The 7 Best B2B Data Providers in China: The Lookup-App Market Behind a Data Wall (2026)

China's company data is both open and locked. The official source, the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, lets anyone check a business's registration, its 18-digit Unified Social Credit Code, legal representative and penalties for free, and every mainland business must file its annual report there. But it is Chinese-only, requires real-name login, and cannot be taken in bulk.

So the way Chinese businesses actually check each other is through a handful of lookup apps, Qichacha, Tianyancha, Aiqicha and Qixinbao, that repackage the official register plus court, intellectual-property and equity data into slick products with hundreds of millions of users. The catch for anyone outside China is the data wall: a stack of laws restricts personal and company data from leaving the country, which is why foreign access usually runs through a compliant channel. This guide sorts out the apps and the compliant routes.

It ranks {count} providers on merit. We sell Chinese business data ourselves, so our pitch sits in a marked box rather than at number one.

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1. Qichacha (QCC): the market-leading lookup app

The largest Chinese company-lookup platform, and the one heading for a stock listing.

Founded in 2014, Qichacha covers more than 320 million company profiles by repackaging the official register alongside credit, risk, intellectual-property and equity-network data, and it reports hundreds of millions of users. It runs a separate compliance-focused arm for KYB and KYC, and filed for a Shanghai stock-exchange listing in late 2025. For checking a Chinese counterparty from inside China, it is the market leader.

Suzhou, China · Freemium, subscription · Built on: GSXT, Court and IP data, Equity data

3. Tianyancha: the Tencent-backed rival

The other giant lookup app, close behind Qichacha and backed by Tencent.

Founded in 2014 and backed by Tencent among others, Tianyancha offers company background, board members, investment data, operating-risk signals and intellectual-property information, drawn from thousands of indices and its own data models, with a developer API. It is the main rival to Qichacha and, like it, built on the free official register plus litigation and equity data. A strong second option, and often paired with Qichacha for cross-checking.

Beijing, China · Freemium, subscription · Built on: GSXT, Court and IP data, Investment data

4. Aiqicha: Baidu's free lookup

The free-tier entry point, backed by Baidu and good enough for a quick check.

Launched in 2020 and wholly owned by Baidu, Aiqicha covers around 200 million company profiles with risk alerts, intellectual-property and operational data across more than a hundred data dimensions, on a free tier plus a paid membership. Being Baidu-backed and free to start, it is the natural first stop for a quick Chinese company check, with deeper features behind the paid tier.

Beijing, China · Free tier, paid SVIP · Built on: GSXT, Court and IP data, Public sources

5. Qixinbao: the enterprise-focused option

The lookup platform aimed at finance, legal and government due diligence, from an AI data firm.

Launched in 2015 and operated by the AI and big-data firm INTSIG, best known for CamScanner, Qixinbao provides business registration, judicial-litigation, intellectual-property and equity-structure data, positioned for finance, legal and government due diligence and risk control. It leans more enterprise than the consumer-facing apps, which is its niche in a crowded market. A credible fourth option, particularly for structured risk work.

Shanghai, China · Subscription · Built on: GSXT, Court data, Equity data

6. CRIF China: the compliant foreign channel

The route foreigners use, a regulator-approved provider of legally compliant Chinese company data.

The Italian CRIF group has operated in China since 2011 and is registered with the People's Bank of China as a business and credit-information provider, described as one of the first wholly foreign-owned firms to gain that approval. Given the data-export restrictions, that compliant status is the point: it is a lawful way for foreign companies to obtain business and credit information on Chinese counterparties. Enterprise-priced and compliance-first.

Shanghai, China · Quote only · Built on: GSXT, Compliant channels, Own analysis

7. Huaxia Dun & Bradstreet: the D&B joint venture

The D&B presence in China, for D-U-N-S linkage and risk scoring on Chinese entities.

Formed as a joint venture in 2006 between Dun & Bradstreet and a Chinese credit-consulting partner, Huaxia D&B brings D-U-N-S numbering, enterprise risk management and payment-index scoring to Chinese companies. It is the route into the global D&B file for China-related risk and supply-chain work. As with any China data operation, cross-border use runs within the data-transfer rules, and its current operating footprint is worth confirming before you commit.

Shanghai, China · Quote only · Built on: GSXT, D&B network, Own research

How China's data landscape locked in

China built a free official register, a wave of lookup apps, and then a wall of data laws around it all:

The Chinese data landscape

The lookup apps are Chinese-owned; the compliant foreign access comes through international groups:

Free to read, hard to move

The official Chinese register is genuinely free. The National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, run by the market regulator, lets anyone verify a company's registration, its Unified Social Credit Code, legal representative, business scope and any penalties, and it is where every mainland business files its annual report. The limits are practical: it is Chinese-only, needs real-name authentication, and cannot be queried in bulk.

The harder limit is legal. A stack of laws, the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law and PIPL, restricts personal and company data from leaving China without a formal transfer mechanism, and bars handing China-stored data to foreign authorities without approval. That is why foreign-facing access to Chinese company data typically runs through a compliant provider rather than a raw feed. Check the free official source here:

• GSXT / NECIPS : The free national company-registration system, run by the market regulator. Chinese-only, real-name login, no bulk access.
• Unified Social Credit Code : The 18-digit identifier that consolidated tax and organisation numbers into one company ID.
• The lookup apps : Qichacha, Tianyancha, Aiqicha and Qixinbao repackage the register into searchable products, the everyday way Chinese firms check each other.

Four questions before you sign anything

1. Are you inside China, or outside it? In-country, the lookup apps are the practical tools. From abroad, the data-export rules matter, and a compliant provider like CRIF is usually the lawful route to Chinese company data at any scale.

2. Do you read Chinese? The official register and the lookup apps are Chinese-only, with real-name login. If your team cannot operate in Chinese, you will lean on a provider that delivers structured, translated data rather than the raw apps.

3. Have you planned for the transfer rules? Moving Chinese personal or company data across the border needs a formal mechanism. Build that into your plan before assuming you can pull a feed, and prefer providers who handle compliance for you.

4. Do you need risk depth, or just identity? For identity and basic checks, the free register and the apps suffice. For structured risk, scoring and D-U-N-S linkage, the compliant channels and the D&B joint venture are built for it.

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