fees and international transfer fees.
If you need to lock in even lower fees to exchange currency, you can set up a firm order or forward contract. These options help you access more favourable rates, keep cash flow consistent and maintain profit margins when currency markets fluctuate.
Pay suppliers in 24 hours or less to build better sourcing relationships
With a WorldFirst account, you can hold funds in CNH without any holding fees, setup fees, or monthly charges. Then, use your funds to make payments to suppliers in CNH or CNY, with the conversion handled automatically.
Pay only 0.8% in transaction fees on supplier payments to 1688.com or TaoWorld. Or, instantly pay any other WorldFirst account for free in 20+ different currencies. You can also use our Pay CNY to China feature to pay up to 1.5 million CNY per day directly to supplier’s bank accounts and Alipay accounts.
With traditional banking, it can take days or up to a week for payments to Chinese suppliers to settle. But as part of Ant Group, WorldFirst has strong relationships with major banks in China, so you can send payments to any bank in China within 24 hours.
Faster payments often create better relationships with suppliers and allow you to negotiate better deals. WorldFirst also takes care of declarations and automates daily spending limits, so you don’t have to worry about regulatory compliance.
Use your World Card anywhere you use a card to pay
When you open a WorldFirst account, you also get free virtual World Cards – virtual cards you can use to pay online from anywhere in the world. You can pay anywhere Mastercard is accepted, including on supplier platforms, to logistics providers and more.
There are zero FX fees on World Card payments when you pay in 15 major currencies – including CNH, SGD and USD – as long as you’re already holding funds in the same currency. As an added bonus, earn unlimited 1.2% cashback on all business expenses.
One WorldFirst account gives you access to multiple World Cards for different departments and categories, to simplify accounting and expense tracking. You’ll soon also be able to get team cards for your employees and track their spending
World Cards are protected by strong safety and security features, like 3D Secure authentication, address verification and the ability to automatically freeze transactions or cancel your cards with just a few clicks.
How to open a WorldFirst account
To open a WorldFirst account, visit our online registration portal, and make sure you have your mobile phone and email handy, as well as all directors’ IDs. Then:
- Click Sign up and select your region
- Press the Create account button
- Fill in some key account details about you and your business, such as your estimated monthly turnover and industry
- Upload images of your qualifying documents (see our Account Opening Help page to learn more about the documents you might be asked for).
Once you complete the application process, your WorldFirst account should be verified within 48 hours. For most people, the process usually takes less than 24 hours.
Once you’re approved, you can set up your CNH account in just a few clicks, to start sourcing and paying suppliers right away.
How Party Bestbuy keeps inventory flowing with WorldFirst
Based in Singapore, Party Bestbuy specialises in party supplies, like wedding and birthday decorations, and supplies for other events. Its founder Rocky Yan sources from 1688.com because it offers the highest numbers of suppliers in China at the most affordable prices.
Before partnering with WorldFirst, Yan didn’t have access to a direct 1688.com integration. Instead, he was using other workaround methods to transfer funds, and it was taking days for payments to clear, causing delays in his inventory.
Since Yan joined WorldFirst, he no longer has to wait for funds to clear in order to purchase new inventory when he needs it. Instead, he’s able to pay suppliers instantly, speeding up procurement, keeping cash flow steady and getting his inventory delivered on time. Yan also likes the added sense of security of storing and managing money in his WorldFirst account.
Source from China more smartly with WorldFirst
Sourcing products from China doesn’t need to be complicated or costly, even if you don’t have a Chinese bank account. With a WorldFirst account, you can hold currency in CNH, pay suppliers in CNH or CNY and skip unnecessary fees.
You also get access to some of the most competitive pricing on major wholesale platforms like 1688.com and TaoWord.
Open a WorldFirst account today to start paying suppliers faster, save on FX fees and simplify your global sourcing strategy.
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