1. The question
A letter of credit names documents. Which Chinese documents does a bank actually require, and in what form?
2. The credit governs
Where a credit names documents, the credit’s terms determine what is required.
Not the destination customs requirements, not standard commercial practice, not what the exporter used last time.
A bank examining documents under a credit checks against the credit’s terms and nothing else.
3. The common Chinese documents in credits
Commercial invoice.
Packing list.
Bill of lading, in the form the credit specifies.
Certificate of origin, in the format the credit specifies.
Inspection certificate, where the credit requires one.
Insurance document, for CIF and CIP terms.
Beneficiary’s certificate, where the credit requires a statement.
4. The certificate of origin specification
The credit may name:
A certificate of origin, without specifying the form.
A Form E, for China-ASEAN trade.
A Form P, for China-Pakistan.
A certificate under a specific FTA.
An ordinary non-preferential certificate.
Where the credit names a form, that form is required. An ordinary certificate does not satisfy a credit naming Form E.
This is the most common Chinese documentation discrepancy in credit transactions.
5. The legalization requirement
Some credits require legalized documents.
Where they do, the legalization chain becomes part of the presentation timeline.
A three-week consular legalization cycle against a twenty-one day presentation period does not fit.
Where the credit requires legalized documents, negotiate a longer presentation period before the credit is issued.
6. The presentation period arithmetic
Twenty-one days from the date of shipment is the common default.
The chain of work after shipment:
Obtain the bill of lading, which may take several days.
Assemble the documents.
Legalize, where required.
Present.
A legalization cycle consumes most or all of the twenty-one days by itself.
7. The discrepancy types that recur
Certificate form not matching
The credit names a form the exporter did not use.
Values differing between documents
The invoice and certificate of origin showing different values.
Goods description not matching
The credit’s description is what the bank reads. The invoice must match it, not paraphrase it.
Late presentation
Documents correct, presented after the period.
Missing document
A document the credit required and the exporter did not include.
8. The description matching rule
Under the standard rules for documentary credits, the goods description in the invoice must correspond with the description in the credit.
Other documents may describe the goods in general terms not inconsistent with the credit.
In practice, banks apply the invoice rule strictly. The invoice should reproduce the credit’s description.
9. What to check before shipment
Read the credit’s document list.
For each document, check the form specified.
Check the presentation period against the legalization timeline.
Check the goods description.
Check whether the credit requires a specific issuing body.
Where any answer is unclear, ask the issuing bank for an amendment before shipment.
10. Closing view
Credit compliance is a document-matching exercise with a deadline, and the Chinese documents are the part the exporter controls.
The single most valuable habit is reading the credit’s document clause as a specification rather than as a general description.
*This article is based on documentary credit practice and the consular authentication guidance published by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated October 2026. Exporters should consult their bank on credit terms.*