Table of Contents
- Data Sources
- Company Identifiers
- Search Capabilities
- Quirks & Gotchas
- Mappings
- Data Availability
- Example API Responses
Data Sources
China uses a single official data source. For a given entity, all company data is AI-extracted from a single PDF document — the Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) downloaded from the Credit China portal.All entity types
- Credit China (信用中国) — Official national credit information platform operated by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in collaboration with the People’s Bank of China. The portal (
creditchina.gov.cn) provides Credit Information Reports (信用信息报告) in PDF format. This is the sole data source for company profiles, legal representatives, and all structured attributes. The system navigates the portal automatically, solves CAPTCHAs, and downloads the PDF document for each company.
CAPTCHA-protected portal. The creditchina.gov.cn website is protected by image CAPTCHAs. The system solves these CAPTCHAs automatically. Because CAPTCHA solving can be unreliable, automatic retry handling ensures resilience. This means company profile requests may take several minutes to complete.
How does the data retrieval flow work?
How does the data retrieval flow work?
- Search — Navigate to the Credit China search page with the company identifier (USCC) or name as a URL query parameter
- CAPTCHA — Solve the image CAPTCHA presented by the portal automatically
- Results — Intercept the search API response (
catalogSearchHome) and extract the JSON result list - Detail page — Navigate to the company detail page using the
uuid,entityType, and USCC from the search result - Download trigger — Click the “Download” button on the detail page to trigger the
clickDownloadAPI, which returns areportNumber - PDF download — Fetch the Credit Information Report PDF directly from
public.creditchina.gov.cn/credit-check/pdf/clickDownloadOBS?reportNumber={reportNumber} - Text extraction — Extract text from the PDF using PDF.co API (specialized for Chinese PDF encoding)
- AI parsing — Parse company data, legal representatives, and other attributes from the extracted text using AI (GPT-5 Mini / GPT-OSS-120B racing)
Company Identifiers
Query Identifiers
| Company Type | Source | Format | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All entities | Credit China | 18 alphanumeric characters (USCC) | 91110000710926094P | Unified Social Credit Code (统一社会信用代码) |
Identifiers in API Response
Once you retrieve company data, theidentifiers object contains:
| Identifier Type | Format | Example | Found In |
|---|---|---|---|
Unified Social Credit Code | 18 alphanumeric characters | 91110000710926094P | All entities registered in China |
The identifier key in the API response is
Unified Social Credit Code (full English name), not an abbreviated key like uscc. This identifier is AI-extracted from the Credit Information Report and always corresponds to the query USCC.Search Capabilities
| Search Type | Pattern | Example | Match Type | Expected Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| By USCC | 18 alphanumeric characters | 9144030071526726XG | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
| By Chinese name | Chinese characters | 腾讯 | Fuzzy | Multiple results |
| By full Chinese name | Chinese characters | 腾讯科技(深圳)有限公司 | Exact | Single company (1 result) |
Search uses live portal access. Both identifier and name searches navigate the Credit China portal in real time, solving CAPTCHAs for each search. There is no pre-built search index. Search can take 1-3 minutes due to CAPTCHA solving and portal latency. Automatic retry handling ensures resilience.
Quirks & Gotchas
| Quirk | Details |
|---|---|
| All data is AI-parsed from PDF | Unlike countries with structured APIs, all company data for China is extracted from a Credit Information Report PDF by AI. Data quality depends on PDF quality and AI parsing accuracy. |
| CAPTCHA-protected source | The creditchina.gov.cn portal requires image CAPTCHA solving for every request. CAPTCHAs are solved automatically with built-in retry handling for resilience. Flakiness is inherent. |
| PDF text extraction requires specialized tooling | Chinese PDFs often have encoding issues or encryption. PDF.co API is used instead of standard PDF parsing libraries for reliable text extraction. |
| Processing time is high | Company profile requests are asynchronous and can take up to 7 minutes per attempt. The CAPTCHA-solving, portal navigation, PDF download, and AI parsing pipeline is inherently slow. |
| Single legal representative per company | Chinese Company Law mandates exactly one legal representative (法定代表人) per company. This differs from jurisdictions that allow multiple legal representatives. |
| Shareholders not yet available | Shareholder extraction has not been migrated to the Atlas workflow system. The API returns an empty shareholders array for all Chinese companies. |
| No UBO data | Ultimate Beneficial Owner information is not publicly available through the Credit China portal. |
| Business scope instead of activity codes | China has a national classification system (GB/T 4754) but the Credit Information Report provides free-text business scope (经营范围) rather than numeric codes. NACE and ISIC codes are therefore always AI-inferred. |
| No establishment data | Branch or subsidiary information is not extracted from the current data source. |
| Mobile proxies required | The Credit China portal is a .gov.cn site that blocks data center IP addresses. Slow mobile proxies are required, adding to latency. |
| USCC replaced 3 old identifiers in 2015 | Before reforms in 2015, Chinese businesses needed separate IDs from SAIC (business permit), STA (tax ID), and AQSIQ (organization code). The USCC unified these into a single 18-character code. Legacy identifiers are not supported. |
Mappings
Company Status
Company status is AI-extracted from the Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) PDF. The AI parser reads the status field from the document and maps it to a standardized status.| Local Status | English Translation | Standardized Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 存续 | Existing / In Operation | Active | Company is registered and operating |
| 在业 | In Business | Active | Company is actively conducting business |
| 开业 | Open for Business | Active | Company has commenced operations |
| 正常 | Normal | Active | Normal operating status |
| 迁出 | Relocated Out | Active | Company relocated to another jurisdiction |
| 吊销 | Revoked | Closed | Business license revoked by authorities |
| 注销 | Deregistered | Closed | Voluntarily deregistered |
| 撤销 | Cancelled | Closed | Registration cancelled by authorities |
| 停业 | Ceased Operations | Closed | Company has ceased business operations |
| 清算 | In Liquidation | Under Insolvency Proceeding | Company is undergoing liquidation |
Status is AI-extracted from the trade register extract PDF. The local Chinese status term is preserved verbatim and mapped to a standardized status. The
isAIInferred flag on status reflects this AI extraction.Legal Forms
China uses a variety of legal entity forms. Since company data is AI-extracted from the Credit Information Report PDF, the legal form is parsed from the document text. The mapping to standardized forms and ISO 20275 (ELF) codes is AI-enriched.Legal form standardization and ISO 20275 assignment are AI-enriched. The local Chinese legal form name is preserved verbatim from the trade register extract. Because legal forms are AI-inferred, exact mappings may evolve.
Commercial Companies
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 有限责任公司 | Limited Liability Company | Limited Liability Company | Most common form for SMEs |
| 股份有限公司 | Company Limited by Shares | Corporation | Joint stock companies, including listed companies |
| 有限责任公司(自然人投资或控股) | LLC (Natural Person Investment) | Limited Liability Company | Invested/controlled by individuals |
| 有限责任公司(法人独资) | LLC (Sole Legal Person) | Limited Liability Company | Wholly owned by a legal person |
| 有限责任公司(自然人独资) | LLC (Sole Natural Person) | Limited Liability Company | One-person LLC owned by an individual |
| 有限责任公司(外商投资) | LLC (Foreign Investment) | Limited Liability Company | Foreign-invested enterprise (FIE) |
| 有限责任公司(中外合资) | Sino-Foreign Joint Venture LLC | Limited Liability Company | Chinese-foreign equity joint venture |
| 有限责任公司(外商合资) | Foreign Joint Venture LLC | Limited Liability Company | Multiple foreign investors |
| 股份有限公司(上市) | Listed Company Limited by Shares | Corporation | Publicly listed corporation |
| 股份有限公司(非上市) | Unlisted Company Limited by Shares | Corporation | Private joint stock company |
Sole Entrepreneurs
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| 个体工商户 | Individual Industrial and Commercial Household | Sole Proprietorship |
| 个人独资企业 | Sole Proprietorship Enterprise | Sole Proprietorship |
Partnerships
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| 普通合伙企业 | General Partnership | Partnership |
| 有限合伙企业 | Limited Partnership | Limited Partnership |
| 特殊普通合伙企业 | Special General Partnership | Partnership |
Non-Profits & Social Organizations
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| 民办非企业单位 | Private Non-Enterprise Unit | Nonprofit Organization |
| 社会团体 | Social Organization | Nonprofit Organization |
| 基金会 | Foundation | Nonprofit Organization |
State-Owned & Public Entities
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| 全民所有制 | State-Owned Enterprise (Wholly People-Owned) | Government-Owned Entity |
| 集体所有制 | Collectively-Owned Enterprise | Government-Owned Entity |
| 国有独资公司 | State-Owned Sole Proprietorship Company | Government-Owned Entity |
Foreign Entities
| Chinese Name | English Translation | Standardized |
|---|---|---|
| 外国(地区)企业在中国境内从事生产经营活动 | Foreign Enterprise Operating in China | Branch or Representative Office |
| 外国(地区)企业常驻代表机构 | Foreign Enterprise Representative Office | Branch or Representative Office |
Legal Representatives
Legal representatives are AI-extracted from the Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) PDF. In China, the legal representative (法定代表人) is a single individual who has binding authority on behalf of the company under Chinese law.| Role (Chinese) | Role (English) | Classification | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 法定代表人 | Legal Representative | Legal Representative | The primary legally authorized person; one per company |
| 董事长 | Chairman of the Board | Legal Representative | When serving as legal representative |
| 总经理 | General Manager | Legal Representative | When serving as legal representative |
| 执行董事 | Executive Director | Legal Representative | Common in smaller LLCs without a board |
| 负责人 | Person in Charge | Legal Representative | Used for branches and representative offices |
Under Chinese Company Law, each company has exactly one legal representative (法定代表人). This person is personally liable for certain company obligations. The legal representative is typically the Chairman, Executive Director, or General Manager as specified in the company’s articles of association. Both individuals and corporate entities can appear as legal representatives, though individuals are the norm. All role classifications are AI-inferred from the PDF text.
Other Key Persons
Not applicable. The Credit Information Report does not include structured data for supervisory board members, auditors, or other key persons beyond the legal representative. Board member or senior executive data is not currently extracted.Shareholders
Shareholder data extraction is not yet implemented in the current China integration. The trade register extract (信用信息报告) may contain shareholder information, but the AI parser for shareholders has not been migrated to the Atlas workflow system.Planned Extraction
When implemented, shareholder data will be AI-extracted from the Credit Information Report PDF, which typically includes:| Field | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
name | Shareholder name (individual or company) | AI-extracted from PDF |
type | Individual or Company | AI-inferred from name |
sharePercentage | Ownership percentage | AI-extracted from PDF (when available) |
shareCapital | Subscribed capital contribution | AI-extracted from PDF (when available) |
Activity Code Mapping
China does not use a single standardized industry classification code in the Credit Information Report. Activity information is extracted as a free-text description from the business scope (经营范围) field, then mapped via AI:| Classification | Source | AI Inferred? |
|---|---|---|
| Business Scope | Trade register extract (经营范围) | No (official text) |
| NACE | AI-derived from business scope text | Yes (always) |
| ISIC | AI-derived from business scope text | Yes (always) |
China has a national classification system (GB/T 4754 — 国民经济行业分类) but the Credit Information Report typically provides a free-text business scope rather than a numeric code. Both NACE and ISIC codes are therefore always AI-inferred for Chinese companies. Every activity item includes an
isAIInferred: true flag.Data Availability
Data Availability Matrix
| Data Type | Credit Information Report (AI-parsed) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company Profile | ✅ Async | Legal name, address, status, legal form, capital, activity description |
| Legal Representatives | ✅ Async | AI-extracted from trade register extract PDF |
| Shareholders | ❌ (Planned) | Parser not yet migrated to Atlas |
| Ultimate Beneficial Owners | ❌ | Not publicly available in China |
| Establishments | ❌ | Not extracted from current data source |
| Activity Codes | ✅ Async | AI-inferred NACE/ISIC from business scope text |
Documents by Company Type
| Document Type | API Category | Format | SKU | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) | tradeRegisterExtract | CHN_CERTIFIED_REGISTER_EXTRACT | ✅ All entities | Official credit report from creditchina.gov.cn |
The Credit Information Report is the only document type currently available for Chinese companies. It is retrieved via automated navigation of the creditchina.gov.cn portal, solving CAPTCHAs, and downloading the PDF. The same document is used both as a standalone deliverable and as the source for AI-parsed company profile data.
Example API Responses
All examples use placeholder data. Query:POST /company with { "id": "<USCC>", "countryCode": "CN", "dataPoints": ["companyProfile"] }
Active Limited Liability Company
Active Limited Liability Company
Active Corporation (Stock Company)
Active Corporation (Stock Company)
Revoked (Closed) Company
Revoked (Closed) Company
active: false and status 吊销 (Revoked). The standardized status is CLOSED. Shareholder data is not yet available.Available Documents
Available Documents
Documents are returned when
"dataPoints": ["availableDocuments"] is requested.| API Category | Document | Notes |
|---|---|---|
tradeRegisterExtract | Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) PDF | All entities |
Data Source Priority & Routing
China uses a single data source for all entity types — the Credit China portal (creditchina.gov.cn). There is no priority chain or fallback mechanism.
Single-source model: All data comes from the Credit Information Report (信用信息报告) PDF downloaded from Credit China. There is no cross-source merging or fallback. If the Credit China portal is unavailable or the CAPTCHA cannot be solved after multiple attempts, the request fails.Attribute-level source mapping:
| Attribute | Source | AI Inferred? |
|---|---|---|
| Company name (Chinese + English) | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Legal form | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Status | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Registered address | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Registration date | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Share capital | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Business scope (活动描述) | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Activity codes (NACE/ISIC) | Derived from business scope | Yes (always) |
| Legal representative | Credit Information Report PDF | Yes |
| Shareholders | Not extracted | N/A |
| UBOs | Not available | N/A |
| Establishments | Not extracted | N/A |