The cosmetics industry in Guangzhou's Baiyun district is reaching international markets through cross-border livestreaming.

The Yiyun Global Cosmetics Selection Center has allowed local beauty brands to rapidly expand their reach to over 80 countries. In the first half of the year, GMV surpassed 23.4 million yuan ($3.25 million), while logistics costs decreased by 14 percent.

"We've helped more than 10 brands expand into overseas markets across the beauty and skincare sectors, reducing order fulfillment times to just three to five days,” said Zhao Jiang, vice president of Guangzhou Meiyunhai Supply Chain Technology, operator of the Yiyun Center.

The center now spans 8,000 square meters and houses over 200 brands selling more than 50,000 products.

"Within one year, the occupancy rate at the center jumped from 30 percent to 90 percent, with nearly 70 percent of tenants operating in the cosmetics sector," Zhao added. "Our company now has over 150 professionals operating within the center."

The Yiyun Global Cosmetics Selection Center. [Photo/WeChat account: gz_baiyunfabu]

On the center's Cross-Border Pavilion livestreaming platform, hosts showcase products to international consumers through TikTok and other platforms. American hosts Moe and Rory highlighted the high quality and affordability of Chinese cosmetics, which are popular among global customers.

"The first time I came here, I just fell in love with it—it's beautiful, professional, stylish, and the equipment is very advanced," said Moe, who livestreams about beauty and fashion products for four hours every day.

"I don't need to worry about any back-end details at all. I can just focus on selling and interacting with customers. Chinese R&D teams are very dedicated—their products are not only high quality but also very affordable. I want more people to know that we sell great products here," added Moe.

Rory, who hosts from a mobile livestreaming vehicle alongside his Chinese partner, sees vast future potential. "Everyone needs cosmetics, and there are so many products out there. We try to find the balance between quality and price—Chinese cosmetics are very healthy, with no unnecessary additives, and a lot of people really love them," he said.

"My team has gathered several foreign hosts to promote Chinese beauty products, and I believe we are going to make waves in the US market," noted Rory.

The Yiyun Selection Center combines research and development, production, logistics, and marketing into an all-in-one service system, featuring over 200 brands and 50,000 products. By collaborating with international e-commerce platforms, it has established an ecosystem that integrates supply chains, sales channels, and services.

The Cross-Border Pavilion platform uses data-driven product selection and a free sample library to assist hosts in accurately matching trending items, facilitating "instant broadcasting and shipping", and decreasing order fulfillment time to only three to five days.

Li Zhifeng, a livestreaming operations staff member at the center, described the grassroots energy behind the strategy: "When internet celebrities tied to trending topics—like the American streamer ‘Speed'—are combined with local government support, it creates this dynamic where American influencers come to China and bring Chinese products back to the US market. So we actively invite American celebrities to appear alongside our products, using their influence to take China’s manufacturing belt to the world."

Baiyun's cosmetics industry is still growing, with imports and exports reaching nearly 1.6 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, reflecting a 38.3 percent year-on-year increase. The annual revenue is projected to exceed 40 billion yuan.

The Minkeyuan Industrial Park has attracted several leading companies and aims to develop a 10-billion-yuan cosmetics manufacturing hub. Additionally, it is progressing on a 170,000-square-meter global cosmetics headquarters cluster, which has the potential to become an international trade center, supporting Chinese brands going global.