China's cosmetic business is in the midst of a "profound transformation", an industry expert has said.

"The core competitiveness of China's cosmetics industry is shifting from products and channels to brand building and value communication in a cross-cultural context, and systematic research is the key foundation supporting the high-quality development of the industry," according to Mao Lipeng, deputy director of the management committee of Daning.

"The cosmetics industry is currently undergoing a profound transformation, shifting from being driven by marketing to being driven by both technology and experience. Brand building and global communication are becoming increasingly important to enterprises," Mao, who is also Party secretary and chairman of Daning Group, added.

He made the remarks during a forum on global cosmetics marketing, which was held in Shanghai on Thursday. During the forum, a white paper on the cosmetics industry in China and the United States was released by China Cosmetics Review and the University of Southern California Annenberg.

Chen Mutu, deputy head of China Cosmetics Review, said: "The research is not simply about benchmarking the Chinese and American markets, but rather about identifying long-term capabilities that can withstand the test of time and market validation."

The research included several case studies from major cosmetics companies, including Clinique's long-term investment in scientific research, Proya internalizing ESG into its brand value, the global expression of Florasis' oriental beauty makeup, Dirovo's content-driven user relationship, Amortals' efficiency and differentiated choice, and Dai Chunlin's reborn in the contemporary era, jointly presenting the long-term path choices of cosmetics brands in the global competition.

According to the research, China's cosmetics industry is moving from market expansion to a new stage of "systematic capability output", and the globalization process of China's cosmetics industry is transitioning from being experience-driven to a new long-term phase supported by technological innovation and basic research.

During the forum, a cosmetics think tank was officially established and completed the first batch of certification, bringing together diverse forces from academia, media, content platforms, and international institutions to promote industry observation from fragmentation to systematization and long-term development.