Trade Associations

Trade Associations are a great way to get in touch with supplier's around the world or to get your product's out there.

Most of them have a basic membership level, which requires no membership fees.

There are some restrictions for the lowest level of membership, such as the amount of Trade Leads you can receive during a period of time. Another restriction could be the ability to see contact information of a Trade Lead.

The higher up you go in membership levels, the more functionality you will have to advertise your business and contact Trade Leads.

Be forewarned that there are many scam artists that lurk around these associations, masquerading as legitimate companies.
Most of the scam artists can be spotted by observing their company profile/contact information which contain obvious errors or conflicts with zip codes, area codes, grammar,etc.

Almost all of the Chinese companies I have contacted through Trade association leads have been legitimate companies. A company website is a good indicator of a real company.
Another positive sign is the response time to your initial inquiry to their company.
A fast response is a sign of a professional organization and could be an indicator of future business dealings with that company.