Eight hundred tons of French cheese were sold in China in 2011, up from 400 tons in 2009, according to an official from the French Dairy Industry Association.

China imported 30,000 tons of cheese last year, the association pointed out, meaning that cheese from France accounted for only 2.5 percent of the country's total imports.

Yet, over the past five years, cheese imports into China have expanded by an average of 24 percent annually and the association is confident that demand in the country will continue to increase.