Bribery not the way to sell wine in China

Lining the back pockets of officials in China is no longer the way to do business as the country cleans up its act, according to Hong Kong businessman Simon Tam.

The wine consultant and owner of the International Wine Centre in Hong Kong told delegates at the New Zealand Winegrowers conference in Christchurch yesterday that the time when foreigners could buy their way around China was long gone.

"Doing business in China is no different to doing business anywhere else in the world, now," Tam said.

Chinese customs authorities were becoming increasingly vigilant.

Tam was attempting to dispel some of the common myths people had about doing business in China.

He advised wineries looking at entering the Chinese market to go in with the same sophistication and dedication they would if they were exporting to Europe.

China was a huge market, but a big chunk of the population was more worried about how they were going to feed their family than about buying wine, he said.

"Only a small proportion of China's population can afford to drink wine."

However, there was a growing interest in wine coming from young, well-travelled professionals, who were looking for sophistication and had high levels of disposable income. Women in their mid-20s driving around in Ferraris and Lamborghinis, spending their parents' money, were also demanding foreign wine, he said.

Despite this, the Chinese were parochial and many preferred to drink Chinese wine. The quality was not good, but that was what they were used to, Tam said.

China had overtaken Australia to become the world's sixth largest grower of grapes, but most of the wine produced was drunk domestically.

Some people believed there was no drinking culture in China, but Tam said it was well embedded.

"They may not drink one bottle every day per person ... but they're certainly drinking wine," Tam said.