Along with the development of the Chinese cosmetic industry, the demands of increased global trade and technological development as well as the regulatory disparities existing between Chinese regulatory frameworks and that of its global counterparts, cosmetic regulatory reform in China is imperative. On the 11th of Sep 2013 China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced the revision of the overarching regulation Regulations concerning the Hygiene Supervision over Cosmetics. The amendment was not simply a refinement of its predecessor but represented an overhaul of the regulatory system and served as the foundation for all future reforms.
In the remaining months of 2013, CFDA continued reformations with a series of revisions of the overarching regulation through successive rounds of public consultation and also promulgated two significant regulations namely Requirements for Filing of Domestic Non-special Use Cosmetic Products and Requirements for Management on Whitening Products. However all these amendments did not enter into force in 2013 except the Requirements for Management on Whitening Products. The regulation stipulates, "Whitening products are reclassified as special use cosmetics and fall into the category of spot-removing products. From 30 June 2015, the manufacture and import of whitening products without an accompanying special use cosmetic certificate will be banned". The ground work for reform of China's cosmetic industry began in 2013 with the drafting of major new regulations however the major restructuring of the industry only really began in earnest in 2014 with the implementation of many of these previous draft regulations and the implementation of other new supporting regulations.
