SinaFirst Limited
Before you pay a supplier in China, make sure you can export it from China
When sourcing in China, people often treat the deal as “done” right after negotiating a good price with the supplier. It’s the same story year after year. But what people often miss is that the goods still have to be exported and shipped.
At the same time, logistics is often treated as just a formality — just load and ship. Yes, it can look that simple. But shipping requirements and the extra costs can change a lot depending on what you ship.
Logistics reality doesn’t care that you negotiated a great price with your Chinese supplier. Customs has its own rules and regulations.
For many categories of goods, export from China is not just “book freight.” You may need documents that confirm what the product actually is — HS code matters.
Liquids, powders, chemicals, wooden items, printing cartridges, refrigeration equipment, medical items and equipment, and other screened categories — depending on specs, any of these can be classified as restricted cargo or as Dangerous Goods (DG). Batteries and battery-powered items are one of the most common categories where this becomes critical.
Sometimes it’s not about the product type, but about what it contains. Refrigeration equipment, for example, may contain refrigerant under pressure, and that can change how the shipment is treated.
So, before paying a supplier in China, confirm at least two key points in advance.
1. Export documents they can provide and the forwarder will accept
2. Export packaging they can actually do
Documents are where most surprises hide. A supplier’s “yes, we have it” doesn’t automatically mean the documents are correct, or that the forwarder will accept them. Get confirmation from the forwarder before you pay.
Packaging can also affect the booking process, especially with DG cargo. If supplier-side packaging is uncertain, it usually means packaging upgrades before export. That’s fine, but it adds time and cost. Keep this in mind before you pay the supplier.
If either point is vague with the supplier, you’re buying blind. Product type, the exact specification, and even brand name can matter. This is where shipments get stuck later, once the goods enter the export workflow.
First impressions are cheap. Export workflow is not. A good price in China still doesn’t mean you can ship it easily from China. Or ship it out at all.
© 2026 SinaFirst Limited.