Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine Co Ltd, the leading Chinese wine producer, will continue its presence in Europe, a top executive said.

The brand has more than 100 years of history, having been established in 1892 by Chinese diplomat Zhang Bishi. Since early on, it has appeared on the international stage, from the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition to the current Expo Milano 2015.

At the 1915 expo, Changyu's cognac, rose, vermouth and riesling won gold awards and superior certificates of merit. Since then, the company has created a new era for the production of Chinese wine, enjoying its reputation as "the cradle of China's wine industry".

"One hundred years ago was the first time for Changyu to 'go out' and become known worldwide, and now the company is implementing its new global strategy to cooperate with and acquire European companies," said Sun Jian, deputy general manager of the company.

"In 1915, the expo made Changyu well known globally, and that reputation was our impetus for 100 years," Sun said. "Now we are ranked in the top 10 wine producers globally, and will continue to develop for a better position."

Since 2012, the company has placed greater emphasis on its overseas market to hedge declining domestic sales, and has established cooperation with many European companies in traditional wine producing countries including France, Spain and Italy.

Such cooperation and mergers and acquisitions would help to globalize the brand portfolio, Sun said.

The company is concentrating on its global product portfolio as imported wines are expected to continue to see rapid sales growth in China.

"In the first half of 2015, the Chinese market consumed 250,000 metric tons of imported wine, which has already reached half the domestic wine consumption in the same period."

The company attended the five-day Shandong Week at Expo Milano 2015 from Sept 16, during which Changyu will negotiate plans with two Italian winemakers.

As early as 2011, Italian sparkling wine maker Donelli signed an agreement to issue and transfer its intellectual property rights in the Chinese market to Changyu, including its trademark and Chinese brand name. They plan to further their cooperation.

Changyu is also negotiating with the Generali Group, which has seven chateaus in Italy. The agreement would allow Changyu to use Generali's wine laboratory, one of the most advanced in the world.

Changyu also announced recently it planned to buy a 75 percent stake in Spanish winemaker Dicot Partners SL for 26.25 million euros ($29.7 million).

Dicot Partners SL is considered one of the top five Spanish wine producers. Although more than half of the Spanish winemaker's revenue is from exports, only 1 percent of that is sold in China. Dicot Partners SL would be Changyu's second international acquisition, after the Chinese company bought French cognac and brandy producer Roullet-Fransac in 2013.

Changyu had a strong first half in 2015, with revenue rising 22.75 percent year-on-year to 2.8 billion yuan ($440 million), and net profit of 740 million yuan - a 17 percent rise.

The company's sales revenue is still mainly from domestic wines, with imported wine only recording single-digit sales. "We expect to reach the target of imported wine accounting for 10 percent of our total sales revenue next year," Sun said.

Sun said that in addition to Europe, Changyu is seeking other international acquisitions in major grape-growing markets such as Chile and Australia.

tuoyannan@chinadaily.com.cn