1. Confirm the exact company and obligation
Start with the full Chinese legal name and Unified Social Credit Code. Compare the company on the contract, purchase order, invoice, payment instructions, correspondence and any judgment or award.
An English trading name or website brand may refer to several entities. If the wrong company is researched, every later conclusion can be misleading. Also record which entity received the money, issued the invoice and allegedly owes the obligation. Any mismatch should be explained to counsel rather than silently treated as the same company.
2. Review current corporate status and recent changes
Check the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System for the registration status, registered address, legal representative, shareholders or investors where displayed, annual-report history and recent changes.
Look for dated changes that may matter to further investigation: a new representative, address movement, shareholder changes, a move towards dissolution or cancellation, or prolonged filing problems. None of these proves asset movement, insolvency or wrongdoing. An apparently active registration also does not prove that the company has staff, cash flow or assets available for enforcement.
3. Compare registration with signs of operating continuity
Public records become more useful when compared with independently checked commercial signals. Ask whether established telephone numbers still work, whether the same legal entity continues to issue documents, whether the known premises and business channels remain consistent, and whether recent public activity is genuinely connected to that entity.
A polished website is not proof of operations, and a limited online presence is not proof that a business has stopped. Record the source and date of each signal. The output should be a list of consistencies, changes and unanswered questions—not a binary operating verdict.
4. Map visible litigation and enforcement pressure
Search available official court and enforcement information using the exact Chinese legal name and other identifiers where the system permits. Record case numbers, dates, courts, roles, stated amounts or obligations, and status as displayed. Separate ordinary litigation from enforcement information and distinguish the company from similarly named entities.
Multiple recent matters may justify closer analysis, but case count alone does not establish liability or inability to pay. A company can appear as claimant, defendant, applicant or respondent for very different reasons. Finding no visible record is equally inconclusive because publication coverage, search access, timing and removal rules can vary.
5. Read enforcement entries by type and date
The China Enforcement Information Disclosure website provides public entry points for several categories, including judgment-debtor information, dishonest judgment-debtor information, consumption restrictions and cases terminated under the current enforcement procedure where displayed.
Do not collapse these categories into one label. Note the issuing court, case number, filing or publication date, stated obligation and displayed status. A case recorded as having its current enforcement procedure terminated can be commercially important context, but it is not necessarily the permanent end of enforcement: official court materials explain that enforcement may resume if executable property is later found.
6. Check judicial-assistance and bankruptcy information
Where shown in the national enterprise publicity system, judicial-assistance information such as an equity freeze can indicate that a court has taken action affecting specified equity or investment interests. Read the target interest, court, document number and dates carefully. It does not by itself establish the company's overall asset position, and an equity freeze involving a shareholder is not the same as freezing all company property.
Search the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganisation Case Information website for visible bankruptcy, reorganisation, compulsory-liquidation cases and announcements concerning the exact entity. A filing, application, acceptance, reorganisation and completed liquidation are different procedural stages; they should not be treated as interchangeable.
Turn the review into a decision file for counsel
Summarise the results in four columns: confirmed identity, dated public indicators, unresolved inconsistencies and information that public sources cannot establish. Include direct source links, access dates and screenshots or extracts where lawful and useful.
The unknowns matter. Open public research generally cannot prove the balance of bank accounts, identify every property interest, establish priority among all creditors, predict recognition or enforcement, or determine whether a claim is legally or commercially worthwhile. Give the evidence map to qualified counsel together with the contract, payment trail and dispute chronology.
Official public-information starting points
The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System is operated by the State Administration for Market Regulation. The China Enforcement Information Disclosure website and the National Enterprise Bankruptcy Reorganisation Case Information website provide official public starting points for relevant court information. Availability, search requirements and displayed records can change; recheck the source and date whenever a decision depends on the information.