Practical sourcing guide · English
Canton Fair supplier due-diligence checklist: from booth to follow-up
A practical fair-floor checklist tied to My Fair’s real workflow: capture one card photo, record meetings, research the supplier, compare evidence and review follow-ups.
Prepared by ChinaConnect247 with AI assistance ·
Source-based guidance and first-party product/pricing documentation. No independent legal, regulatory or supplier-audit review is claimed.
The practical answer
Use a booth conversation to gather evidence and questions, not to award a supplier a verified label. Preserve the card, actual meeting, product/model, claims, quotation basis and next action. After the fair, connect those records to company research, destination-specific questions and a reviewed follow-up before considering samples or a deposit.
In this guide
Before the fair: define what a useful meeting must answer
Prepare one product brief with destination, variants, approximate quantity, target cost basis, packaging, customization and timing. Check the current organizer directory and buyer guidance for exhibitors and visit planning; session, phase and booth details can change.
The official Canton Fair App has exhibitor/product discovery, routes and electronic contact features. ChinaConnect247 is a separate, independent workspace. An organizer or public directory listing is a lead, not a product approval or proof that the exhibitor operates the factory you need.
At the booth: capture the evidence behind the offer
Ask for the legal Chinese company name, production site, business role, exact model and who will quote and invoice. Record the MOQ tier, unit-price currency, shipping basis, tooling/sample charges, quote date and lead-time assumptions. Ask which specifications are fixed and which need confirmation.
Keep supplier statements clearly attributed. A displayed sample may differ from production goods; a certificate logo may not cover your model or destination. With appropriate permission, record the product label, key dimensions and relevant documents so the follow-up can ask a precise question.
- Ask which processes are in-house and which are subcontracted.
- Record the contact’s role and an official communication channel.
- Name the next step: comparable RFQ, documents, sample or a scoped independent check.
Use My Fair to preserve one contact and a real meeting
In My Fair, sign in, complete buyer setup and choose the actual selling destination. Take one clear photo of the card side containing company/contact information, or upload an image. Review the extracted names and contact details against the preserved source. You can also type a company name manually.
A scan saves a contact; it does not create proof of a meeting. Record a meeting yourself with the date, hall/booth, discussion, product/model, photos and agreed next action. Products discovered in reports can be linked to a supplier without inventing a meeting.
If supported capture is queued on your device during a weak connection, check saved-on-device and synchronization status. Keep the browser data and device until upload is confirmed. Research and email need a connection; an unsynced item is not yet available on another device.
Sources: [2]
Use reports to sharpen questions, not close unknowns
Company Research can organize public identity, contacts, products, manufacturing/trading signals and evidence gaps. A separate Risk & Compliance review uses the selected destination. Check the current research switches and allowance before starting; automatic behavior depends on setup and enabled controls.
Each account includes five lifetime Company and five lifetime Risk reports; card capture remains available when reports are exhausted. Reports are decision support, not a physical factory audit or model-specific compliance approval. Matching a contact on an official company site can corroborate affiliation without proving authority to contract or collect payment.
Follow up with a question the supplier can answer
Open Follow-ups for the supplier. First meeting drafting uses ready Company Research; Ready to proceed also needs ready Risk research. Set your buyer signature once, then review the draft, product assumptions, recipient and attachments before deciding whether to send.
Research and draft preparation do not automatically contact suppliers. Choose the intended email/contact route and deliberately confirm sending; alternatively copy the message to your own channel. Built-in email has its own displayed delivery allowance. Replies go to the signed-in inbox, so check the correct account and spam folder.
Keep quotations, samples, corrections and responses associated with the supplier. A sent message does not establish a reply or product acceptance. Archive a supplier when no longer active so the successful capture and sourcing history remain available.
Sources: [2]
Worked follow-up: replace a vague claim with a checkable request
Original illustrative wording, not a message sent to a supplier or evidence of a completed visit. Replace the bracketed fields with your actual meeting details before using it.
- Booth note
- “We manufacture this model”
- Focused question
- Which legal entity and site make [model], and which processes are subcontracted?
- Evidence to request
- Chinese company name, site details and process/capability evidence.
- Booth note
- “Price includes shipping”
- Focused question
- Please quote [quantity/model/packing] with currency, Incoterm, named location and validity.
- Evidence to request
- Itemized RFQ response including excluded charges.
- Booth note
- “Certificate available”
- Focused question
- Which report covers [exact model] for [destination], and can the issuer confirm its scope?
- Evidence to request
- Full document reference, model/applicant, standard, date and issuer route.
Preserve what was actually said, ask for the missing evidence, and record the response. Do not rewrite a supplier claim as an independently checked fact.
Practical checklist
Tick items while reading or print this page for your working notes. These ticks stay only on the current page and are not saved to My Fair. A completed checklist records your review, not a supplier approval.
Sources and scope
Source guidance checked on 23 October 2026, except the registry link which is an official lookup starting point. Original examples are labeled. No private client quotations, audit results or success stories are used. External references do not imply partnership or endorsement.
- Canton Fair — official app features
Official exhibitor/product discovery, visit routes and electronic contact features; separate from My Fair.
https://cief.cantonfair.org.cn/en/app/appintro-h5.html - ChinaConnect247 — My Fair workflow and FAQs
Our product documentation, cross-checked with current card, meeting, report and follow-up controls. This is first-party workflow evidence.
https://www.chinaconnect247.com/en/faq#my-fair-faq-topic-capture - Trade.gov — preliminary background checks
Company existence, contact role and the limits of preliminary checks; U.S. exporter context.
https://www.trade.gov/feature-article/commercial-service-tips-background-checks - ChinaConnect247 — supplier verification scope
First-party explanation of company/transaction checks and independent escalation, not a completed supplier-audit example.
https://www.chinaconnect247.com/en/china-supplier-verification
Use product-, transaction- and destination-specific qualified advice when needed. Questions or corrections: inquiry@chinaconnect247.com. Usman Yousaf / StructuredLayer is the named sourcing coordinator and service contact.
