{"id":11936,"date":"2018-04-22T06:29:27","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T06:29:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=11936"},"modified":"2018-04-27T06:34:36","modified_gmt":"2018-04-27T06:34:36","slug":"how-chinas-winemakers-succeeded-without-stealing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/how-chinas-winemakers-succeeded-without-stealing\/","title":{"rendered":"How China’s winemakers succeeded (without stealing)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cynthia Howson<\/a>, University of Washington<\/a><\/em> and Pierre Ly<\/a>, University of Puget Sound<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Joint ventures between Western and Chinese companies are in the news<\/a> over accusations \u2013 including those of President Donald Trump<\/a> \u2013 that China uses them to steal<\/a> intellectual property from foreign competitors in industries like cars and technology. <\/p>\n

Less well known, however, are the joint ventures between French and Chinese winemakers, which offer a notable counterpoint to this narrative of international rivalry \u2013 or foreign exploitation, depending on your perspective. <\/p>\n

Unlike for cars and electronics, there are no secret technologies in the making of wine. The millennia-old fermented drink<\/a> is primarily a product of the land where the grapes are grown. What differentiates the best from the rest is not proprietary technology but experience in combining agriculture, science and art.<\/p>\n

During research visits to China\u2019s major wine regions<\/a> \u2013 from beach resorts in Shandong and Ningxia\u2019s rocky and arid landscapes to the lush mountains of Yunnan \u2013 we encountered a blend of local and foreign winemakers, farmers, wine scientists and local government officials, all committed to establishing local wines on the world stage. <\/p>\n

Winemaking succeeds on the back of such international collaboration. And in our experience, it\u2019s helping Chinese wine producers overcome their biggest obstacles to success. <\/p>\n

\n \"\"
\n Entrance of the 2014 International Wine Exposition in Yanqing, where hundreds of foreign and local wineries came to make their pitch.<\/span>
\n Cynthia Howson and Pierre Ly<\/span>, Author provided<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No secret technology to steal<\/h2>\n

China is currently the sixth-largest wine producer<\/a>, bottling 11.4 million hectoliters in 2016, just behind Australia\u2019s 13 million. China is fifth in terms of consumption. <\/p>\n