NEWS
PRESIDENT MACRON PROMOTES FRENCH WINES AND BEEF IN SHANGHAI
By David Ma
5-11-2019
French President Emmanuel Macron kicked off his state visit to China by acting as an ambassador for French wine, cheese and beef at the Beijing-organised China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai.
After clinking glasses with Chinese President Xi Jinping at CIIE second edition’s opening ceremony today, Macron proactively took opportunity to show Xi some French produce on show in the French pavilion.
“I felt that he was discovering Languedoc wine, that he didn't know it, that he appreciated it,” Macron was quoted by French media as saying. “He tasted the three meats, so Charentaise, Limousine and Salers have good days in China, I hope the Chinese market will take them over.”
China lifted a 17-year embargo on French beef in January 2018, Macron and French cattle farmers are hoping to bring their beef to the attention of Chinese importers.
The French President also announced at CIIE that the EU had struck a deal with China to better protect agricultural products including wine and cheese from counterfeiting.
The agreement, to be formally signed on Wednesday in Beijing, will provide the legal basis to fight counterfeiting of about 100 European and 100 Chinese agricultural products whose quality and characteristics are linked to their geographical origin.
Among the 26 protected French products are wines from Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy, spirits from Cognac and cheeses from Roquefort.
Macron arrived late yesterday in Shanghai, where he visited the import expo today before traveling to Beijing for the state visit on Wednesday.
This is not the first time President Macron, a high profile connoisseur himself, charmed President Xi with French fine produce.
In a private dinner hosted in the French Riviera in March, the Chinese presidential couple were served Mediterranean dishes from locally sourced ingredients accompanied by Pol Roger champagne, Montrachet Grand Cru and a Petrus.
The private meeting, held in Villa Kérylos in Beaulieau-sur-Mer some 10 km to the east of Nice, served as a warm welcome to President Xi and his wife before their official 3-day state visit in France.
(the writer can be contacted at: DavidMa@thewinechronicle.com)
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