Terms
Last updated: 2 October 2026.
About the service
Mark Zhong provides independent desk research for international businesses considering a supplier, business partner, market-entry question, or commercial opportunity in China. This is a personal research practice, not a trading company, law firm, investment adviser, licensed investigation firm, accounting firm, certification body, or physical inspection company.
Scope and acceptance
Every engagement begins with a written scope, fee, expected delivery time, and required inputs. Submitting an inquiry does not place an order and no payment is due until the scope is confirmed. I may decline work that is outside my competence, cannot be completed lawfully, presents a conflict, or cannot be supported by sufficiently reliable information.
A fixed-scope supplier check covers one Chinese legal entity. Checking another legal entity, related company, factory, distributor, shareholder, or counterparty may require a separate scope and fee. Custom partner, market-entry, and opportunity research covers only the questions stated in the accepted scope.
Fees and delivery
Fees and expected delivery times are confirmed in writing for each accepted scope before payment. Work begins after payment and receipt of all essential information. Missing, inaccurate, or changed information may require a revised scope, fee, or delivery time, which will be confirmed before additional work begins.
Sources and limitations
Research may use public records, company materials, commercial databases, Chinese-language web sources, and information supplied by you. Findings reflect information available on the research date and may be incomplete, delayed, inaccurate, removed, or subsequently changed.
The work is decision support, not a guarantee, approval, certification, legal opinion, investment recommendation, or assurance of performance. A desk review cannot guarantee ownership of a bank account, product quality, shipment, regulatory approval, market demand, customs clearance, or the honesty and future conduct of any person or company. You remain responsible for your commercial, legal, payment, investment, and purchasing decisions.
Client information
You are responsible for providing complete and accurate names, links, documents, questions, and transaction details, and for having the right to share them. Do not send unlawfully obtained material or unnecessary sensitive personal data.
Cancellation and refunds
If you cancel after payment but before substantive research begins, I will refund the fee. After research has begun, fees are not refundable except where I cannot complete the agreed deliverable for reasons on my side. If the scope changes, any revised fee or delivery time will be confirmed before additional work begins.
Use of deliverables
A deliverable is prepared for the commissioning client and the decision described in the agreed scope. It may be shared with the client’s professional advisers but may not be resold, publicly republished, altered to imply certification, or presented as work prepared for another party without written permission.
Liability
To the extent permitted by applicable law, total liability arising from an engagement is limited to the fee paid for that engagement. I am not liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost profit, production delay, loss caused by a supplier or other third party, or a decision made outside the agreed research scope.
Contact
Questions about these terms: mark@markzhong.com.