27 August 2008 – The French Minister for Agriculture, Michel Barnier, and Rita Lau, Hong Kong Secretary for Commerce and Development, have signed an agreement regarding the promotion of French wine in the special administrative region.
The agreement aims at strengthening protection of French wine appellations against counterfeiting and at developing oenology training and wine tourism.
Hong Kong did away with all taxes on wine imports at the beginning of 2008, which resulted in an immediate 70% jump in French wine exports to the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.