How to go about vetting suppliers in China

Here is a question from PassageMaker’s mailbag typical of what you may be facing when you source from China.

I am looking for reliable manufacturers for XYZ. I have detailed specifications but all contacts from Alibaba claimed to be manufacturers. I cannot possibly busy myself with vetting suppliers in China from all of these contacts. How do I find the real and reliable manufacturers? And China is huge, where do I start?

Here is how we replied:

I think the following blog post will help answer your question:

CHINA SOURCING SUCCESS/FAILURE FACTORS

You are correct to assume the companies on Alibaba are trading companies, unless they can prove they are real factories. I have found the suppliers on www.GlobalSources.com are more professional and that directory has a better ratio of real factories vs trading companies. But regardless of which directory you use, do your due diligence.