China plus one: a qualified second source next to the one you have — not a move.
A China plus one strategy keeps China where it still wins and adds a second, audited source where it doesn't — decided per part on landed cost, not per country on headlines. We run the RFQ across China and other countries in ten business days, qualify the factory, and keep your incumbent shipping until the second source has proved itself twice.
What a China plus one strategy is — and what it isn't.
A second source, not an exit
The point is resilience with a lower blended landed cost: two qualified factories, each with tooling you own and a golden sample on file, so a tariff change, a port closure or a factory failure is a reorder decision rather than a crisis.
China kept where it still wins
Complex multi-op assemblies, electronics whose sub-supply lives in Guangdong, fast tooling iterations while a design is still moving, and some List 4A plastics where the duty gap is too small to pay for the move. We say so in writing.
Decided per part, on landed cost
Not "we are diversifying to country X". Each HTS line gets its own comparison — China, a 12.5% origin, an FTA-qualifying origin — with the fee included, and its own recommendation. Some lines move, some stay, a few split.
Five checks that pick the second origin for each HTS line.
Duty stack per HTS line
China as of September 26, 2026: MFN + 37.5 points on List 1–3 parts, + 20 on List 4A, + 12.5 on unlisted goods. Other origins: MFN + 12.5% (10% for some) since July 24, 2026, or 0% when the part is FTA-qualifying. On an unlisted part the duty gap to a 12.5% origin is nil; on a List 3 part it is 25 points before the FTA even enters.
Freight mode and transit
Ocean transit like China, or truck freight in days. The per-unit freight line, the working capital in transit and the MOQ the shipping mode forces on you all change with it — most on bulky, low-value parts.
Where the sub-supply lives
If the resin, the PCB, the plating line or the fastener kit comes from China anyway, moving the last operation moves less than it appears to — in cost, in risk and in the rule-of-origin test. We map it before we quote.
Rules of origin as a traceability file
Tariff shift, regional value content, or both, read from the agreement's annex for the part's heading and documented input by input. The same bill-of-materials trace is most of your UFLPA file, so it is built once and kept current.
Section 232
Since June 8, 2026: 50% on articles essentially all steel, aluminum or copper, 25% on derivatives, at any origin, instead of the 12.5%/10%. For metal parts the plus one is chosen on lead time, MOQ and the China list rate — not on the surcharge.
Injection-molded PP enclosure, HTS 3926.90.99 (MFN 5.3%, List 4A): $2.77 landed from China, $2.79 from a 12.5% origin, $2.50 from an FTA-qualifying one — under 1% net after our fee. The right move is a better inspection plan at the factory you have.
From RFQ to a second source that has shipped twice.
RFQ in ten business days
Up to five SKUs quoted from pre-qualified factories in China and other countries, per HTS code, freight to your dock, rule-of-origin and Section 232 screens, fee included. Free, and it ends in a recommendation — including "stay".
Audit and NNN
On-site audit of the recommended factory (40-point checklist, photos, sub-supplier list) and a non-disclosure, non-use, non-circumvention agreement executed in the factory's own jurisdiction before your drawing is shared.
Golden sample or FAI
DFM review as a marked-up drawing, T1–T3 samples, first-article inspection against the ballooned drawing for engineered parts, golden-sample approval for catalog goods — retained by you, by us and at the factory.
Pilot with in-process and AQL inspection
You place the PO directly with the factory. In-process check at 20–30% of the run, AQL pre-shipment inspection (ANSI/ASQ Z1.4) on packed goods, loading supervision with seal photo. You read the report before the container leaves. Details on the quality page.
Tooling titled to you
Molds and dies cut under a tooling-hold agreement with title to you and a tooling ownership letter on file, at every origin. The second source is only a second source if you can move the tool.
Quarterly origin review
Rates, freight and the open second Section 301 investigation re-checked every quarter per HTS line, against a monthly scorecard of on-time, defect rate and landed cost versus baseline. The plus one is re-earned, not assumed.
The gasket: one part, quoted from China and other countries.
Molded EPDM gasket, HTS 4016.93.50 (MFN 2.5%, List 3), 120,000 units a year, freight to Dallas. Rates as of September 26, 2026, confirmed per HTS code in the re-quote.
| Per unit | China | Alt. origin · 12.5% duty | Alt. origin · FTA, 0% |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOB price | $1.20 | $1.26 | $1.38 |
| Duty | $0.48 (40.0%) | $0.19 (15.0%) | $0.00 (0%) |
| Freight | $0.06 | $0.07 | $0.03 |
| Landed | $1.74 | $1.52 | $1.41 |
| Our fee, 10% of FOB | — | $0.13 | $0.14 |
| All-in | $1.74 | $1.65 | $1.55 |
| Annual, all-in | $208,800 | $197,520 | $185,760 |
A second source you can prove, and the numbers to justify it.
Lower blended landed cost
Double digits on the lines that move — and a written reason for every line that stays. The fee is 10% of FOB on the POs you place, paid to the factory directly; no retainer, no setup fee, no hidden margin.
Your engineer's week back
We run the RFQ, the audit, the sample loop and the inspection reports. Your team approves documents at five gates instead of chasing factories at midnight.
CFO-ready numbers in ten days
Landed cost per SKU at each origin, dated, per HTS code, with the rule-of-origin check and the Section 232 screen attached. The same sheet is what the quarterly review updates.
Questions we get on this
What is a China plus one strategy?
A qualified second source alongside your Chinese supplier — not a move. China stays where it still wins (complex assemblies, electronics whose sub-supply lives there, some List 4A plastics) and a second, audited factory in another country takes the parts where duty, freight or schedule risk favor it. Done properly it is decided per part on landed cost, with the incumbent still shipping until the second source has shipped twice.
Which countries are the "plus one"?
The ones where your part lands best. The re-quote names the factory and the country, under NNN, once we have qualified it for your part. We describe candidates by what moves the number — duty treatment (MFN + 12.5% or 10%, or FTA-qualifying at 0%), freight mode and transit, and where the sub-supply lives — because that, not the country name, is what reaches your landed cost.
Do we have to leave our current Chinese supplier?
No, and we would advise against it. The second source runs in parallel through audit, samples and a pilot order; the incumbent keeps shipping until the new factory has delivered twice to spec. Roughly a third of our re-quotes recommend staying in China outright, sometimes at a different factory with a real inspection plan. See our China sourcing agent page for how we work there.
How long does it take to stand up the second source?
The multi-origin re-quote takes ten business days and is free. Factory audit and NNN run weeks 2–4, DFM, samples and first-article inspection weeks 4–10, and the pilot order with in-process and AQL inspection weeks 10–16. Catalog and finished goods often reach a pilot in 8–10 weeks; engineered parts with new hardened tooling can take 20. We tell you which on day one — the stages are on our process page.
Send us your top five SKUs. Get every viable origin back.
No commitment. In ten business days you’ll have a landed-cost comparison you can put in front of your CFO, with named factories behind every number.