Cruelty-free brands that have been missing from China could soon become available in the country after it announced it will no longer require animal testing on imported cosmetics that fall into a "general" category, starting from May 1.

The news was announced in a notice on the National Medical Products Administration website, which regulates the region's drug and medical devices industry. In the past, China was one of the few countries left in the world to require animal testing on beauty products in order for them to be marketed in the country.

The update refers to general beauty products only and will not apply to any products that make active claims, such as "anti-acne" or "anti-ageing".

According to Business of Fashion, brands must provide quality certifications from their country of origin and must not target children or infants. They must also not contain any raw materials  that aren't featured on the country's approved list.

The shift will likely usher in a new wave of cruelty-free brands to the country, which boasts the second largest beauty market in the world.

In recent years, China had been taking steps towards eliminating the need for animal testing. In 2017, China's Food and Drug Administration along with the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, a non-profit research and testing lab dedicated to the development of animal-free testing methods, signed an agreement looking to make animal testing for cosmetics obsolete.