Confused about China

[dazzlingdeborahrose]

I’ve always tried to use products that are not tested on animals. A lot of brands claim to be cruelty free but also sell in China. I understood that the chinese government will test these products on animals before allowing sales. I’ve now read that they now don’t test cosmetics and skincare but sites like cruelty free kitty are still stating they do.

Can anybody clarify the situation? I’m confused 😵‍💫

Hi NC'd for this because MN is the last place I can openly talk on the internet. ;)
I live in China most of the year for work. A lot of the big brands (especially K-Beauty) have actually pulled right out of China in the past few years, but a lot of websites that monitor cruelty etc haven't caught up with this yet. I'm stocking up on tons of stuff from Sephora while I'm in the UK!
The rules changed in 2021 for most general cosmetics but there are specific ones that still have to be tested. The main special categories that still require testing are anything with an SPF, antiperspirants, or any hair dye. I will say, the only western brand that I see on the shelves selling hair dye is L'Oreal. All the others are local brands. On Taobao most hair dye is L'Oreal or Russian imported Schwarzkopf which people bring over the border on the train (i.e. unlikely to be tested).
Sunscreen's a tricky one because many brands just don't sell products containing sunscreen in China so they can get around the testing rules and still sell in China. Sunscreen brands I've definitely seen in shops are Biore and Nivea. Biore is huge over there in general.
Western antiperspirants in the shops in China include Nivea and one that looks exactly like Sure but it's called Rexona. That seems to be a move a lot of western brands are making to sidestep scrutiny, I'll see things that look exactly like something western but with a different name, e.g. galaxy chocolate is called dove. Dove bath/shower stuff is available in China too.
Even The Body Shop now has a proper flagship store on Taobao/Tmall (China's main online shopping).
So basically it's no longer required, but there are some big exceptions.

Thank you. That’s really helpful. Exactly why I was confused. Sites saying China doesn’t require testing now but cruelty free sites still referencing it. Interesting that brands are pulling back. China must be a big market. I wonder if the testing thing did more damage than they thought it would? Thanks again for the reply.