France China Trade
France China Trade
(Image credit: France China Trade)

France's foreign trade minister has said that a compromise deal is increasingly likely over China's anti-dumping investigation into wine imports from the EU.

Image: Getty / AFP / Eric Piermont

Nicole Bricq (pictured, left) said following a meeting with China‘s commerce minister, Gao Hucheng (pictured, right), in Paris that ‘we are on the right path towards a compromise’ on the probe into wine imports, Reuters news agency reported.

Her comments will offer some cheer to winemakers dealing with uncertainty caused by the investigation, which China opened last July in what some observers saw as retaliation for European Commission efforts to impose tariffs on solar panel shipments from China to the EU.

France accounts for around half of the wine leaving the EU for China annually and the French government has not missed an opportunity to build bridges with the Chinese authorities.

Yet, decanter.com understands from sources close to the matter that efforts to end the wine dispute remain very much a ‘work in progress’.

China’s president, Xi Jinping, is due to visit Paris next month, which may provide an opportunity for progress.

A European Commission spokesperson could not confirm whether a meeting between EU and Chinese representatives over the wine probe took place as originally scheduled on 17 February.

Written by Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.