# Yimi (易米) — Wenzhou Yimi Information Consulting Co., Ltd.

> Independent, fee-only supplier verification and cross-border execution, from inside China's Zhejiang manufacturing belt. A Chinese business-consulting company working in English and Mandarin, registered in Wenzhou, Zhejiang. Fixed-fee engagements; almost every engagement ends in a written deliverable. Nationwide coverage in mainland China.

## Identity — verifiable
- Registered name: 温州易米信息咨询有限公司 / Wenzhou Yimi Information Consulting Co., Ltd.
- Unified Social Credit Code: 91330302MAKLC8FT2R
- Registering authority: Lucheng District Administration for Market Regulation, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Verify at: https://www.gsxt.gov.cn/ — instructions at https://www.yimichina.com/verify-us/
- Founder: Anna Zheng, Founder. Anna Zheng founded Yimi. She holds a Bachelor of Economics from China and a Juris Doctor from Australia, and is an Australian legal practitioner whose practice has centred on cross-border commercial contracts and dispute resolution for international clients across technology, manufacturing and trade.

## Scope and limits
- We are a business consultancy. We are NOT a law firm, accounting firm, trademark agency, recruitment agency, customs broker, accredited inspection body or advertising agency of record.
- Yimi is a business consultancy, not a law firm. Anna does not act as your lawyer, and nothing we produce is legal advice. Her legal training is why our reports are careful about evidence and wording — it is not a service we sell.
- We do NOT provide visa, residence permit, work permit, immigration, emigration, study-abroad or overseas-employment assistance for any country — including paid consultation on those topics.
- We do NOT classify goods, determine customs value or origin, request customs rulings, or file duty refund claims. Those require a licensed customs professional.
- We will NOT assist with disguising the origin of goods, or produce documentation describing a transformation that did not happen.
- We do NOT act as importer of record or as an EU Responsible Person.
- Bookkeeping, tax filing, audit and trademark filing are performed by licensed firms that contract with the client directly.
- We take no commission from any supplier, distributor or provider we introduce, and disclose any referral fee in writing.
- Full list: https://www.yimichina.com/how-we-work/what-we-dont-do/

## How we are paid
- Fixed fees, scoped in writing before work starts. No hourly billing. All prices published at https://www.yimichina.com/pricing/
- Quoted in USD. RMB settlement converts at the PBOC central parity rate on the invoice date.
- Payment by PayPal or international bank transfer to an account in the registered company name. Bank details never change by email.
- Consultation: US$120 per 45-minute session. Credited in full against any service you go on to book.

## Sourcing & supplier verification
- [Supplier Registry Check](https://www.yimichina.com/services/supplier-registry-check/): The 24-hour answer to “is this company real?”. US$95, Usually 1 working day.
- [Supplier Due Diligence & Verification](https://www.yimichina.com/services/supplier-due-diligence/): Verify a Chinese supplier before you pay. from US$180, 3–7 working days.
- [Product Sourcing & Interpreting](https://www.yimichina.com/services/product-sourcing/): Find, vet and negotiate with Chinese suppliers. from US$150/day, Supplier shortlists in days.
- [Remote Video Factory Audit](https://www.yimichina.com/services/remote-factory-audit/): Walk the factory floor without flying. from US$450, Scheduled within 5–10 working days.
- [Trade Fair Representation](https://www.yimichina.com/services/trade-fair-representation/): Someone at the Canton Fair who is not on commission. from US$400/day, Booked to the fair calendar.

## Trade compliance & supply-chain evidence
- [Compliance-Grade Supplier File](https://www.yimichina.com/services/compliance-supplier-file/): A supplier dossier built to survive an audit. from US$690, 10–15 working days.
- [Tariff & Trade-Measure Exposure Briefing](https://www.yimichina.com/services/tariff-exposure-briefing/): What is actually landing on your product, and what your broker will ask for. from US$350, 5–8 working days.
- [Export-Licence Exposure Check](https://www.yimichina.com/services/export-licence-check/): Can your supplier legally ship this?. from US$290, 5–10 working days.

## Market entry & corporate
- [Market Entry & Structure Advisory](https://www.yimichina.com/services/market-entry-advisory/): Whether to enter, how, and with what structure. from US$900, 2–3 weeks.
- [Company Setup & Compliance Coordination](https://www.yimichina.com/services/company-setup/): Registration coordinated; licensed firms do the regulated work. from US$850, 4–8 weeks to a licensed company.
- [Partner, Distributor & Agent Search](https://www.yimichina.com/services/partner-search/): Find and vet a Chinese distributor or partner. from US$2,400, 4–6 weeks to a shortlist.
- [Trademark Strategy & Filing Coordination](https://www.yimichina.com/services/trademark-china/): Class strategy, clearance reading, agency coordination. from US$180, Strategy in days; registration 9–12 months.
- [China E-Commerce Readiness Pack](https://www.yimichina.com/services/cbec-readiness/): Everything the platforms now ask a foreign brand for. from US$1,200, 3–6 weeks.
- [Annual Compliance Check & Company Exit](https://www.yimichina.com/services/compliance-exit/): Independent health check, or a managed exit. from US$350, Check in 5–10 days; exit 9–12 months.

## Documents & translation
- [Document Notarisation & Apostille](https://www.yimichina.com/services/document-legalisation/): Corporate documents recognised across a border. from US$220, 5–15 working days.
- [Certified Chinese ⇄ English Translation](https://www.yimichina.com/services/certified-translation/): Translation a bank or registry will accept. from US$28 / page, 2–5 working days.
- [Business Agency & Filing Support](https://www.yimichina.com/services/business-agency/): Errands at Chinese counters, run for you. from US$180, 2–10 working days.

## Digital presence & marketing
- [Website Design & Development](https://www.yimichina.com/services/website-development/): A site your buyers trust and search engines can read. from US$2,400, 4–8 weeks.
- [Search & AI Visibility (SEO / GEO)](https://www.yimichina.com/services/search-visibility/): Get found in search and in AI answers. from US$900/mo, Audit in 2 weeks; results build over months.
- [Product Content & Video Production](https://www.yimichina.com/services/content-production/): Specifications, copy, photography and video that sell. from US$600, 2–4 weeks.
- [Marketing Inside China](https://www.yimichina.com/services/china-marketing/): Reach Chinese buyers on the platforms they actually use. from US$1,800, 3–6 weeks to launch.
- [Market & Sector Research](https://www.yimichina.com/services/market-research/): A written answer to a commercial question. from US$1,200, 2–4 weeks.

## Who we help
- [Marketplace & DTC sellers](https://www.yimichina.com/who-we-help/marketplace-sellers/): The low-value parcel channel closed and you are now importing in bulk for the first time.
- [Importers & product brands](https://www.yimichina.com/who-we-help/importers/): You buy from China at real volume, with no office there and no one neutral checking.
- [Procurement & compliance teams](https://www.yimichina.com/who-we-help/procurement-teams/): A customer, an auditor or a regulator wants documented evidence about your Chinese suppliers.
- [Brands entering China](https://www.yimichina.com/who-we-help/brands-entering-china/): You are selling into China, or about to, and need to decide the structure before you commit.

## Answers — one question per page, sourced and dated
- [Is my Chinese supplier a factory or a trading company?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/is-my-chinese-supplier-a-factory-or-a-trading-company/): Check the registered business scope on the company’s Chinese business licence. A manufacturer’s scope contains 生产 or 制造 (production/manufacturing) for the relevant goods; a trader’s scope contains only 销售 or 贸易 (sales/trade). Scope is the strongest single signal, but confirm it against headcount, address type and site evidence before you rely on it.
- [How do I verify a Chinese company’s business licence?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-to-verify-a-chinese-company-business-licence/): Search the company’s exact Chinese name or its 18-character Unified Social Credit Code at gsxt.gov.cn, the national registry run by China’s market-regulation authority. The record shows legal status, registered capital, legal representative, business scope and any abnormal-operation listing. A licence image sent by the supplier proves nothing until it matches that record.
- [What is a Unified Social Credit Code?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-a-unified-social-credit-code/): A Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码) is the 18-character identifier carried by every registered Chinese organisation. It is simultaneously the company registration number and the tax number, it never changes, and it is the key you use to look a company up on China’s national registry at gsxt.gov.cn.
- [What does an Alibaba Gold Supplier badge actually mean?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-does-alibaba-gold-supplier-actually-mean/): Gold Supplier is a paid membership tier, not an audit of quality or honesty. It confirms a company paid for the listing and passed the platform’s identity checks. It does not verify manufacturing capability, product quality, or that the account is still controlled by the company originally verified. Treat it as a baseline, not assurance.
- [My Chinese supplier changed their bank details by email — is it a scam?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/chinese-supplier-changed-bank-details/): Assume it is fraud until proven otherwise. Mid-transaction bank-detail changes are the signature of business email compromise, where an attacker reads the supplier’s mailbox and intervenes at the invoice. Never verify by replying to the email. Call a number you already held, and confirm the account name matches the supplier’s registered company name exactly.
- [Can I still ship low-value parcels from China duty-free?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/is-de-minimis-still-available-for-imports-from-china/): No — not in the United States, and the same exemption has been withdrawn or is being withdrawn across the EU and UK. Low-value parcels from China now require a formal customs entry and attract duty. Confirm the current rule for your destination with that country’s customs authority before you quote a landed cost.
- [What tariffs apply to Chinese goods now?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-tariffs-apply-to-chinese-goods-now/): There is no single rate. Duty on a Chinese-origin good is a stack: the base tariff for its HS code, plus any product-specific trade measures, plus any economy-wide measure currently in force. Each layer sits under a different legal authority with a different lifespan, so the total moves. Your HS code determines your rate.
- [Who is the importer of record, and why does it matter?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/who-is-the-importer-of-record/): The importer of record is the party legally responsible for a shipment entering a country: paying duty, declaring a correct classification and value, and holding the records. It is normally the buyer, not the supplier and not the marketplace. The liability follows the role, regardless of who physically arranged the freight.
- [Can I legally audit my Chinese supplier?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/can-i-legally-audit-my-chinese-supplier/): Yes, with real limits. Reviewing public registry records and visiting a supplier who has consented are lawful and normal. Covert investigation, data scraping, purchased personal data and undisclosed enquiries are not, and China has tightened enforcement around foreign-directed supply-chain investigation. Build the file from disclosable sources only.
- [What is an EU Responsible Person under GPSR?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-an-eu-responsible-person-gpsr/): An EU Responsible Person is an economic operator established in the European Union who is named for a consumer product and holds compliance responsibilities for it — keeping technical documentation, cooperating with market surveillance authorities, and acting on safety issues. Products without one may not lawfully be placed on the EU market.
- [How long does a Chinese export licence take?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-long-does-a-china-export-licence-take/): Where a licence is required, it is applied for per shipment and the review takes months rather than weeks in practice. Timelines depend on the item, the end user and the stated end use. Ask your supplier whether a licence is needed and whether they have obtained one before — not after — you commit to a delivery date.
- [Do I need a Chinese company to sell in China?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/do-i-need-a-chinese-company-to-sell-in-china/): Often not. Selling through cross-border e-commerce or a Chinese distributor needs no Chinese entity at all. You need one when you must invoice in RMB domestically, hold local inventory in your own name, employ staff directly, or hold a licence tied to a Chinese legal person. Test the trigger before you register anything.
- [What does “first to file” mean for trademarks in China?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/what-is-china-first-to-file-trademark/): China grants trademark rights to the first party to file, largely regardless of who used the mark first elsewhere. A foreign brand with no Chinese registration can find its own name registered by a supplier, distributor or unrelated filer — and then be blocked from using it in China, including on goods made there for export.
- [How do I get a document apostilled for use in China?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/how-do-i-get-a-document-apostilled-for-china/): For public documents from a Hague Convention member state, you notarise the document at home, obtain an apostille from your country’s competent authority, then have it translated into Chinese for the receiving body. Consular legalisation is no longer required between member states. The Chinese recipient still decides whether your translation is acceptable.
- [Sourcing agent or independent verification — which do I need?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/sourcing-agent-vs-independent-verification/): A sourcing agent finds and manages suppliers, and is usually paid a commission by the seller. An independent verifier is paid only by you and gives no recommendation they profit from. Use an agent for ongoing procurement capacity; use independent verification whenever the answer needs to be untainted by who pays for it.
- [Third-party inspection or supplier verification — what is the difference?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/third-party-inspection-vs-supplier-verification/): Inspection examines goods against a specification, usually before shipment, and tells you whether this batch conforms. Verification examines the company — its legal identity, structure, capability and record — and tells you whether to deal with it at all. Verification comes first; inspection is repeated every order.
- [WFOE, representative office, or no entity at all?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/wfoe-vs-rep-office-vs-no-entity/): A WFOE can trade, invoice and hire in China but carries full accounting, tax and audit obligations. A representative office can only liaise and research — it cannot invoice. No entity at all is the right answer more often than people expect, using a distributor or cross-border e-commerce instead.
- [Is Trade Assurance enough, or do I still need my own due diligence?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/alibaba-trade-assurance-vs-your-own-due-diligence/): Platform payment protection covers defined order disputes — non-delivery, or goods differing from the agreed order — where the transaction stayed on the platform and within its process. It does not verify who you are dealing with, cover off-platform payments, or help once the window closes. It is a remedy, not a check.
- [Should I move sourcing from China to Vietnam?](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/china-vs-vietnam-sourcing/): Moving final assembly to Vietnam changes your tariff exposure only if origin genuinely changes, which requires substantial transformation there — not relabelling. Most relocated production still depends on Chinese components, so buyers usually end up managing two supply chains and a documentation burden rather than replacing one with the other.

## Insights — long-form analysis, each sourced and carrying a last-checked date
- [The 7.5% China overcapacity tariff, explained](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/us-china-overcapacity-tariff/) (last checked 2026-08-25): Reported, not imposed. The number is 7.5% because that is the exact headroom left under a 20% ceiling Beijing says Washington agreed to — and the date that matters more is 10 November.
- [Digital Product Passports and Chinese suppliers](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/digital-product-passport-china-suppliers/) (last checked 2026-08-24): The EU’s passport registry is live and batteries bind in February 2027 — while China’s Decree 834 restricts who may collect the supply-chain data it runs on.
- [Trademark squatting and first-to-file](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-trademark-first-to-file/) (last checked 2026-07-27): China gives the mark to whoever files first. How squatting happens, the subclass gaps in a registration you thought was complete, and why your Chinese-character name is separate.
- [China 2026: FDI is down, entrants are up](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-foreign-investment-2026-outlook/) (last checked 2026-07-27): Inbound investment fell 9.5% for a third year while foreign company formations rose 19.1%. Both are true, and together they describe a market that changed shape.
- [Getting your money out of China](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/getting-money-out-of-china/) (last checked 2026-07-27): The four lawful routes out of a Chinese company — dividends, service fees, intercompany loans and liquidation — and the tax and FX gate on each.
- [What it costs to set up and run a company](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/cost-of-doing-business-in-china/) (last checked 2026-07-27): Registration costs, the annual compliance floor you pay even at zero revenue, and the three variables that decide everything above it.
- [The negative list: what investors can own](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/china-negative-list-explained/) (last checked 2026-07-27): China runs two negative lists and most advice merges them. What each one restricts, and why clearing both still is not permission to trade.
- [Tax-residency traps for remote founders](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/tax-residency-remote-founders/) (last checked 2026-07-20): The 183-day line, where a company is “managed and controlled”, and the CFC rules that catch founders running a Chinese company from abroad.
- [Do you actually need a Chinese company?](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/do-you-need-a-chinese-company/) (last checked 2026-07-20): Contracting from abroad, a consulting company, or a WFOE — when a foreign business genuinely needs a Chinese legal entity, and when it does not.
- [Supplier due diligence: real manufacturer or middleman?](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/supplier-due-diligence/) (last checked 2026-07-20): The free registry check, the maker-versus-trader tells, and the payment rule that stops most fraud before it starts.

## Guides — step-by-step procedures tied to the official rule
- [Incoterms for first-time China buyers](https://www.yimichina.com/guides/incoterms-for-first-time-china-buyers/) (last checked 2026-08-23)
- [Paying a Chinese supplier safely](https://www.yimichina.com/guides/paying-a-chinese-supplier-safely/) (last checked 2026-08-23)
- [Importing from China after de minimis](https://www.yimichina.com/guides/importing-from-china-after-de-minimis/) (last checked 2026-08-23)
- [The China Apostille for business documents](https://www.yimichina.com/guides/apostille-china/) (last checked 2026-08-06)

## Manufacturing clusters we work in (Wenzhou, Zhejiang)
- [Yueqing (Liushi) — Circuit breakers, contactors, relays, switchgear, terminal blocks, sockets and cable accessories.](https://www.yimichina.com/industries/electrical-components/): About 1 hour from our office.
- [Ruian — Vehicle electrical parts, lighting, filters, brake components, fasteners, wiring harnesses and trim.](https://www.yimichina.com/industries/auto-motorcycle-parts/): About 45 minutes from our office.
- [Yongjia (Oubei) — Ball, gate, butterfly and check valves, industrial and domestic pumps, fittings and manifolds.](https://www.yimichina.com/industries/pumps-valves/): About 40 minutes from our office.
- [Lucheng — Leather and synthetic footwear, components, and garment production.](https://www.yimichina.com/industries/footwear-apparel/): In the city — minutes away.
- [Ouhai — Optical frames and sunglasses; locks, cylinders and builders’ hardware.](https://www.yimichina.com/industries/eyewear-locks-hardware/): About 30 minutes from our office.

## Key pages
- [Verify our registration](https://www.yimichina.com/verify-us/)
- [How we work — method, sources, evidence grading](https://www.yimichina.com/how-we-work/)
- [What we don't do](https://www.yimichina.com/how-we-work/what-we-dont-do/)
- [All prices](https://www.yimichina.com/pricing/)
- [Terms of engagement](https://www.yimichina.com/terms-of-engagement/) — scope, payment timing, acceptance, what a report is and is not
- [Answers](https://www.yimichina.com/answers/)
- [Glossary of China trade terms](https://www.yimichina.com/glossary/)
- [Insights hub](https://www.yimichina.com/insights/) and [Guides hub](https://www.yimichina.com/guides/) — every article in both is listed above
- [About Anna Zheng](https://www.yimichina.com/about/)
- [Contact](https://www.yimichina.com/contact/)
- [Chinese-language site](https://www.yimichina.com/zh/)

## Fuller version
- [llms-full.txt](https://www.yimichina.com/llms-full.txt) — includes the full price table, methodology, and a dated block of statements we stand behind.