Recently, the “Chengdu-Europe Industry Dialogue—Exploration of Internationalization Pathway for Baijiu Industry through Tasting and Joint Research” was successfully held at the Laizhou Distillery in Qionglai City under the guidance of the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Chengdu Municipality. Revolving around thematic exchanges on baijiu, the dialogue initiative brought together professional tasting judges from Europe and China, as well as elite enterprise representatives from the Chengdu production region. It aims to further explore Chengdu’s potential in the international market as a prominent baijiu production region in China and the development strategies for the internationalization of Chinese spirits.

 

 

The event unfolded around the global market development of the baijiu industry from the perspective of international spirits. Through the mutual learning of tasting standards, the sharing of international regulations, discussions on market cooperation, and other sessions, the event aimed to support the internationalization and branding of Sichuan liquors, particularly baijiu products, produced from the Chengdu production region. Participants evaluated the color, aroma, taste, and flavor of baijiu, discussed and recorded its characteristics, tasted different baijiu varieties, and gained insights into the whole production process of Qionglai’s baijiu from the selection of raw ingredients and brewing to distillation and aging. These experiences have deepened their understanding and awareness of Chinese baijiu.

 

 

Following the dialogue event, several attending international experts participated in the 2025 IWSC Spirit Judging in China (Qionglai) as jury members. They evaluated over 300 spirits across 10 categories from 14 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government) of China through blind tasting. In recognition of their efforts in leveraging their authoritative expertise in the field of spirits to help Chengdu’s spirits gain greater international recognition, they were honored as Chengdu Production Region Qiongjiu Global Promotion Ambassadors. A total of 55 products from the Chengdu production region received awards. Notably, the Laizhou Bourbon Cask (Peated) Single Malt Whisky was awarded the Gold Outstanding Medal, and the Laizhou Distillery received the Chinese Spirits Producer Trophy.

 

 

In recent years, Chengdu has placed its focus on the development pathway that prioritizes baijiu as the core of the liquor industry, promotes diversified alcoholic beverages, facilitates the integration across the entire industry, and pursues the development of the industry through branding and internationalization. Based on Qionglai, a core baijiu production region, Chengdu has driven the upgrading of baijiu industrial parks and enhanced brand development. With over 660 liquor enterprises engaging in production, sales, and other activities in Qionglai, a complete industrial chain from raw ingredient cultivation to production and market distribution has been established.

 

 

From the in-depth dialogue on wines and baijiu to the city-wide connections forged at the Mayors’ Forum on Alcoholic Beverage Industry and further to the vigorous exploration of baijiu’s international market potential, Qionglai, as a representative of the Chengdu production region for Sichuan liquors, leverages foreign affairs resources to empower its development. Through industry dialogue, cultural mutual learning, and other initiatives, Qionglai consistently explores new development pathways for the liquor industry, reinforces its reputation as the Hometown of Chinese Baijiu Base Liquor, and strengthens the solid foundation for the international expansion of “Made in Chengdu” products going global.

 

Edited by Zhang Yuanlin

Source: Chengdu Discovery