How to Find Suppliers in China: Fairs, Markets, Platforms and Agents Compared

Last fact-checked: November 9, 2026.

How to find suppliers in China depends on the channel, not on a single directory. A trade fair, a wholesale market, an online platform and a sourcing agent can all surface the same product. They do not give you the same seller, the same price basis, or the same chance to see the goods before you pay.

Pick the channel from the order in front of you. A fair week is published on the Canton Fair site. A year-round building for small goods is a Yiwu market visit. Platform listings versus 1688 are compared on Alibaba versus 1688. What an agent fee is built from is on sourcing agent fees. The page that turns a shortlist into one written ask is how to write an RFQ.

Use the four columns as a filter. The notes under them are what actually changes for one SKU.

Four channels, one product

Channel	What you get quickly	What you still have to do	Fits when
Trade fair	Many factories and traders in one hall, in a published week	You sort factory from trader, and you follow up in writing after the hall closes	The category is on that session and you can travel
Wholesale market	Goods you can hold, often from stock or a short run	The booth quote has to name spec, quantity, packing and Incoterm	The product is a market category, such as small commodities in Yiwu
Online platform	A wide list you can search from home	You still confirm who invoices, who makes the goods, and whether the sample matches	You are building a longlist before a visit or an agent call
Sourcing agent	Someone on the ground who can visit, compare and report	The scope and the fee basis have to be written, or the "help" is a hidden margin	You cannot travel, or the order needs factory checks you will not do yourself

The U.S. International Trade Administration's China Commercial Guide points companies to market-entry choices that include agents and distributors, pricing, and methods of payment. Those are selling-into-China headings. The same three questions matter when you are the buyer: who acts for you, what the price includes, and how money moves. Payment methods are on the Administration's methods of payment page. Cash in advance, which many first orders become, is described there as payment before ownership transfers.

Most first orders use two channels, not four. A fair or a platform builds the list. A market visit or an agent checks the shortlist. Sending four different specs and then comparing the prices is how a cheap quote wins for the wrong product.

A typical case

A buyer needs 2,000 silicone spatulas, FOB Ningbo, LCL by sea. The factory might exhibit at a fair, sell a stock version in a market, list on a platform, or be introduced by an agent. In this example the buyer starts at the fair because several spatula makers are in one place and the spec can be argued over a sample on the table.

The follow-up is not "we met at the booth." It is a written RFQ with the same silicone grade, color, handle length, packing and FOB Ningbo place, sent to the two booths that could make it and to one platform seller that claimed the same spec. An agent is added only if the buyer cannot visit the factory before the deposit. The agent's job in that case is the visit and the comparison, under a written scope, not a second product definition.

Who is a factory and who is a trader still has to be asked. A trading company can be the right seller when it consolidates and invoices cleanly. It is the wrong surprise when you thought you were paying a factory. The distinction is on sourcing agent versus trading company. How Aeonix scopes a search is on China sourcing strategy and the service page China sourcing agent.

That brief is the example. Change the product and the named place, and keep the rule: every channel receives the same brief.

Where the search goes wrong

• Taking the platform price as the cost to your warehouse. The listing is often a product price. Freight, duty and the inspection sit outside it. Landed cost is a later sum. The quote you compare now should at least share an Incoterm. The ICC describes the Incoterms 2020 rules as the terms for the sale contract.
• Treating a fair booth as proof the company owns a factory. Ask who manufactures, who invoices, and which address you can visit. Then check that name before you wire, using the supplier check before payment.
• Hiring an agent with a different spec from the one you showed the factory. You will pay for a comparison of two products. Lock the spec first. The fee conversation comes second.

Before you pay anyone

• One spec sheet goes to every channel.
• The legal name on the quote matches the name you will pay.
• You have a written answer on factory or trader.
• The Incoterm and the named place are on the quote.
• A sample is approved against that spec before the production balance.

Put the surviving suppliers on the RFQ. A directory screenshot is not the order.

Frequently asked questions

Should I find Chinese manufacturers myself or hire an agent?

Find them yourself when you can travel or when the category is already on a market floor you understand. Hire an agent when the value of a local visit is higher than the fee you are willing to write into a contract. Those are different offers. Compare them on scope, not on a slogan.

Is a China wholesale website enough?

It is enough to build a longlist. It is not enough to release a deposit. You still need the seller's name, the spec, the sample and a quote you can compare. The platform terms are the platform's. Your purchase order is yours.

Where should a small first order start?

If the goods are small commodities you can describe in one page, a market or a short fair list is usually faster than a twelve-factory search. If the goods need tooling, a certification file, or a factory audit, start with a written RFQ and a factory visit, whether you do the visit or an agent does.

Who runs the file is also covered in How to Choose a China Sourcing Agent, an agent, a forwarder, or a buying office, WeChat for sourcing, and Hong Kong sourcing and transshipment.

See also Which page to open before a China deposit.

Sources

• U.S. International Trade Administration: China Commercial Guide. Market-entry headings covering agents, distributors, pricing and payment. Open on 9 November 2026.
• U.S. International Trade Administration: methods of payment. How cash in advance and other methods move ownership and risk.
• ICC: Incoterms 2020. The sale-contract terms that have to match across channels.
• Canton Fair and Yiwugo District 1. The fair site and a market operator page, as two of the channels. Both open on 9 November 2026.