Pay attention to the kind of business of your supplier; are they manufacturers, or 3rd party suppliers? Compare the advantage and disadvantage. Manufacturers may have a faster response in the process of product development, while 3rd-party suppliers have broader channels that can satisfy your other needs in the future.

Establishing healthy personal relationship with the key employees of your supplier is very important when doing business with Chinese people. Keep in mind that saving face is very important for Chinese people.

You need to have a good estimate of the landing cost before you make your order. Landing cost = cost of the goods fob + transport costs by forwarder + import duties (if any) + local transport costs + cost of service providers (inspections, agents, etc.). There may be many hidden costs (See additionsl Costs)and you can consult an import management company, but the best way to avoid bad surprises is by making a first order of a small quantity, and collect all costs and fine tune your landing cost estimate.

Pay attention to import duties. Import duties depend on Tarrif code of the goods you import, the countries of origin (China) and destination. If your Chinese supplier has some export experience, he shall know what is the Tarrif codes for your product, but do your homework and check the product description of the code corresponds to the product you import. Definitions are sometime vague. A wrong code may delay the custom clearance of your shipment.

A letter of credit is commonly used in trade with China. Go to your bank to get detail formality and cost.

Export agents in China are very commonly hired by Chinese exporters. Some of these export agents are also 3rd-party suppliers, others just provide export services.

Neglecting compliance can be very costly. This may force you to pay expensive and unexpected customs duty, such as anti-dumping duty, as well as risk delaying your customs clearance. This will cost you expensive storage fees at a railway station or container yard.

Visiting trade shows is a great way to see suppliers face-to-face.

If solid wood packaging material is used, talk to your broker. Sometimes pallet packing is necessary to reduce the transportation cost during the process of loading and unloading. Talk to your forwarder for details. All wooden packaging for export must follow the nimp15 treated wood specifications. If your supplier is using wooden packaging, make sure he delivers a nimp15 certificate with other export documentation.

Usually an initial deposit of between 30-50% will be requested by a Chinese Manufacturer to get your product/order into production.