Chinese people often say: If there's no alcohol, it can't be called a banquet because alcohol makes for a cheerful atmosphere.

These days, red wine and white wine are increasingly replacing spirits on Chinese banquet tables when people get together. The change is reflected in industry figures. Wine production and wine consumption in China have both grown at about 10 percent per year over the past decade.

Wang Qi, president of the wine branch of the China Brewing Industry Association, said China imported 60,600 tons of wine in the first seven months of this year, up 88.8 percent over the same period of 2005.

The imports were sourced mainly from Chile, Australia, France and Italy, said Wang during a wine industry development forum held in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China.

Last year, only 53,000 tons of wine were imported, he said.

Wine used to be regarded as an imported luxury good in China. Only in recent years - as people's income grows and living standard improves - has it become popular among Chinese people.

Red wine is said to be good for the heart and can help reduce heart attacks.

Wang Zuming, another official with the brewing industry association, told Xinhua that wine consumers in China are mainly educated young people, people with higher incomes, and urban citizens in large and medium-sized cities and in coastal areas in southeast China.

Currently, the combined wine output and sales of China's top four brands - Zhangyu, Great Wall, Dynasty and Weilong - make up half the national total, said Wang Qi.

The 500 or so Chinese wineries account for 80 percent of the domestic market, but they lag behind their foreign counterparts in terms of management, technique and quality, said Wang Qi.

They still have a long way to go to compete internationally, he noted, adding that the lack of national standards handicaps the healthy development of domestic wine industry.

Despite rising wine consumption in China, the nation's per capita wine consumption is only 0.3 liters, or 6 percent of the world average level.

Wang believes the wine brewing industry in China has bright prospects, predicting that the sector will grow by an annual average of 15 percent over the next five years.

In the January-July period of 2006, production at state-owned and non-state-owned wineries with annual sales of more than 5 million yuan (about 625,000 U.S. dollars) reached 256,300 tons, up 20.2 percent year on year.

These wineries' assets totaled 13.75 billion yuan, sales stood at 7.17 billion yuan, up 27.82 percent, and profits grew by 12.12 percent to 811 million yuan.

China's wine output reached 434,300 tons in 2005, up 25.4 percent on 2004, and is expected to hit 800,000 tons in 2010.

Source: Xinhua