AC/DC chargers and energy solutions
An entry point to GAC Energy — one on-site meeting, a signed starting point.
Client location: Europe
Service format: Custom scope
Service focus: Sourcing in China. A single point of contact on the ground in China. China-side execution under the client’s instructions.
Intro
A European company was developing its EV charging line, with a wider roadmap behind it — home energy systems, electric vehicles and parts, battery recycling. They had done the homework themselves: visited China, met companies, compared options. And the deeper they went, the less clear it got. More options, more open questions.
Finding companies was never the hard part. The hard part was judging which one could carry long-term cooperation, and having someone present on the ground once real discussions started. That was my brief.
Service scope
- Source and vet suppliers in China
- Arrange an on-site meeting with GAC Energy
- Attend the meeting on the client’s behalf
- Discuss the client’s prepared questions and possible cooperation points
- Sign a preliminary cooperation agreement on the client’s behalf
Outcome
Through my network, I arranged an on-site meeting with GAC Energy and attended it on the client’s behalf. In the room, we went through the product range and the practical questions that rarely surface in email threads, and aligned the cooperation logic: what’s realistic short-term, what belongs to a later phase, and what the next step looks like.
By the end of the visit, a preliminary cooperation agreement was signed. No big promises — a clear starting point, on record. The client came away with a direct working channel to GAC Energy and a single point of contact in China for the stages ahead.
FAQ
GAC Energy is part of GAC Group, one of China’s major automotive groups. The group’s scope runs from electric and hybrid vehicles to auto parts, energy solutions, R&D and international business.
A preliminary cooperation agreement is a specific kind of document which fixes the intent and the next steps. That’s not a purchase or a binding supply contract. We had agreed beforehand what could be signed and on what terms, and the meeting stayed inside that frame.
Anton Gora
Independent sourcing and purchasing agent
Master’s degree in Sinology
In China since 2005
In China since 2005
Field notes
Why “we agreed” is not enough in China sourcing
“But we agreed.” Maybe you did. The question is what was recorded — and who’s accountable now. Why basic discipline can look strange in China sourcing when weak practice is the norm.
What China sourcing advice gets right — and what it skips
Visit the factory, build the relationship, close over dinner. None of it is wrong — it just skips what decides the result.
In China sourcing, confirmation is the easiest thing to find
A fast reply, a low price, clean photos, a reassuring word. At a distance these confirm what you already believed — not that the purchase is under control