China wants to compete with French Bordeaux in wine production

The Chinese government has approved a 15-year wine development plan for the Ningxia area. And to an extent that could correspond to the production levels of the most famous French wine region Bordeaux. Last year, wine exports from China's Ningxia region rose by less than 50 percent, according to CNBC. By 2035, the Ning-sia area aims to produce 600 million bottles worth 20 billion yuan. "If this goal can be achieved, the eastern foothills of Helan Shan will become an internationally significant and influential production area, to the same extent as in Bordeaux," he said last week. Sui Pengfei, Director of International Cooperation at the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture. Sui added that the eastern foothills of the Helan Shan boast a variety of grape varieties, at the same level as in Bordeaux, France, or Napa County, USA, and account for the majority of domestic wine production. In Bordeaux, France, 522 million bottles worth 3.5 billion euros were produced last year. China's 15-year goal is more than four times the annual wine production in Ningxia. Last year, China's exports rose by 46.4 percent to 2.65 million yuan. The main destinations included the USA, European Union countries, Australia and Japan. "Xing Estate, a Ningxia-based winery, exported some wine to Canada last year," said its founder, Zhang Yanzhi. He also added that his company has started exporting small quantities to Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong and France this year, and has plans to enter the US market. However, according to him, exports will represent only 10 to 20 percent of production. According to an April report by the International Organization of Vine and Wine, China ranks sixth in global wine consumption and tenth in liters. Chinese consumption and wine production have declined in recent years, which may be due to difficult climatic conditions and low productivity. According to the report's authors, such problems "reduce the competitiveness of the Chinese wine industry compared to imported wines."