Accompanying foreign trade activities

Modern China is by right the world's first economy, developing at an unthinkable pace. This is a favorable investment climate and high-tech production of any goods: from a pin to complex electronics. This is the latest achievements of science and technology, as well as a skilful combination of price and quality. Today, China has a powerful export potential - every second mobile phone, every third toy and every fifth cardboard sweatshirt is marked "Made in China". Goods from China provide an opportunity to get maximum profit in a short time, so the business prospects with China are obvious.

However, in practice, 80% of Russian companies, entering the Chinese market and ignoring the legal support of foreign trade activities of their enterprise - uniquely suffer a fiasco. Cooperation, which initially promises good profits, often ends in conflicts, litigation and irrevocable loss of funds. It's no secret that independent business with China is by far not all. Even the presence of some experience in foreign economic activity does not guarantee that your company will not become a victim of unscrupulous counterparts, pseudo-producers, or even just scammers.

But nothing, it is informed, it means, it is armed - knowledge of the bases of national specificity of the Chinese business, and also some tricks and tricks of local suppliers will help to avoid serious mistakes, especially at the initial stage.

Chinese "scam"

They "throw" in different ways, but we will focus on the most common forms of deception.

1. No Chinese company will agree to ship the goods without prepayment. As a rule, 30% of the delivery amount is required to be paid at the time of ordering the goods and the remaining 70% immediately before it is shipped. This is skillfully used by scammers - "scammers". Big order scam (scam of a big order) is a classic scheme by which you get paid, the pseudo-supplier disappears. In such a situation, it is foolish to hope for help from the Chinese police, not you first, not you last.

2. Another trick - the price of the ordered goods may increase unexpectedly after the prepayment is made. Changing the terms of delivery is the most typical case. You do not want to pay extra, you can not see the goods. But you will not receive money back.

3. If shipment of samples at the agreed price was successful, it is not a fact that the price will not jump when placing the main order. Pretexts for this will be a lot: increased raw materials, higher wages for workers, a depreciation of the Chinese currency, and the like.

4. It happens that they ship not what the buyer expected to receive. There may come a container in which solid marriage, poor quality counterfeit, artisanal production or just garbage. Many Chinese merchants are guided by the principle - take what is given, and it is very difficult to combat this.

5. Another way of cheating, when scammers buy a bankrupt logistics company and on its behalf take payment and cargo to delivery. As a result, neither money nor goods.

6. With prolonged delivery it can be found out that you are being tricked: the material from which the sole of the shoes is made has become more rigid, the plastic of the microwave oven has turned yellow, the thickness of the veil has become thinner, the cord from the electric shaver has become shorter, the coat has reduced the content of wool and, conversely , The content of synthetic fibers increased.

7. Another trick is cheating when choosing the method of payment. The supplier can offer to use PayPal or Western Union, and payment not to the account of factory, and to the address of the private person. Having accepted such conditions, the buyer, most likely, will not see more of his money, and, of course, no one will ship the goods.

8. If the seller from mainland China insists on payment through Hong Kong offshore, the result is also possible deplorable.

So how to protect yourself from such fraud? What should I do not to get into the network of scammers?

Ask the potential supplier for documents issued by the registration authorities: a certificate of state registration of the company and a certificate of registration with a tax authority. Ask to certify the authority of the legal representative of the company to sign the contract. Read the identity document of the signatory. Make sure the supplier has an export license and quality certificates for the product.

Make a request regarding the supplier company to the local administration of industry and commerce. If the supplier is for example from Guangzhou, please contact the Guangzhou Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Do not ignore the drafting of foreign economic contracts, do not just limit yourself to an invoice. Correctly concluded VED-contract will minimize legal and financial risks. Together with this, it will be possible to attract an unfair Chinese partner to the answer in the Beijing International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission or in the state arbitration courts of the country.

Practice only interbank payment methods: L / C or T / T.

Visit the manufacturer's factory or supplier company directly in China.

And even compliance with all of the above measures will not give a 100% guarantee of security for the planned transactions. An integrated approach is required. Therefore, large business prefers legal support for foreign economic activity. Thus, domestic entrepreneurs protect their transactions from financial losses, eliminate the risks of the "supplier", "carrier", "gray imports".