导航菜单
Imports of cosmetics in China reached $16.18 billion, marking a mild 0.9% year-on-year decline—the smallest drop since imports entered a negative growth cycle in 2022 and a significant improvement from the 9.0% contraction in 2024.
China's cosmetics imports have been in a sustained negative growth phase since 2022, with declines of 10.6%, 19.4% and 9.0% in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, resulting in a total reduction of $8.55 billion over the three years. Although still in negative territory, the marginal 0.9% decline in 2025 signals a clear stabilization and recovery trend in the domestic cosmetics market.
France retained its position as China's largest cosmetics import source for the third straight year, with a 29.6% share of total imports ($4.79 billion) and a 5.1% year-on-year growth. This ended a two-year contraction period marked by declines of 11.2% in 2023 and 7.9% in 2024, underscoring France's enduring competitiveness in China's cosmetics market.
Japan, previously China's top cosmetics supplier before 2023, ranked second in 2025 with a 3.8% year-on-year growth, rebounding strongly from a 27.0% slump in 2024. Its exports to China in 2024 had fallen to just 56.4% of the 2021 level, following its first contraction in 2022. As China remains the largest export market for Japanese cosmetics, Japanese brands continue to focus on China despite a broader global expansion strategy and a slowdown in their domestic market. Nonetheless, complex China-Japan relations add uncertainty to Japan’s 2026 performance in the Chinese market.
South Korea ranked third, with $2.18 billion in exports to China, a 2.7% year-on-year drop. Supported by the global popularity of K-POP and Korean dramas, K-beauty has long maintained a strong presence in China, though its exports have been in negative growth since a 34% slump in 2022, with the decline gradually slowing.
The US, China's fourth-largest import source since 2020 and China's second-largest export market for cosmetics after Canada, saw exports to China fall 25.8% year-on-year to $1.31 billion in 2025—recording the sharpest decline among the top 10 source countries—after the drop narrowed to 3.4% in 2024. Volatile China-US economic and trade relations have dampened expectations for US cosmetics in China, leaving the 2026 outlook uncertain.
The UK, the fifth-largest source since 2020, witnessed a volatile export trend in the past five years: a 37.4% drop in 2023, an 18.1% rise in 2024, and a 3.8% decline in 2025 to $1.27 billion. Its exports peaked at $2.08 billion in 2021, well above current levels.
Skincare products remained the top imported cosmetics category in 2025, with $12.71 billion in imports, accounting for 78.5% of total imports. The decline rate slowed sharply to 2.5%, compared with 9.7% in 2024. Body care products ranked second with $1.14 billion in imports, an 11.4% year-on-year drop.
Perfume emerged as the fastest-growing category, with imports surging 21.0% year-on-year to $1.21 billion, ranking third. Notably, perfume imports maintained robust growth even amid overall softness in the domestic fragrance market, reflecting the strong competitiveness of imported perfume products in China. France, Italy, and Spain were the top three sources, accounting for 90.7% of total perfume imports, with France alone holding a dominant 64.2% share and a 21.7% year-on-year growth.
Hair care and oral care products ranked fourth and fifth, with imports of $920 million and $200 million respectively, both reversing their negative growth trends from 2024.
*Source: China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Medicines & Health Product
