Medical Products Administration has widened one of its most consequential regulatory pathways. Announcement No. 70 of 2026, dated July 28 and published July 29, takes effect immediately. This finalizes the draft NMPA circulated on March 31, 2026, and brands now have a concrete, operative framework to work with.

What changed, and what didn’t

Since 2021, China has allowed an animal testing exemption for cosmetics that meet strict conditions (GMP certification and a confirmed safety assessment). This announcement expands that exemption for the first time to specific special-use categories: perming products, non-oxidative hair dyes, physical-covering-effect whitening products, and general cosmetics using new ingredients. Other special cosmetics and children’s products remain outside the exemption for now.

To qualify, manufacturers must meet both conditions:

• Hold GMP certification issued by the relevant government authority in their home country or region
• Have a product safety risk assessment that fully confirms the product’s safety

NMPA also built in flexibility for the future: its cosmetics technical review department can revise the scope of exempted products over time as the science develops — meaning this expansion is a starting point, not necessarily the ceiling.

It’s part of a larger package

This expansion is one of eight measures in the announcement — and the one with the most direct impact on animal testing policy. Other changes worth noting:

• Easier first launches: international new cosmetics launching first in China (or simultaneously in China and elsewhere) can submit a commitment statement instead of proof of prior overseas marketing, and can use packaging design drafts rather than final packaging at filing.
• Ingredient data moves to self-archiving: at registration/filing, only the ingredient manufacturer’s name needs to be submitted upfront — full ingredient safety documentation (e.g. Annex 14) still needs to be prepared, just kept on file by the enterprise instead of submitted to NMPA.
• Shared testing for similar formulations: brands with multiple near-identical formulations (differing only in colorant, fragrance, pH adjuster, thickener, or pearlescent agent) can test one representative product, but sharing those results across the rest of the line still requires a documented, scientifically justified comparison — not an automatic exemption. The regulation sets out this requirement only in general terms, so how it plays out in practice will become clearer as NMPA implementation unfolds.
• Simplified site-change filings: for imported products moving to (or adding) domestic manufacturing, or domestic products moving to (or adding) overseas manufacturing, most safety test reports (toxicology, human safety, safety assessment, efficacy) can be carried over from the original registration — provided the registrant, product name, and formula haven’t changed. Microbiological and physicochemical testing must still be run again for the new site.
• More flexible efficacy testing: outside of whitening, sunscreen, and anti-hair-loss claims, brands can now choose from a wider range of accepted testing methods for efficacy claims.
• Simplified paperwork for changing a brand’s domestic responsible person.

What this means for your brand

If your product line includes perming products, non-oxidative hair dyes, physical-covering-effect whitening products, or general cosmetics using new cosmetic ingredients, it’s worth reviewing now whether you meet the GMP certification and safety assessment conditions that unlock the exemption.