Business Chinese Incoterms: Names, Meanings and Quote Phrases

Incoterms in Chinese are called 国际贸易术语解释通则 (guójì màoyì shùyǔ jiěshì tōngzé), and each of the 11 rules has its own Chinese name, such as FOB 装运港船上交货 and DDP 完税后交货. If you buy from or sell to Chinese-speaking partners from Singapore, you need two things: the meaning of each rule, and the words your supplier will use when quoting it. This guide gives you both, with the Singapore import details that affect your landed cost.

TL;DR

• Incoterms are 11 rules from the International Chamber of Commerce that split cost, risk and tasks between buyer and seller. The current set is Incoterms 2020.
• In Chinese, the full name is 国际贸易术语解释通则. Suppliers usually quote the English code (FOB, EXW, CIF) next to a Chinese name.
• For China-to-Singapore trade, FOB and CIF are common, and the importer normally pays Singapore’s 9% GST on the CIF value.
• Always write the rule, the named place and the version, for example “FCA Shanghai, Incoterms 2020”.
• Knowing the vocabulary in Mandarin helps you catch misunderstandings before they reach the contract.

Table of Contents

• What Incoterms are, in plain words
• How to say Incoterms in Chinese
• The five terms you will meet most often
• What this means for a Singapore importer
• How to write an Incoterm in a contract
• Phrases for talking Incoterms in Mandarin
• Common mistakes with Chinese quotes
• Our perspective
• Learn the language of trade with Linda Mandarin
• FAQ
• Sources

What Incoterms are, in plain words

Incoterms are 11 internationally recognized rules issued by the ICC that set out who pays for and manages the shipment, insurance, documentation and customs clearance. They exist so that a buyer in Singapore and a seller in Guangzhou read the same three letters in the same way.

The current edition, Incoterms 2020, took effect on 1 January 2020. It has two groups:

• Any mode of transport: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU, DDP.
• Sea and inland waterway only: FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF.

Two limits are worth remembering. Incoterms are a matter of contract and trade custom, not law, so parties can exclude them or write their own terms. They also do not set the price, the payment method, or when ownership passes, and they do not cover disputes or late delivery. Your contract still has to deal with those points.

How to say Incoterms in Chinese

The official Chinese title of the ICC publication is 《国际贸易术语解释通则》. The 2020 edition is referred to as 《国际贸易术语解释通则2020》, and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade announced the official Chinese translation on 28 December 2019. In everyday speech, many traders simply say the English letters, for example “FOB jià” (FOB价, the FOB price).

Here are the 11 rules with their Chinese names, as listed in a Chinese logistics guide, with pinyin to help you say them aloud:

A useful pattern: the Chinese names mostly describe the handover. 交货 (jiāohuò) means “delivery”, 付至 (fù zhì) means “paid to”, and 运费 (yùnfèi) is freight. Once you know these four or five words, new rule names stop looking like random strings.

A note on DPU

The 2020 edition renamed DAT as DPU so that the destination can be any place, not only a terminal. If an older Chinese supplier template still says DAT (终点站交货), ask which edition they mean.

The five terms you will meet most often

These are the rules that show up on most quotes between China and Singapore. The responsibilities below follow the descriptions given by Singapore Customs and freight sources.

EXW 工厂交货: the buyer does the most

Under EXW, the seller only has to make the goods available at its premises. The buyer bears all costs and risks from there, including loading and export customs clearance. A China-based freight guide warns that EXW needs a careful check before you accept it, especially if you do not manage export clearance in China yourself. In that case, FCA is often more practical: you appoint your own forwarder while the Chinese supplier handles export clearance.

FOB 装运港船上交货: the usual sea-freight term

The seller carries cost and risk until the goods are on board the ship and handles export clearance. After that, the buyer takes over. FOB is common for imports from China into Singapore, where the supplier loads and the buyer arranges freight from the origin port.

CIF 成本、保险费加运费: freight and insurance included

CIF adds seller-paid sea freight and minimum insurance to FOB. The detail that surprises new buyers is that risk still passes to the buyer when the goods are loaded at the port of shipment, not when they arrive. The minimum cover is 110% of the invoice value, and if you want broader cover, the extra cost is yours. CIF is for sea transport only.

DAP 目的地交货: delivered, not cleared

Under DAP, the seller bears the cost and risk of bringing goods to your named address, ready for unloading. You remain responsible for import clearance, duty and destination taxes.

DDP 完税后交货: maximum obligation on the seller

DDP means the seller delivers to the named place and also covers export and import duties, taxes and customs formalities. It looks convenient for a Singapore buyer, but it only works well when the supplier genuinely handles Singapore clearance and the GST. Ask them how they will do that before you agree.

What this means for a Singapore importer

Singapore uses the transaction value method for customs value, and it is based on the CIF value plus charges incidental to the sale, such as commissions, packing costs, royalties and freight. That is why even an FOB quote needs a freight and insurance estimate before you can work out the tax.

A few practical points:

• GST: 9% on the CIF value, effective 1 January 2024. Under DAP you pay it as importer of record. Under DDP the seller does.
• Duty: Singapore is a free port, so most goods carry 0% customs duty. GST is the main import cost to plan for. Check your goods with Singapore Customs if they are controlled or dutiable.
• Permit: an import permit is filed through TradeNet before the goods enter, according to the same shipping guide.
• Small shipments: the S$400 GST relief applies only to non-controlled, non-dutiable imports by air or post. Commercial sea and land cargo pays GST regardless of value.

A worked comparison

Imagine a supplier quotes the same goods three ways. Under FOB Shenzhen, you pay freight, insurance, GST and local costs. Under CIF Singapore, the supplier pays freight and minimum insurance to your port, but you still carry the risk from the loading port and pay GST on the CIF value. Under DAP your warehouse address, the supplier pays to bring the goods to your door and you handle clearance. The headline prices will not be comparable until you add the same cost items to each. Build a simple sheet with freight, insurance, GST and local delivery for every quote.

How to write an Incoterm in a contract

State three things: the rule, the named place and the edition. For example, “CIF Shanghai Incoterms® 2020”. If no year is stated, contracts signed before 31 December 2019 apply Incoterms 2010 and contracts from 1 January 2020 apply Incoterms 2020. A Shanghai-based process firm gives the same advice for Chinese partners: always specify the edition and the named place or port.

The ICC’s own checklist also gives a simple way to choose. The rule you pick depends mainly on who is better placed to arrange the main transport, and the party who can get the cheapest or most efficient transport should usually take the larger share. As a seller, you want risk to pass early (EXW, FCA, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP). As a buyer who wants no risk until the goods are in hand, the D rules (DAP, DPU, DDP) suit you better.

For containers, the ICC recommends FCA in place of FOB or FAS, and CPT or CIP in place of CFR or CIF, because the seller usually hands the container to the terminal days before loading. Risk should pass at the handover point, not at a ship’s rail that the seller never touches.

Phrases for talking Incoterms in Mandarin

Knowing the table is one thing. Using it in a call or an email is another. These phrases cover the questions that come up most often. Practice them aloud, because tone and timing matter in a negotiation.

Beyond the rule names, a handful of words recur on quotes and shipping documents: 报价 (bàojià, quotation), 合同 (hétong, contract), 发票 (fāpiào, invoice), 提单 (tídān, bill of lading), 起运港 (qǐyùngǎng, port of departure), 目的港 (mùdìgǎng, destination port), 付款方式 (fùkuǎn fāngshì, payment terms) and 交货期 (jiāohuòqī, delivery lead time).

One habit pays off: after any call, send a short written confirmation that repeats the rule, the place and the edition. In Chinese business culture, a clear written follow-up is normal and welcome. If you want to go further into the negotiating side, our guide on how to negotiate in Mandarin covers the approach, and our overview of Business Chinese for professionals in Singapore shows which skills matter most at work.

For contracts and technical paperwork that must be exact, a professional linguist should check the final text. You can find professional document translation services for that stage, while your own Mandarin keeps you in control of the conversation that leads up to it.

Common mistakes with Chinese quotes

1. Naming a port without the rule, or a rule without the place. “FOB” alone is not a complete term. “FOB Ningbo” is.
2. Leaving out the edition. A supplier may still be using an old template, and the older rules differ.
3. Assuming CIF means the seller carries risk to Singapore. It does not; risk passes at loading.
4. Accepting DDP without asking who files in Singapore. Confirm who is importer of record and how the GST is paid.
5. Treating Incoterms as a full contract. They do not set price, payment or ownership transfer, so those need their own clauses.
6. Comparing quotes on different terms. Convert each one to the same basis before you decide.

Our perspective

Most of the Incoterm problems we hear about from professionals in Singapore are not about the rules. They are about the conversation around the rules. A supplier says “OK” to a question that was never fully understood, and the gap shows up at the port.

This is why we teach business Mandarin around real tasks: reading a quotation, asking who handles clearance, confirming a delivery point, and following up in writing. Learners practice the exact sentences they will use at work, with native Mandarin instructors who are fluent in English and can explain why a phrase sounds polite or too blunt.

You do not need to become a customs specialist. You need enough Chinese to ask the right question twice, in two different ways, and to notice when the answer is vague. That is a skill that grows quickly with structured practice, and it makes every supplier relationship easier.

Paul

Learn the language of trade with Linda Mandarin

If you handle suppliers, buyers or distributors in Chinese, our business Mandarin classes are designed to give you working vocabulary for quotes, contracts and shipping, plus the speaking confidence to use it. We teach in our centre at 10 Anson Road, Level 22, International Plaza, right above Tanjong Pagar MRT, and online by Zoom.

The published fees are S$500–600 per student for the Business Mandarin group class, S$1,980 for the Business Chinese private class and S$1,880 for the online Business Mandarin course. Companies that want to train a whole team can ask about corporate Mandarin training. You can see the full programme on our Business Chinese course page, or book a trial class to meet an instructor.

FAQ

How do you say Incoterms in Chinese?

The full name is 国际贸易术语解释通则 (guójì màoyì shùyǔ jiěshì tōngzé). The 2020 edition is written 《国际贸易术语解释通则2020》. In daily use, many traders just say “Incoterms” or the English rule code, such as FOB or CIF, followed by a price word like 价 (jià).

Which Incoterm is most common for importing from China to Singapore?

FOB is common for sea freight from China, with the supplier loading the goods and the buyer arranging the rest. CIF is also widely quoted. For containers, the ICC recommends FCA, CPT or CIP in place of FOB and CIF. Choose according to who can arrange transport more efficiently.

Do Incoterms decide who pays Singapore GST?

Partly. Under DAP, the buyer clears the goods and pays the 9% GST on the CIF value. Under DDP, the seller takes on import clearance and the GST. Under FOB, CIF and EXW, the buyer is the importer. Write the rule and the named place into the contract so there is no doubt.

Are Incoterms legally required in a sales contract?

No. They are a product of contract and trade custom, and parties can leave them out or write their own delivery terms. Most international contracts use them because they are widely understood. State the edition, such as Incoterms 2020, so both sides apply the same version.

Sources

• Know Your Incoterms, trade.gov
• ICC Digital Library, Incoterms rules
• 中国国际商会 (CCOIC) announcement
• Incoterms 2020 complete guide, 朗旭国际物流
• Kuehne+Nagel Incoterms guide (Chinese)
• Establishing Customs Value and Methods, Singapore Customs
• Trade Terms Definitions, DHL
• Incoterms to Use for Import-Export Trade with China, C.I. Process
• Incoterms Tool for ICC Regulations, C.H. Robinson
• Incoterms explained, TNT Singapore
• DAP Incoterms 2020, IFG Shipping
• Shipping from Johor Bahru to Singapore, IFG Shipping
• Singapore Import Duty & GST Calculator
• Incoterms 2020 Chinese chart, Logistivo
• Incoterms 2020 Checklist and Flowcharts, ICC

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