China to Lift Tariffs on Australian Wine, as Frosty Relations Thaw


中国将取消三年多前针对澳大利亚葡萄酒施加的进口关税，这标志着中澳两国关系正在稳步解冻。感受过关税冲击的生产商现在要决定中国市场的潜在回报是否值得冒险。


中国施加的关税导致中澳之间的葡萄酒贸易几乎全面崩溃。

中国将取消三年多前针对澳大利亚葡萄酒施加的进口关税，这标志着中澳两国关系正在稳步解冻。中国是全球利润最丰厚的市场之一，此举也将测试澳大利亚生产商对于重返中国市场的兴趣。 6park.com
China will lift tariffs on imports of Australian wine after more than three years, marking steadily warming ties between the countries and testing the appetite of Australia’s producers to return to one of the world’s most lucrative markets. 6park.com
    
澳大利亚的葡萄酒生产商已经亲身感受过了中国外交政策对商业活动的影响，如今则要决定中国市场的潜在回报是否值得冒险。中国政府在2020年对澳大利亚葡萄酒征收关税，因澳大利亚时任领导人呼吁国际社会调查中国新冠疫情起源，在关税实施后，澳大利亚葡萄酒商在亚洲各地开拓新市场，并将更多的葡萄酒卖往欧洲。 6park.com
Australia’s vintners, who have now gotten a taste of how China’s foreign policies can impact business, will have to decide whether the potential reward is worth the risk. They carved out new markets across Asia and sent more bottles to Europe after Beijing imposed the tariffs in 2020 in response to a call by Australia’s then-leader for an international probe into the origins of Covid-19 in China.
   6park.com
这项关税导致中澳之间的葡萄酒贸易几乎全面崩溃。当时中国政府采取广泛的经济手段惩罚澳大利亚，除了葡萄酒关税，还对炼钢用煤、大麦和龙虾等澳大利亚产品进行限制。 6park.com
The tariffs led to a near-total collapse in the Australia-China wine trade, part of a broader effort by Beijing to punish Australia economically that included restrictions on products such as steelmaking coal, barley and lobsters. 6park.com
   
澳大利亚在2022年5月举行大选，阿尔巴尼斯(Anthony Albanese)当选总理，自此中澳两国之间的紧张关系有所缓和。阿尔巴尼斯去年访问了中国，讨论了澳大利亚产品重返中国市场等问题。阿尔巴尼斯表示，取消葡萄酒关税意味着澳大利亚将放弃在世界贸易组织对中国提起申诉。 6park.com
Tensions between the two countries have eased since Australia’s May 2022 election, when Anthony Albanese was elected prime minister. Albanese visited Beijing last year to discuss issues including returning Australian products to the Chinese market. Albanese said removing the tariffs meant Australia would drop its case against China at the World Trade Organization. 6park.com
    
尽管如此，澳大利亚与中国的贸易关系依然脆弱，造成摩擦的一些源头依然存在，其中包括澳大利亚与美国不断扩大的军事同盟关系，以及中国不久前对澳大利亚籍博客作者、间谍小说家杨恒均判处死缓的决定。此外，疫情过后中国经济复苏乏力，葡萄酒进口量整体下降。 6park.com
Still, Australia’s trade relations with China remain fragile and several sources of friction remain, including Australia’s expanding military alliance with the U.S. and China’s recent decision to impose a suspended death sentence on Australian blogger and spy novelist Yang Hengjun. China’s economic recovery from the pandemic has been weak, and the country has been importing less wine overall. 6park.com
   
中国商务部表示，取消关税将于周五生效。 6park.com
The Chinese commerce ministry said the removal of tariffs would take effect Friday. 6park.com
   
在中国加征关税后的几个月里，澳大利亚的Treasury Wine Estates在新加坡和越南等国培育了新的消费者。本周四，该公司表示正准备再次向中国发货，包括将计划发往其他市场的一些Penfolds品牌葡萄酒改道运往中国。 6park.com
In the months after China imposed the tariffs, Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates cultivated new consumers in countries including Singapore and Vietnam. On Thursday, the company said it is preparing to ship bottles to China again, including rerouting some bottles of its Penfolds brand that it had earmarked for other markets. 6park.com
   
除关税之外，澳大利亚葡萄酒生产商还面临其他挑战，包括新冠疫情以及多雨的天气，一些河谷遭遇水灾。澳大利亚的葡萄酒年出口额已从加征关税前的19亿美元降至约12亿美元。总体出口量急剧下降，瓶装葡萄酒的平均售价也低于以往。 6park.com
For Australian winemakers, the tariffs added to challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and wet weather that flooded some river valleys. Australia’s annual wine exports fell to around $1.2 billion, from $1.9 billion before the duties were imposed. Overall volumes declined sharply and bottles have been selling on average for less than before. 6park.com
   
这种低迷状况让一些葡萄酒商濒临绝境。今年早些时候，Accolade Wines曾需要私募股权公司的救助，以清偿不可持续的债务。Accolade Wines拥有Hardys和Grant Burge等全球流行的中等价位品牌。 6park.com
The downturn pushed some vintners to the brink. Earlier this year, Accolade Wines, the owner of globally popular midprice brands, including Hardys and Grant Burge, needed a private-equity bailout to clear debts that it said were unsustainable. 6park.com
   
尽管如此，重建通往中国的供应链仍将耗费时间和金钱。Treasury Wine Estates 表示，计划加大投资力度，支持自己在中国的品牌，但这种额外支出意味着，中国取消关税短期内预计不会增加多少利润。 6park.com
Still, re-establishing supply chains to China will cost time and money. Treasury Wine Estates said it plans to step up investment to support its brands in China, but this extra spending means it doesn’t expect the removal of the tariffs to add much to its profit in the near term. 6park.com
   
“中国大陆仍然是澳大利亚葡萄酒业的重要市场，”澳大利亚葡萄酒管理局(Wine Australia)首席执行官Martin Cole表示。“但如今中国大陆的葡萄酒市场已然有别于2020年底。”该管理局是澳大利亚葡萄酒业的法定管理机构。 6park.com
“Mainland China remains an important market for the Australian wine sector,” said Martin Cole, chief executive of Wine Australia, the statutory body for the industry. “However, the wine market in mainland China is different now to what it was at the end of 2020.” 6park.com
   
澳大利亚葡萄酒管理局强调，2023年中国葡萄酒进口总量为2.48亿升，较五年前下降约三分之二。 6park.com
Wine Australia highlighted that wine imports to China totaled 248 million liters in 2023, down around two-thirds on volumes five years earlier. 6park.com
    
其他受到中国限制措施影响的行业也发现，限制措施实施期间，行业格局发生了重大变化。在中国政府实施非官方炼钢用煤贸易禁令之前，澳大利亚供应了中国近四分之一的炼钢用煤进口量。如今中国越发依赖于蒙古和俄罗斯的焦煤来填补这一缺口，一些分析师认为澳大利亚无法夺回市场份额。 6park.com
Other industries roiled by Chinese restrictions have also found the landscape has shifted significantly during the period that they were in place. Australia supplied nearly a quarter of China’s imports of steelmaking coal before Beijing enforced an unofficial ban on the trade. China has increasingly relied on coking coal from Mongolia and Russia to fill the gap, and some analysts don’t see Australia regaining the share of the market that it lost. 6park.com
   
随着中澳关系恶化，受到惩罚性关税打击的大麦种植者找到了包括沙特在内的新市场。中国政府实施的一些限制措施仍然有效，包括对牛肉和龙虾的限制。 6park.com
Barley farmers, hit with punitive tariffs as China-Australia ties soured, found new markets including in Saudi Arabia. Some restrictions imposed by Beijing remain in place, including on beef and lobsters. 6park.com
  
澳大利亚葡萄与葡萄酒协会(Australian Grape & Wine)首席执行官Lee McLean表示，取消关税的做法是受欢迎的。“然而，我们也将继续专注于我们出口足迹的多元化发展以及扩大澳大利亚国内市场的需求”，他表示。 6park.com
Lee McLean, chief executive of Australian Grape & Wine, the industry’s national association, said the tariffs’ removal was welcome. “We will also, however, be maintaining our focus on diversifying our export footprint and growing demand here in Australia as well,” he said.