French President Gifts China’s Xi Jinping a Bottle of Hennessy as Cognac Trade Dispute Between the 2 Countries Comes to a Head
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, center, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at the Tarbes airport, southwestern France. (Photo: Aurelien Morissard/AP Images)
During a two-day visit to France, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron exchanged handshakes and gifts amid a retaliatory tariff battle between the two countries.
Shortly after arrival, Jinping gave the French president a rare stuffed bird, a painting and a series of French-language books circulated in China. In turn, Macron gifted the delegation two bottles of Cognac: a Hennessy X.O. and a Louis XIII by Remy Martin, the latter of which is valued at around $3,000.
Behind the ceremonies lay coded intentions. In February, China opened an anti-dumping probe into European brandy imports that resulted in a de facto ban on French Cognac within the country. International observers believe that the move was intended as a rebuttal to an EU investigation into Chinese subsidies on electric cars, which they believed were distorting local auto markets.
Though EU officials and Jinping haven’t publicly come to a deal, Macron indicated that the visit is a sign of easing tensions.
“I thank the president for his open attitude regarding provisional measures on Cognac and for his wish not to implement them,” Macron said in a press conference Monday.
A state dinner hosted for Jinping was attended by a who’s who of prominent figures within the French luxury industry. François-Henri Pinault, the billionaire owner of Gucci, Balenciaga and Yves Saint Laurent, was pictured alongside his wife Salma Hayek shaking hands with Macron and the Chinese president. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault, owner of Hennessy Cognac and Moët & Chandon Champagne, was also in attendance.
US-Mexican actress Salma Hayek and French businessman Francois-Henri Pinault shake hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping flanked by France’s President Emmanuel Macron. (Photo: Eliot Blondet/AP Images)
Investors have already picked up on the change of pace. According to Reuters, shares in spirits companies Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau rose 3% and 6% respectively on the second day of Jinping’s visit to France.
Alcohol firms have much to gain within the Chinese market. Though baijiu — a fermented grain liquor typically made from sorghum — still accounts for 94% of Chinese spirits consumption, imported whiskey and tequila are beginning to find footholds. Cognac has historically been the most popular international spirit in the country, expected to generate $3.4 billion in China throughout 2024.
“When China announces an investigation, it is the start of the ban on French Cognac, an effective ban. It signals to society in China that Cognac is no longer in favour,” Ian Ford, chief executive of Shanghai-based alcohol management company Nimbility told the South China Morning Post in Janurary.
“Therefore, if you’re at a big banquet, entertaining a government official, it’s taboo now to be drinking or gifting Cognac.”
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