China's leading wine producer to host int'l wine conference, expo in June

YINCHUAN,China,May 24,2023 -- Ningxia,China's leading wine-producing region,will host a wine-themedinternational conference and an expo in its capital city of Yinchuan nextmonth,the event's organizers said Tuesday.

The International Conference on Grape and Wine Industries,as well as the thirdChina (Ningxia) International Wine Culture and Tourism Expo,will be held fromJune 9 to 10,according to the Administrative Committee of Grape Industry Zoneof Helan Mountain's East Foothill Wine Region in Ningxia.

The conference,themed "Nature,Innovation,Culture and Ecology",will inviteexperts and enterprises in the wine-making industry at home and abroad,andofficials from 47 wine-producing countries and representatives of nineinternational organizations.

A total of 2,000 wine products of over 100 enterprises from 12 wine-producingregions across China will be displayed.

The event features forums on climate,technologies,trade and investment,aswell as wine culture and tourism.

Ni Hongxing,an official with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs,said the global wine industry has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and aneconomic downturn.

"We want to make contributions to sustainable global economic and social development by joining hands with other wine-producing countries,building economic cooperation platforms,tapping the potential of industrial recovery,and promoting integrated and innovative development," said the official.

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China has emerged as the country'slargest wine-producing region after more than 40 years of development. It nowhas 228 wineries that produced 138 million bottles of wine in 2022,generatingbrand value of over 30 billion yuan (about 4.27 billion U.S. dollars).