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Reporters look at the baijiu products on display at Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co.’s Jiangji Distillery in southwestern China\u2019s Chongqing on May 19, 2025. (AP Photo\/Andy Wong)<\/p>\n
Reporters look at the baijiu products on display at Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co.’s Jiangji Distillery in southwestern China\u2019s Chongqing on May 19, 2025. (AP Photo\/Andy Wong)<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n A bartender applies heat to a slice of dried pear as he prepares a cocktail named \u201cBeijing Beijing\u201d made from the fiery Chinese baijiu spirit at a bar in Beijing, China, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n A bartender applies heat to a slice of dried pear as he prepares a cocktail named \u201cBeijing Beijing\u201d made from the fiery Chinese baijiu spirit at a bar in Beijing, China, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo\/Ng Han Guan)<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Moutai, a kind of baijiu made in mountainous Guizhou province in southwestern China, is known as the country\u2019s \u201cnational liquor.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps its biggest endorsement came in 1974, when U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger banqueted with Deng Xiaoping, who would later become China\u2019s top leader. <\/p>\n \u201cI think if we drink enough Moutai, we can solve anything,\u201d Kissinger said.<\/p>\n \u201cThen, when I return to China, we must take steps to increase our production of it,\u201d Deng replied, according to an archived document from the U.S. State Department\u2019s Office of the Historian. <\/p>\n Price fluctuations of Feitian Moutai, the liquor\u2019s most famous brand, serve as a barometer for China\u2019s baijiu market. This year, its price has dropped by 36% after four consecutive years of decline, according a report by the China Alcoholic Drinks Association. <\/p>\n The report forecast China\u2019s baijiu production will likely fall for the eighth straight year in 2025. Baijiu consumption has dropped as people spend more cautiously, cutting back on banquets and drinking due to a weaker economy.<\/p>\n Perennial anti-corruption campaigns by the ruling Communist Party targeting lavish official dinners have taken a harsh toll. In May, the party issued new rules banning cigarettes and alcohol during work meals.<\/p>\n China\u2019s drinking culture is evolving, with younger people keen to protect their health and less inclined to overindulge or be bound by rigid social conventions. Faced with far more choices, they might instead opt for whiskey, wine or non-alcoholic alternatives.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is an old saying in China: \u2018No banquet is complete without alcohol.\u2019 It means in the past, without alcohol there is no social lubricant,\u201d 30-year-old Chi Bo said while having cocktails with friends in Beijing\u2019s chic Sanlitun area.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople no longer want to drink alcohol or tend to drink less but they can still sit together and even discuss serious affairs,\u201d Chi said. \u201cMost of the people don\u2019t want to drink alcohol unless they have to.\u201d<\/p>\n Baijiu makers are responding with creative innovations like baijiu-flavored ice cream. <\/p>\n Kweichou Moutai partnered with China\u2019s Luckin\u2019 Coffee last year to introduce a Moutai-flavored latte that reportedly sells 5 million cups a day across China. Bartenders also are designing cocktails using a baijiu base.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n