How to Write an RFQ for Chinese Suppliers (With a Fill-in Template)

Last fact-checked: November 9, 2026.

An RFQ for a Chinese supplier is a filled brief: product, quantity, packing, Incoterm and the documents you want back. "Best price" with one photo is a catalog question. Factories answer it with three different offers, and the lowest number is often the thinnest spec. What the term RFQ means, field by field, is on RFQ in international trade. This page is the blank you can copy.

The form on this site is the RFQ brief builder. The place to send a live request is the RFQ. How you choose the channel that receives the brief is how to find suppliers in China. Once quotes return, line them up with compare supplier quotes.

The left column is how most first emails go out. The right column is what has to be there before two quotes can sit on one sheet.

The fill-in template

RFQ
Buyer reference:
Product name:
Material and construction:
Size / capacity / weight:
Color and size breakdown (quantity per line):
Logo, print, or plain:
Packing: inner pack, outer carton, marks:
Quantity:
Target Incoterm and named place:
Destination country:
Sample: yes/no. What the sample must match:
Date you need the sample:
Date you need production to ship:
Documents to return with the quote:
  proforma invoice, packing assumption, lead time,
  minimum for this spec, who invoices
Anything the factory must not change:

Copy that block. Replace every line. Leave a line blank only when you truly do not know it, and mark it "please propose" so the factory's assumption is visible. A blank that the factory fills in silence becomes their version of your product.

Spec and quantity come before the Incoterm. The documents you ask for are how you will check the answer.

Why those fields, and not a longer essay

The quote you want back should be able to grow into a commercial invoice without a second negotiation about what the goods are. The U.S. International Trade Administration describes a commercial invoice as a document customs uses to assess duties and taxes, and it notes that the invoice may include the Harmonized System code. You do not have to declare the HS code in the first RFQ. You do have to describe the product well enough that a code can be chosen later. The World Customs Organization explains the Harmonized System as the nomenclature used to classify goods.

The Incoterm is the ICC's job. Incoterms 2020 are the rules for the sale contract. "FOB" without a named port is not a finished term. "USD 1.20" without a term is not a finished price. Ask for the proforma to show the term. What a proforma is for, before it becomes the commercial invoice, is on proforma invoice.

A typical case

A buyer wants 1,500 cotton tote bags, natural color, two handles, a one-color print on one side, packed in export cartons. The target term is FOB Ningbo. The goods will move LCL by sea toward Felixstowe. In this example the buyer sends the template to three suppliers found through a fair list and one platform listing.

The first reply says USD 0.85 and "MOQ 1,000." It does not say whether the print is included, what the fabric weight is, or whether the price is FOB Ningbo or EXW at a workshop. The second reply answers every line, prices the plain bag and the print separately, names FOB Ningbo, and states a lead time after print approval. The second number can be higher and still be the one you can use. The first number cannot be compared until the missing lines are filled.

The buyer does not haggle the first number by email. The buyer sends the same template back with the blanks highlighted. If the supplier will not complete it, that supplier is off the sheet. The order, if it proceeds, goes through the RFQ with the completed brief attached.

Those lines are the example. The bag price is deliberately not on the graphic. A price without the lines above is the thing this page is trying to retire.

Where RFQs go wrong

• Sending a different photo to each supplier and then ranking the prices. You ranked four products. One drawing, one size, one print file.
• Asking for a range, such as "500 to 5,000." You will be quoted the price of the quantity that suits the factory. State the quantity you will actually buy, and ask for one alternate quantity on a second line if you need it.
• Forgetting packing. The tote in a polybag inside a printed retail box is a different cost and a different carton count from a bulk carton. Carton count is what the forwarder will ask for next.

Frequently asked questions

Is an RFQ the same as a purchase order?

No. The RFQ asks for a quote against your spec. The purchase order accepts one quote. Suppliers who start production on an RFQ email are guessing. Keep the words separate in the subject line.

Should I put my target price in the RFQ?

Put it only when you are testing whether a spec is possible at that price. If you put it on every request, some replies will meet the target by thinning the fabric. You can ask for the factory's price first, on the full spec, and discuss a target after the quotes are comparable.

How many suppliers should receive it?

Enough to see a pattern, few enough that you can chase the blanks. Three complete replies beat ten partial ones. Send the identical file to each, and keep their answers in one comparison sheet.

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

Sources

• U.S. International Trade Administration: commercial invoice. Why the product description has to be good enough for customs valuation later. Open on 9 November 2026.
• ICC: Incoterms 2020. The named rule and place that belong on the quote.
• World Customs Organization: the Harmonized System. The classification system a clear product description has to support.