Chinese wines' potential uncorked in Australia

Rapid development

Ningxia's wine industry has recorded rapid development in recent years, with the Helan Mountains area now producing 140 million bottles a year, nearly half of China's total estate wine production, according to regional statistics.

Last year, Ningxia's wine exports reached about 14.49 million yuan ($2.14 million), a year-on-year increase of more than 5 percent.

Gao Tianshu, director of the marketing division of the management committee of the Ningxia Helan Mountain East Foothill Wine Industry Park, said as the region pursues high-quality development and greater international openness, Australia provides many benefits.

Rather than simply viewing Australia as an export market, Ningxia sees it as an important platform for benchmarking against international standards, strengthening two-way exchanges, and expanding its overseas presence, he said.

Ningxia can learn from Australia's well-established wine industry, while the Australian market itself offers many advantages, including a mature consumer base, Gao said.

China is the top destination market by value for the Australian wine sector, accounting for 36 percent of exports in 2024-25, according to statutory authority Wine Australia.

"In recent years, China-Australia economic and trade ties have continued to recover, bilateral exchanges have become smoother, and the overall export environment has steadily improved, creating favorable external conditions for us to further develop the Australian market," Gao said.

Ningxia's short-term goal is to establish a solid presence in mainstream local sales channels and promote the brand of wines from the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains, he said.

They will be marketed as a distinctive expression of "Eastern terroir" — a combination of soil, climate and sunlight that gives grapes their distinctive character.

In the longer term, Ningxia hopes to leverage Australia's mature and well-regulated market to develop a replicable overseas marketing and operating model, he said.

This will also help accumulate international experience, and support establishing the eastern foothills area as a world-renowned wine region.