Bottles of Australian wine on the shelf of a supermarket in Beijing on August 18, 2020 Photo: VCG

The Chinese market is an important strategic market for Australian wine exports and consumers in China continue to actively seek out and enjoy Australian wine, Penfolds Managing Director Tom King said in a written interview with the Global Times, indicating the strong potential for growth of the Chinese market for Australian wine.

While the overall market demand for wine in China is evolving, there is still strong demand for luxury wines by Chinese consumers, which in turn represents a significant opportunity for TWE and Penfolds, King said.

The remarks came amid the ongoing official visit of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to China, which is taking place from July 12 to 18. The visit marks a pivotal step in advancing the steadily improving relationship between the two countries, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Commenting on the visit, King said that "the high-level visits and exchanges like this are welcome and support the strengthening of economic and cultural ties between Australia and China."

China has been a key wine market for world major wine suppliers, including those from Australia, France and Chile among many others. 

China's Ministry of Commerce announced in March 2024 the cancellation of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on Australian wine. Following the announcement, shipments of Australian wine to China surged as a result.

"Following the re-introduction of our Australian wines last year, we have seen positive momentum in China," King said, noting that the demand for Penfolds in particular remains strong.

"China remains an important growth engine for our business as demonstrated by our recent investment in Ningxia Stone & Moon Winery to continue producing our luxury wine in China," said King.

"Our ongoing commitment to China is a central part of our long-term strategy focused on luxury wine and our multi-regional sourcing model," he said, adding that working closely with local partners, the company aims to be a leading producer of Chinese luxury wine and a meaningful contributor to the local viticulture industry.

China and Australia have seen rapid growth in trade, fueled by high-level engagement at both government and business levels, underscoring the strong complementarity between the two major trading partners.

In 2024, more than 250 Australian companies participated in the 7th China International Import Expo, setting a new record.

In a recent article, Xiao Qian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia, noted that China has remained Australia's largest trading partner, export market, and source of imports for 16 consecutive years. With a population of over 1.4 billion and more than 400 million middle-income earners, China offers a vast and stable consumer market for Australian products such as minerals, wine, beef, and lobsters, the ambassador wrote, noting that China and Australia are natural economic partners with highly complementary strengths.

In addition to traditional sectors such as agriculture and mining, where the two sides already enjoy strong cooperation, emerging areas like artificial intelligence, healthcare, and green energy are also creating new growth opportunities for future collaboration, Xiao wrote.