How to Choose a Freight Forwarder in China: 10 Questions

Choose a forwarder you can verify, whose price you can read line by line, and who tells you plainly what happens at each step. In practice that means checking the company's registration, asking which charges are included and which are not, confirming who clears customs and pays duties at destination, and seeing how quickly and clearly they answer before you hand over any cargo.

This checklist works whether you ship a few cartons of samples or regular containers, and whether the forwarder is large or small.

Start with what you can verify

Every company registered in mainland China has an 18-character Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码). Ask for it together with the full legal name, and look it up on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System (国家企业信用信息公示系统), the official register. The record shows the legal name, the date of establishment, the legal representative and whether the company is still operating. The name on your invoice and contract should match it.

Next, ask how the forwarder works with carriers. An NVOCC (non-vessel-operating common carrier) issues its own bills of lading and acts as a carrier towards you while buying space from shipping lines. In the United States, the Federal Maritime Commission regulates ocean freight forwarders and NVOCCs as ocean transportation intermediaries. Ask which company will issue your bill of lading or air waybill, and in whose name.

Finally, ask where the office and warehouse are, and whether you can visit or join a video call. Membership of a national forwarders' association that belongs to FIATA, the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations, is a useful signal, though not a guarantee.

The 10 questions to ask

How do you read a freight quote?

Ask every forwarder to quote the same shipment on the same terms, then compare line by line: pickup and origin charges, export customs, the main freight, destination charges, import customs, duties and taxes, and final delivery. Note surcharges such as fuel or peak season, and the date until which the price is valid. Our guide to Incoterms such as EXW, FOB, DAP and DDP explains which costs each term puts on the seller and the buyer.

Published rates make comparison easier. XINTING publishes its general-cargo air and rail rates on the shipping routes pages, and the homepage estimates every method side by side. These are reference prices; the final price is confirmed in writing for your actual goods.

What are the warning signs?

• A price far below everyone else, with no breakdown of what it covers.
• An all-in price that names no Incoterm and does not mention duties or import taxes.
• Acceptance of battery, magnetic or liquid goods without any request for an MSDS or product details.
• No legal company name, or a request to pay a personal account.
• Pressure to pay before you have a written quote.

Should you test a forwarder with a small shipment?

Yes, where you can. Send samples or a small air shipment first, and watch how fast questions are answered, whether the documents are correct the first time, and whether the final invoice matches the quote. A forwarder that handles a small shipment carefully is more likely to handle a large one well.

How XINTING answers these questions

ShenZhen XinTing Supply Chain Co., Ltd. (深圳市新婷供应链有限公司) was founded in Shenzhen on 24 November 2016, and its Unified Social Credit Code, 91440300MA5DPLL99B, is shown on this website. We are an NVOCC with more than 100 partner agents worldwide, a Hong Kong company since May 2020, our own China–Hong Kong trucks and a Hong Kong warehouse. Read more about us.

Our customs team pre-classifies products with HS codes and confirms the duty rate before you ship. Goods from several suppliers can be received, checked, repacked and relabeled at our Shenzhen warehouse, with any free storage period and handling charges confirmed with your quote; see warehousing and consolidation. Special goods always get a personal quote after we review the product details and MSDS. To start, send your shipment details through the quote form; we reply during China business hours (UTC+8).