How to Import Goods from China: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

How to import goods from China comes down to a sequence you can actually control — choose the right Incoterm, pick a freight mode, clear customs, and budget the total landed cost before you commit. This guide covers the shipping and compliance half of importing: everything from the moment your goods are ready at the factory to the moment they arrive at your door or Amazon warehouse. (We don’t cover sourcing and supplier negotiation here — Transifly is a freight forwarder, not a buying agent — but we’ll tell you what you need in hand from your supplier before you ship.) Here’s the process at a glance, then every step in detail.

The Import Process at a Glance

Every import from China follows the same seven stages. Use this as your map — each step links to the section below where we go into depth.

1. Confirm your goods are ready — you have a supplier, a confirmed product, and the packed weight and dimensions.
2. Choose an Incoterm — decide who books freight and who pays duty (FOB, CIF, DDP, etc.).
3. Choose a freight mode — sea, air, rail, or express, based on speed, volume, and budget.
4. Book a freight forwarder — they handle pickup, China export clearance, and the paperwork.
5. Move the goods — ocean, air, or rail transit, tracked the whole way.
6. Clear customs and pay duties — import clearance, duty, and VAT/GST at destination.
7. Final delivery — to your warehouse, your customer, or an Amazon FBA center.

The two mistakes that cost importers the most happen at steps 2 and 6: picking the wrong Incoterm, and not budgeting duty and VAT up front. We’ll spend the most time there.

Before You Ship: What You Need from Your Supplier

You don’t need to be an expert — but you do need these six things from your supplier before you can get an accurate quote and a smooth shipment:

• A confirmed product and HS code. The Harmonized System (HS) code classifies your goods and sets your duty rate. Get it from your supplier (or confirm it yourself) before booking.
• Packed weight and dimensions. Real carton dimensions, not estimates — freight is charged on volume and weight, whichever is higher.
• The factory address and pickup date. Needed for the forwarder to collect and for export clearance.
• The agreed Incoterm. This tells everyone who books freight and who handles each leg.
• Your commercial documents — commercial invoice and packing list, issued by the supplier.
• A clear picture of the goods — value, quantity, and any special handling (batteries, liquids, oversized).

Choose the Right Incoterm

Your Incoterm decides who pays for freight, who clears customs, and where the risk transfers from seller to buyer. For a first-time importer, the four that matter most are EXW, FOB, CIF, and DDP:

The practical rule: FOB gives you control; DDP gives you convenience. Most importers start with FOB so they can pick their own forwarder and see their freight costs transparently, then switch to DDP once they know the route. For the full 11-term picture, see our Incoterms 2020 explained guide, and for the DDP-vs-DAP detail, see DDP vs DDU vs DAP.

Choose a Freight Mode: Sea, Air, Rail, or Express

The mode you pick is a trade-off between speed, cost, and volume. Here’s how the four compare on a China-to-Europe lane at August 2026 rates:

A few decision rules to make it easy:

• Under ~100kg or genuinely urgent → express or air.
• 500kg+ that isn’t urgent → air freight gives the best balance of speed and cost per kg.
• A pallet or more, no rush → sea (LCL if you’re under a full container, FCL once you fill one).
• China-to-Europe and faster than sea → rail is the middle option.

These are example rates for a China-to-Europe lane; your actual rate depends on the exact origin, destination, and volume. Explore the lanes in detail on our sea freight, air transportation from China, and express shipping from China pages.

Book a Freight Forwarder & Handle China Export

A freight forwarder is the company that moves your goods and handles the paperwork at both ends. Here’s what a good one does on a China import:

• Factory pickup and consolidation — they collect from your supplier and, if needed, combine multiple suppliers into one shipment.
• China export clearance — they file the export declaration with Chinese customs.
• Freight booking — they reserve the space and negotiate the rate on your chosen mode and lane.
• Documentation — commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading (sea) or air waybill (air).
• Tracking and exception handling — real-time visibility, and a named contact when something goes wrong.

Choosing the forwarder is the single highest-leverage decision in the whole process. Before you book, vet them properly — check their registration and licences, test their communication, and run a small trial order. We have a dedicated guide on exactly how: how to vet a China freight forwarder. If you’re still unclear on the roles, start with what is a freight forwarder and the difference between a freight forwarder vs customs broker.

Required Import Documents

Missing or mismatched paperwork is one of the top causes of customs delays and storage fees. Here’s what you’ll need, what each document does, and the mistake to avoid:

The bill of lading is the most important document — it’s legal title to your cargo. Check the original carefully for alterations, and keep the consignee and notify-party details exact. For a full walkthrough of what happens at the border, see our customs clearance guide.

Customs Clearance, Duties & Taxes

This is where the total cost of importing is decided — and where the “cheap freight” illusion usually breaks. Your landed cost has more than just the freight rate in it.

Here’s a worked example, using the Transifly China-to-Europe air lane at August 2026 rates. Say you’re air-freighting 500 kg from Shenzhen to a customer in Europe:

• Air freight: 500 kg × $4.60/kg = $2,300
• China export clearance: ~$50–$150
• Destination customs clearance / broker fee: ~$100–$500
• Import duty: depends on your HS code — anywhere from 0% to 35% of the customs value
• VAT/GST: depends on the destination — typically 5–25% on the value plus the duty
• Last-mile delivery: ~$200–$1,000, depending on distance and access

The freight line is the one you can nail down to the dollar. The duty and VAT are the two you must estimate before you commit, because they can easily exceed the freight itself on high-duty goods. That’s why we always tell importers to budget the full landed cost, not the freight quote alone. For a structured breakdown of what you’ll pay and how to estimate it, see our import duties and taxes guide.

Shipping to Amazon FBA (If You’re a Seller)

If you’re an Amazon seller, importing has a few extra requirements baked in:

• Amazon never acts as importer of record, so your inventory must arrive at the warehouse duty-paid — which is why FBA shipments typically run on DDP.
• Labelling and pallet specs must match Amazon’s exact rules, or the delivery appointment gets refused.
• Delivery appointments must be booked in advance through Amazon’s Carrier Central.
• Multiple suppliers often need consolidating into one FBA-ready shipment before dispatch.

A forwarder who does FBA regularly handles all of this for you — consolidation, FBA labels, palletisation, and the delivery appointment. See our Amazon FBA prep service for how it works end to end.

DDP: The All-In Option

If the sections above feel like a lot to juggle, that’s exactly what DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) exists to remove. Under DDP, the forwarder handles the entire chain — factory pickup, export clearance, freight, import clearance, duties and taxes, and final delivery to your door — for one all-in price.

DDP is the right choice when you:

• Want a single predictable landed cost instead of five separate invoices,
• Don’t have (or want to set up) a local tax ID and customs broker,
• Are shipping to Amazon FBA (which requires goods to arrive duty-paid),
• Are a first-time importer learning the route.

At August 2026 China-to-Europe rates, DDP sea runs around $1.90/kg and DDP air around $6.50/kg, all duties included. The trade-off is cost transparency: DDP bundles everything, so you see one number rather than a line-by-line breakdown. Many importers start on DDP, then move to FOB once they have the experience and a broker. See our DDP shipping from China page for current all-in rates.

Your Complete Import Checklist

Here’s the whole guide compressed into one checklist. Work through it in order, and don’t book anything until every line is confirmed.

1. Supplier ready — product confirmed, HS code in hand, packed weight and dimensions known.
2. Incoterm chosen — FOB for control, DDP for convenience, CIF or EXW as needed.
3. Freight mode chosen — sea, air, rail, or express, matched to your volume and urgency.
4. Forwarder vetted — registration and licences checked, communication tested, a trial order planned.
5. Documents prepared — commercial invoice, packing list, B/L or AWB, certificate of origin.
6. Landed cost budgeted — freight + export clearance + duty + VAT + last mile, all added up.
7. Customs plan confirmed — correct HS code, no under-declaration, destination forms filed (ISF, EORI, etc.).
8. Final delivery arranged — warehouse, customer, or Amazon FBA, with the receiving rules confirmed.