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China's fiery baijiu spirit evolves to attract younger drinkers
China's fiery baijiu spirit evolves to attract younger drinkers

The Star

time3 days ago

  • Business
  • The Star

China's fiery baijiu spirit evolves to attract younger drinkers

The centuries-old fiery Chinese spirit baijiu, long associated with business dinners, is being reshaped to appeal to younger generations as its makers adapt to changing times. Mostly distilled from sorghum, the clear but pungent liquor contains as much as 60% alcohol. It's the usual choice for toasts of "gan bei,' the Chinese expression for bottoms up, and raucous drinking games. "If you like to drink spirits and you've never had baijiu, it's kind of like eating noodles but you've never had spaghetti,' said Jim Boyce, a Canadian writer and wine expert who founded World Baijiu Day a decade ago. The annual event aims to promote the traditional liquor, which is far less known internationally than whiskey or vodka. Shirley Huang, out with friends on a Friday night at the bar in Sanlitun, talks about the baijiu spirit at a bar in Beijing, China, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Moutai, a kind of baijiu made in mountainous Guizhou province in southwestern China, is known as the country's "national liquor.' Perhaps its biggest endorsement came in 1974, when U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger banqueted with Deng Xiaoping, who would later become China's top leader. "I think if we drink enough Moutai, we can solve anything," Kissinger said. "Then, when I return to China, we must take steps to increase our production of it,' Deng replied, according to an archived document from the U.S. State Department's Office of the Historian. A bottle of a popular brand of the fiery Chinese baijiu spirit is seen at a bar in Beijing, China, Friday, June 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) Price fluctuations of Feitian Moutai, the liquor's most famous brand, serve as a barometer for China's 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. The report forecast China's 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. 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. A worker test the baijiu from a vat at Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co.'s Jiangji Distillery in southwestern China's Chongqing on May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) China's 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. "There is an old saying in China: 'No banquet is complete without alcohol.' It means in the past, without alcohol there is no social lubricant,' 30-year-old Chi Bo said while having cocktails with friends in Beijing's chic Sanlitun area. "People no longer want to drink alcohol or tend to drink less but they can still sit together and even discuss serious affairs,' Chi said. "Most of the people don't want to drink alcohol unless they have to.' A worker shows the Green Plum Liqueur, a mix handcrafted single sorghum baijiu with plum juice to reporters during a media organized tour at Jiangxiaobai Liquor Co.'s Jiangji Distillery in southwestern China's Chongqing on May 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong) Baijiu makers are responding with creative innovations like baijiu-flavored ice cream. Kweichou Moutai partnered with China's Luckin' 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. "There are so many choices right now,' Boyce said. "It's just about fighting for attention in terms of choice.' Jiangxiaobai, a newer brand made in southwestern China's Chongqing, has targeted young consumers from the beginning. It offers fruit-infused baijiu with an alcohol content below 10%, packaged in smaller, more affordable bottles adorned with philosophical or sentimental phrases meant to resonate with Chinese youth such as, "Unspoken words. In my eyes, in drafts, in dreams, or downed in a drink.' "Our promotion of products combines the culture and lifestyle young people advocate," Jiangxiaobai marketing director Fan Li said. "From our products to our branding, it's a process of embracing the younger generation." Shirley Huang, out with friends on a Friday night in Sanlitun, said she had never touched baijiu at age 27, preferring cocktails. But that night, something new on the menu caught her attention: a baijiu-based cocktail. "Baijiu is quietly making its way into our lives. We just haven't noticed,' she said "It may not appear as itself, but it reemerges in new forms.' – AP

China eyeing off huge $43 trillion system you've probably never heard of
China eyeing off huge $43 trillion system you've probably never heard of

9 News

time3 days ago

  • Business
  • 9 News

China eyeing off huge $43 trillion system you've probably never heard of

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here If some of the less trustworthy corners of the internet were to be believed, China took a fairly drastic step against cryptocurrencies last weekend by banning them. As it turns out, that was fake – or at the very least old – news; Beijing did put a ban on trading and mining crypto, but that was handed down on September 24, 2021, a lazy 1409 days earlier. But if you zoomed out just slightly from the Chinese mainland, then there was a genuine development. China didn't ban cryptocurrency last weekend. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) On August 1, new regulations in Hong Kong came into effect, allowing companies to apply for a licence to issue stablecoins. Unlike more typical cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, whose value fluctuates wildly, the value of stablecoins is pegged to that of currencies or commodities, removing the volatility that deters some investors. They don't just account for pocket change, either. According to ANZ, stablecoin transactions were worth $US27.6 trillion ($42.5 trillion) last year alone. That's more than all transactions made using Visa and Mastercard combined, and about 15 times the value of the entire Australian economy. Hong Kong isn't the only jurisdiction to regulate stablecoins recently. US President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act (officially the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act) on July 18, one of three major bills to clear the House during what was touted as "crypto week". Unlike volatile cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, stablecoins' value is intended to be more reliable. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) "The regulations in the US and Hong Kong have attracted significant market attention," ANZ chief greater China economist Raymond Yeung wrote. "Companies involved in issuing and trading stablecoins have seen their stock prices rally massively." In Australia, meanwhile, the RBA has ruled out the idea of a central bank digital currency for now, but announced the start of a trial of tokenised currencies, including stablecoins, in July. Not that everyone thinks they're a good idea. Law professor and prominent crypto critic Hilary Allen compared the GENIUS Act to the pre-regulated financial era that led to the Great Depression. Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins last month. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) "It won't just be crypto taking advantage, it'll be everybody," Allen told CNN last month. "And then we get to unregulated markets for all kinds of investments, which is where we were in the 1920s, and we saw how that ended." The Hong Kong regulations come as some Chinese tech giants, including e-commerce behemoth and the Alibaba-linked Ant Group, have reportedly pushed Beijing to allow stablecoins linked to the yuan to counter the surge of US dollar-backed crypto. More than a few commentators and analysts have talked of Hong Kong acting as a testing ground for the mainland. "The emergence of stablecoins in the 2020s gave hope to the internationalisation of the (yuan), and the passing of Hong Kong's stablecoins ordinance was viewed as a further step in that direction," Yeung said. At the same time, it's no secret China wants to get away from the reliance on the US dollar in international transactions, and promote the yuan in its place. So could a yuan-backed stablecoin offer a way to do just that? China wants to decouple from the US dollar and promote its own currency in its place. (Chinatopix via AP) According to Yeung, even if Beijing does allow them, a stablecoin on its own won't drive dedollarisation – it'll come down to a host of other factors. "Some observers think it could help," he wrote. "But it's likely any currency diversification will depend on the popularity of the yuan, rather than any one technology… "Should China want to allocate less foreign reserve to $US, then stablecoins backed by other currencies are the alternative, not the yuan-backed stablecoin. "The issuance of yuan-backed stablecoin requires sufficient high-quality liquid assets. "This could be limited by the issuers' access to renminbi deposits, offshore China sovereign and sub-sovereign bonds and their access to the onshore bond market. "Stablecoin issuance, and their reserve funds, will increase demand for these assets. "But ultimately, the success of renminbi internationalisation will drive yuan-backed stablecoins — not the other way round." finance World cryptocurrency money China news China Hong Kong USA Asia Explainer CONTACT US Property News: Rubbish-strewn house overtaken by mould asks $1.2 million.

Americans finish strong with relay record at swim worlds
Americans finish strong with relay record at swim worlds

Japan Today

time03-08-2025

  • Sport
  • Japan Today

Americans finish strong with relay record at swim worlds

Athletes of team United States celebrate after winning gold medal in the women's 4x100-meter medley relay final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Sunday, Aug. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) swimming By STEPHEN WADE The United States, which had a frustrating swim world championships, ended on a high note Sunday with a record in the women's 4x100 medley relay in the last event of the eight-day championships. The Americans swam a time of 3 minutes, 49.34 seconds, breaking their own old record mark of 3:49.63. The United States finished with nine gold medals and 29 overall, ahead of Australia with eight gold and 20 overall. France and Canada were next in the gold-medal count with four gold medals. The 18-year-old Canadian star Summer McIntosh won all four. The Americans battled a case of 'acute gastroenteritis' picked up at a training camp in Thailand. The malady clearly affected the team's up-and-down performances in the eight days in Singapore. 'This is the best way to end the meet,' Gretchen Walsh said. "And I feel like we have such a good opportunity when you have this stacked group of women closing it out on a relay like this. 'We're going to put it all in the pool and we're going to leave Singapore with a smile on our faces,' she added. Regan Smith, Kate Douglass and Walsh swam the first three legs with Torri Huske taking the anchor. The Americans had only five gold medals through six days, but won four in the last two as team health seemed to improve. Sunday's closing day featured eight finals and victories for seven different teams. But there were two clear stars through the week. Leon Manchand of France left the worlds on Sunday with what he came for – two individual gold medals. Summer McIntosh came away with four individual golds – one shy of her quest to win five. Still, she is only the second woman at a world championships to win four individual golds. Her only blip was finishing third to American Katie Ledecky in the 800 freestyle on Saturday. And 12-year-old Chinese Yu Zidi, in an astounding performance, finished fourth in all three of her individual races. She, however, did pick up a bronze medal in a relay, where she swam in the prelims but not in the final. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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