To drink or not to drink – the Party decides in China

AllAfrica

31-07-2025

China is seeking to transform its spirits sector by prohibiting civil servants from drinking at official events while at the same time encouraging the public to drink more during family gatherings.
The central government has instructed civil servants to refrain from consuming alcohol at official meetings since 2012. The original idea behind the official ban was to reduce public expenses and improve the public image of civil servants.
Under the rules, many officials altered their drinking habits by rescheduling their sessions from lunch to dinner or hosting personal parties after all official meetings had concluded. At the same time, businesspeople offered officials expensive spirits as gifts, creating corruption issues.
Although the central government has continued to tighten its 'alcohol ban', many civil servants habitually break the rules, with most of them managing to get away with it. Some others, however, have been arrested for drunk driving.
A recent incident in Inner Mongolia has triggered changes to the booze rules. On May 6, Wei Shuanshi, deputy director of the finance and economy committee of the People's Congress of Inner Mongolia, a senior official at the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Inner Mongolia, and party secretary of Baotou Iron and Steel (Group) Co, accompanied a relative to go to the Baotou No.4 Hospital.
Wei had a gathering with former colleagues surnamed Wang, Guo, and He in the hospital. On May 7, they had dinner with three other medical staff members. Wei said he would pay the bill and bring him a bottle of old Maotai spirit. During the dinner, Wei, Wang, Guo and one more colleague, Jiang, finished the bottle. On average, each had 125 grams of the 53% ABV liquor.
After the meal, Wei asked a private firm executive to pay the bill, violating the Communist Party of China (CCP)'s anti-graft rule. Wang, Guo and Jiang went to a barbecue shop for a second round of drinking. At 6 am on May 8, Guo died at home due to alcohol poisoning. His family asked Wei to pay them compensation for his death, but they disagreed on the amount.
Guo's family threatened to report the case to the CCP's disciplinary committee. On May 15, Wei reported the case to the committee.
While the case initially appeared to be Guo's fault for drinking excessively at his late-evening gathering, the disciplinary committee investigated Wei for being involved in other serious violations of Party discipline and suspected illegal activities. It also punished or warned all others involved in the incident, including two team leaders who did not attend the dinner.
On May 18, the State Council and the CCP Central Committee announced that civil servants are prohibited from drinking or smoking on any occasion related to their work. Officials now need approval to attend meal receptions and must avoid unnecessary private gatherings.
The new rules quickly put market pressure on key spirits makers in China. Kweichow Moutai fell 11.5% within a month after the announcement, while Wuliangye Yibin dropped 10.7%.
On June 18, China Central Television published an online commentary titled 'Forbidding meals that violate the discipline rules, but not all meals.' The commentary stated that some local governments had overinterpreted the new 'alcohol ban,' harming the catering sector and its workers.
For example, a bank manager in Anhui was fined 3,000 yuan (approximately US$417) for having noodles with two clients; ordinary party members avoided meeting with friends; government departments screened every meal and reception; and a town in Gansu banned its civil servants from drinking, the commentary said.
'Everyday dining is the foundation of people's livelihoods, the heart of humanity and the pulse of the economy,' writes Li Jialin, the author of the opinion piece. 'The alcohol ban is supposed to be used precisely like a scalpel to curb corruption, but some local governments used it like a sledgehammer to break everything.'
'Local government officials seemed to be proactively implementing the alcohol ban, but they had a lazy governance mentality, misinterpreted the new rules, and disregarded people's livelihoods,' Li wrote. 'Now restaurants lose customers and their staff make less money. The decline spills over to the food supply chain.'
He says China's catering industry saw revenue of more than 5.5 trillion yuan in 2024, supporting the livelihoods of over 30 million people. He says local governments must learn to distinguish between meals that violate the discipline rules and everyday meals; civil servants can drink a little in private meetings, as long as they can still perform their duties.
Some commentators in Guizhou, home of many baijiu makers, including Kweichow Moutai, said the CCTV commentary clearly defined the drinking rules for civil servants.
'In 1985, the Soviet Union's strict alcohol ban resulted in a surge in bootleg liquor and social unrest,' a Guizhou-based writer says. 'The Gorbachev government shut down distilleries and raised prices, which fueled a black market. The policy failed due to high implementation costs.'
'This case serves as a lesson: policy implementation must balance rigid constraints with social realities, avoiding counterproductive effects caused by excessive intervention,' she says. She adds that the public has gradually come to understand that the alcohol ban should be reasonably implemented, allowing civil servants to maintain their everyday social lives.
An analyst at the research unit of Guizhou Center Brewing Group says Beijing's core message is that officials should avoid drinking high-end liquor in meetings. At the same time, local governments should facilitate the general public's need to drink.
'The CCTV article encourages normal consumption of cheaper liquor, which refers to those that are tens of yuans per bottle,' he says. 'Small spirits brands would benefit if their marketing campaigns highlight warm-heartedness among friends and family.'
On June 22, state media published a list of scenarios outlining when, where and how civil servants can drink. Civil servants are prohibited from attending eight types of banquets, including weddings, funerals and other similar events. They must remain vigilant when attending 12 formal or informal banquets that utilize public funds and government venues.
Despite an alcohol ban for civil servants, demand among younger generation drinkers can help keep Chinese baijiu makers buoyant, analysts say.
Industry analysis shows that men aged 35-55 remain the core consumer group of baijiu (over 52% ABV) in China, accounting for more than 65% of the spirits market. They are mainly senior corporate executives and government officials.
Consumers aged 20-35 account for only 19% of the baijiu market. They prefer fruit punch and pre-mixed alcoholic drinks (6% to 16% ABV). Female drinkers account for 41% in this age group.
A survey compiled by Wuliangye showed that only 19% of consumers aged 20-35 prefer baijiu, 52% fancy beer and 29% like foreign wine and fruit liquor.
Wuliangye announced that it will launch a spirits product with 29% ABV for young consumers in the second half of this year. Luzhou Laojiao, a Sichuan-based liquor maker, said it developed a baijiu with 28% ABV and will launch products with 6% and 16% ABV.
An industry report stated that China's spirits production fell by 13.33% to 650,000 kiloliters in 2024 compared to the previous year. It was the first decline recorded since 2019.
However, the combined revenue of spirits makers grew 4.35% to 240 billion yuan ($34.3 billion), while their net profit rose 3.19% to 97 billion yuan. Although spirits makers no longer enjoy double-digit growth, they can maintain mild growth and buy time to explore new markets, the report said.