Who is Defining the Long-Termism Principles of Global Beauty? "Brand Vision: Global Cosmetics Communication Influence Forum" and White Paper Global Launch Successfully Held

Original: China Cosmetics MagazineChina CosmeticsJanuary 8, 2026 23:12, Beijing

On January 8, the "Brand Vision: Global Cosmetics Communication Influence Forum" and the global launch of the special white paper A Comparative Study on Brand Building and Communication Strategies of Chinese and American Cosmetics (2025) were successfully held at the "Beauty Innovation Hub" Beauty & Health Innovation Ecological Community (hereinafter referred to as "Beauty Innovation Hub") in Jing'an District, Shanghai. The event was co-initiated by China Cosmetics Magazine and the research team led by Professor Ben Lee from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Nearly a hundred representatives from top universities at home and abroad, well-known beauty groups, emerging domestic brands, authoritative media, and content platforms gathered to jointly explore the construction logic, communication challenges, and future paradigms of beauty brands in the global context through systematic research and in-depth dialogues.

Supported by the People's Government of Jing'an District, Shanghai, the event demonstrated Shanghai's attention to and promotion of cutting-edge industrial research as a highland of China's beauty industry and an international window. Zhu Xian, Deputy District Mayor of Jing'an District, attended the event.

Based in Shanghai, Looking Global——

The Opening of a High-Specification, In-Depth Industrial DialogueAt the beginning of the forum, Wang Yaoru, Head of the Overseas Business Department of China Cosmetics Magazine, extended a warm welcome to the guests. She reviewed the magazine's 30-plus years of professional accumulation as an authoritative industry media and its continuous efforts in promoting industrial research and international exchanges. The forum and white paper launch mark a key milestone in the magazine's series of international research and practices in recent years.

Mao Lipeng, Deputy Director of Daning Functional Zone Management Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, and Chairman of Daning Group, delivered a speech. From the perspectives of regional industrial upgrading, innovative ecological construction, and international vision, he put forward important prospects for the development positioning of Beauty Innovation Hub and the high-quality development of China's beauty industry, officially kicking off the forum. Mao Lipeng pointed out that the core competitiveness of the beauty industry is shifting from products themselves to brand building and value communication in cross-cultural contexts, and the white paper provides systematic observations and methodological references.

Subsequently, the event entered the core launch session. Witnessed by the guests, the special white paper A Comparative Study on Brand Building and Communication Strategies of Chinese and American Cosmetics (2025) was officially launched globally. Mao Lipeng, Huang Weidan from the Cosmetics Supervision Department of Shanghai Municipal Drug Administration, She Zailing, President of China Cosmetics Magazine, Professor Ben Lee from USC Annenberg, and representatives of benchmark brands first selected into the white paper, including Clinique, PROYA, Florasis, Tiloway, AMORTALS, and Daichunlin, jointly took the stage to launch the ceremony.

The subsequent unveiling ceremony of "The Research Group of Global Cosmetics Brand Building and Communication Strategy Comparative Study Officially Settles in Beauty Innovation Hub" pushed the on-site atmosphere to another climax. This ceremony symbolizes that the research has moved from phased achievement output to a new stage of "sustained research, long-term observation, and ecological co-construction" in real industrial scenarios, laying a dual foundation of physics and mechanism for future in-depth industry-university-research cooperation.

Insight into the Core, Decoding the Path——

In-depth Collision between SHOT Methodology and Brand PracticeAfter the launch ceremony, the forum quickly entered the practical sharing session. Chen Mutu, initiator of the research project and Deputy President of China Cosmetics Magazine, and co-initiator Professor Ben Lee from USC took the stage together to share the original intention of launching this Sino-US comparative study, unexpected discoveries during the research process, and expectations for the future role of the white paper from the researchers' perspective.

Chen Mutu stated that due to the complexity and diversity presented by the research, the project team did not regard this study as a simple "merit comparison". The core of the research is to decompose the structural logic behind brand growth through comparative analysis of Chinese and American brands, and further identify which capabilities can withstand the repeated verification of time and the market, so as to provide more long-term value references for the industry.

Professor Ben Lee pointed out that the goal of this research is not to give standard answers that can be directly copied, but to help the industry gain a deeper understanding of how long-term brand building occurs in different cultural contexts and market systems, and what are the differences and commonalities in its internal mechanisms and evolution paths.

Chen Mutu then systematically elaborated on the core analytical framework of this research——the SHOT methodology. The framework consists of four links: Strategy, Humanity, Objectivity, and Trigger (Creativity and Insight), constructing a systematic analytical framework for cross-cultural comparison; sorting out the construction paths and key success factors of typical Chinese and American brands; exploring feasible paths and strategic suggestions for the globalization of Chinese beauty brands; and providing operable tools and indicator systems to help enterprises evaluate, make decisions, and optimize.

The light of theory needs the reflection of practice. Hosted by Professor Ben Lee, representatives of six benchmark brands selected into the white paper took the stage one by one for one-on-one in-depth interactions. From Clinique's balance between "long-term scientific research investment and scientific communication with consumers", to PROYA's practice of internalizing ESG into long-term brand value; from Florasis' international attempt to explore "systematic expression of Oriental aesthetics", to Tiloway's growth logic of "reconstructing user relationships through content"; from AMORTALS' strategic choice between "marketing efficiency and differentiation", to Daichunlin's cultural persistence and innovation in achieving "the contemporary regeneration of time-honored brands"... The six groups of dialogues, like six prisms, reflect the diverse paths and in-depth thinking of current beauty brand building from different angles, vividly interpreting how brands find a long-term balance between scientific research capabilities, cultural expression, organizational resilience, and value construction in a highly competitive and uncertain global market environment.

Gather Wisdom, Co-shape Ecology——

Establishment of the Global Beauty Industry Brand Observer Think TankTo gather broader wisdom and establish a sustainable observation and research ecology, the establishment and certification ceremony of the "Global Beauty Industry Brand Observer Think Tank" was grandly held during the forum. The first batch of the think tank gathered top experts from academic research, financial media, content platforms, international organizations, and front-line creation.

Global Beauty Industry Brand Observer Think Tank Expert Committee (First Batch)

• Li Yuanhong: Director of External Relations and Development, Fudan University School of International Finance; Vice President, International Finance Research Institute, Fudan Development Institute

• Yang Yudong: Editor-in-Chief, Yicai Media Group

• Li Qingjuan: Executive President, Shanghai Huaxia Economic Development Research Institute

• Chen Jialiang: Assistant Dean, Director of Student Affairs, and Director of Faculty Development Office, ICCI, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Sang Ying: Executive Chairman, CBE China Beauty Expo

• Wu Xie: Responsible Person of Estée Lauder, Medical Skincare, and E-commerce Beauty Care Industries, Xiaohongshu Business

• Laurence MOREAU Yang Wei: Chief Representative of China Cooperation Office, Cosmetic Valley (France)

• Gu Xiaofeng: Founder and CEO, BeautyMatter

• Tao Li: Senior Reporter, 21st Century Business Herald

• Chen Xiaoxiao: Brand Communication Team, Edelman Public Relations (China)

• Qin Pingping: Zhejiang Responsible Person, JQ Middle Office

In addition, representatives from platforms and institutions such as Cosmetic Valley (France), Xiaohongshu, JQ Middle Office, 21st Century Business Herald, BeautyMatter, and Edelman Public Relations were also awarded expert certificates. They will jointly provide diversified trend judgments and practical references for the globalization process of Chinese beauty from market, data, communication, and international perspectives.

The establishment of the think tank marks that the observation and suggestions on the development of China's beauty industry will move from scattered and occasional to systematic, organized, and long-term.

Luo Wangyu, a scientific skincare expert, was appointed as the "Chief Communication Officer of Global Beauty Industry Brands". With his profound front-line content creation and user insights, he will help the public communication of professional value.

After the certification ceremony, Wu Xie, Responsible Person of Estée Lauder, Medical Skincare, and E-commerce Beauty Care Industries at Xiaohongshu Business, delivered a keynote speech titled Thousands of Moments of Beauty as a representative of brand observers. He believes that people are vivid individuals, not cold traffic. With the help of AI, Xiaohongshu interprets the emotional and scenario needs behind UGC, sorts out more than 100 "beauty" moments, helps brands accurately connect with users, realizes the closed loop from content seeding to business, establishes a lasting and in-depth emotional connection with users, and provides vivid insights from the front line of China's Internet for global communication.

Ideological Confrontation, Foreseeing the Future——

Two Roundtable Dialogues Confront Core Industry IssuesThe highlights of the second half of the forum were two intensive and tense roundtable dialogues, directly pointing to the two core propositions facing the current beauty industry.

The theme of the first roundtable dialogue was "How Science is Understood, Trusted, and Communicated". Four guests, including Dr. Zhou Huanjun, Chief Scientist of Clinique Asia Pacific, Dr. Zou Yue, Chief Scientist of CHANDO Group, Gu Tingting, President of Yuansong Group Southern Center, and Luo Wangyu, a scientific skincare expert, conducted a warm and candid dialogue around two topics: "Why scientific skincare is prone to misunderstanding" and "The responsibility boundary of each role in the scientific communication chain".

Dr. Zhou Huanjun believes that the fundamental difference between Chinese and American consumers lies in that Chinese users pursue results and numbers and prefer "technical code" communication; American users value processes and brand values. Therefore, scientific communication needs to be adapted to local conditions while adhering to evidence-based medicine and authenticity. Taking "Simotinib" as an example, Dr. Zou Yue emphasized that technology brands need to take the path of long-termism, and empathically bind technical efficacy with consumers' deep emotions (such as "anti-fatigue aging") to realize the transformation of technological strength into brand power. Starting from the practice of light medical beauty, Gu Tingting pointed out that trust is built on "systematic" solutions, and "customer satisfaction" should be an unshakable bottom line, daring to refuse unscientific demands. Luo Wangyu believes that in the era of information fragmentation, the primary task of communicators is "empathy", that is, to insight into users' real pain points and scenarios, and use this as a bridge to transform rigorous science into interesting and credible content.

The theme of the second roundtable was "Starting from Comparative Research: How the New Paradigm of Globalization of Chinese Beauty Brands is Forming". Four guests, including Li Qingjuan, Executive President of Shanghai Huaxia Economic Development Research Institute, Professor Li Huiliang, Chief Scientist of Yige Beauty Group (parent company of Florasis), Lu Ying, Project Director of Beauty Innovation Hub, and Laurence MOREAU Yang Wei, Chief Representative of China Cooperation Office of Cosmetic Valley (France), outlined the systematic path for Chinese brands to "go global" from research, brand, platform, and international perspectives.

Li Qingjuan pointed out that the rise of Chinese beauty is rooted in a strong manufacturing foundation. The key of current research is to systematically explain the evolution logic of the Chinese model through a continuous and open international research framework, avoid it being simply labeled, and thus gain brand discourse power globally. Professor Li Huiliang explained the sustainable output mechanism of the Oriental beauty system. He emphasized that products are carriers of culture. By building an independent aesthetic system (such as "Five Elements and Five Colors") and defining standards such as "good complexion", brands transform Oriental culture into new products, new narratives, and new standards that can be perceived globally. Its core advantage lies in profound cultural uniqueness. From the perspective of industrial platform practice, Lu Ying believes that the first threshold for globalization is "being understood". Through "introducing in" to co-build scenarios and "going out" for collaborative innovation, the platform provides space for in-depth dialogue and chemical reactions between Chinese and foreign brands, acting as a co-builder and catalyst in the globalization process. Yang Wei shared the supporting experience of mature industrial clusters: the core role of the institution is an industrial coordinator and knowledge transformer. By coordinating industry forces, interpreting regulations and scientific research, and building a global dialogue network, it continuously provides structured support and implementable business environments for brand internationalization.

The roundtable pointed out that the globalization of Chinese beauty has entered a new stage of "capability output", and its core lies in building a set of systematic capabilities that can be internationally recognized, understood, and even respected. This requires brands, research institutions, and industrial platforms to form a closed loop of continuous verification and dialogue.

Carry Forward the Past and Forge Ahead into the Future——

Launch of 2026 Research and Youth Creativity EmpowermentAt the end of the forum, the organizers officially announced the launch of the "2026 Global Cosmetics Brand Building and Communication Strategy Comparative Research Project" and revealed the first batch of benchmark case study brands selected for the new year: CHANDO, Forest Cabin, LAN, Yuansong, and East Beast. These brands will serve as key research samples in the next year, accepting multi-dimensional continuous observation and in-depth analysis by the research team based on the SHOT methodology.

Finally, Professor Ben Lee introduced the "Beauty Workshop·Youth Creativity Program" supporting the project, aiming to connect top global academic resources, youth creative forces, and real industrial needs, incubate forward-looking creative solutions for the global expression of Chinese beauty brands, and reserve cross-cultural communication and creative talents for the future of the industry.

The "Brand Vision: Global Cosmetics Communication Influence Forum" came to a successful conclusion in a hopeful atmosphere. This event is not only a display of research results and a collision of industry wisdom, but also the beginning of a long-term cooperation mechanism facing the future. From the release of solid research methodologies, to the interaction of real and diverse brand cases, and then to the establishment of a cross-border think tank and the connection of youth forces, the "Brand Vision" forum clearly conveys a signal: the globalization journey of China's beauty industry is moving from emotional market development to a new era of rational capability building and systematic value dialogue. And all this has just begun.

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