In recent years, Chinese baijiu has racked up numerous international awards—gold medals and grand golds—yet its global market presence remains strikingly limited. In 2024, China’s baijiu exports reached $970 million, up 20.4% year-on-year. However, this accounted for just 2.4% of global spirit trade, with export volume representing a mere 0.4% of domestic production. In other words, fewer than 4 out of every 1,000 bottles produced leave China. By 2025, exports fell to $890 million, down 7.6%, while average prices dropped nearly 10%—signaling a “high volume, low margin” reality.

More telling is where the liquor ends up: Hong Kong and Macao together absorb nearly 45% of exports, with other Asian markets like South Korea, Singapore, and Japan making up most of the remainder. Much of the so-called “exported” baijiu eventually finds its way back to Chinese consumers overseas.

This raises a critical question: why the disconnect between award glories and market failure? Critics argue that most international competitions apply Western spirits standards—whisky or brandy criteria—to judge baijiu, a spirit rooted in unique multi-strain solid-state fermentation using qu (starter cultures). “How can judges who barely know baijiu tell apart its aroma types?” asks Wu Xianguo, editor of China Wine News. Without a shared understanding of “what makes good baijiu,” award results become meaningless—a game of measuring one culture by another’s ruler.

To address this, the China Wine News International Spirits Awards (CWSA) has introduced evaluation criteria that include “Chinese consumer palatability” and “Eastern flavor compatibility,” alongside conventional metrics like color, aroma, and taste. The goal is not trophy-chasing but providing trustworthy, consumer-oriented buying guides. “Every sip consumers take should match what judges tasted,” says Wu.

Ultimately, baijiu’s global future hinges not on gilded medals, but on establishing its own transparent, credible standards—standards that the world can understand and respect. Only by crafting its own “ruler” with precision and integrity can China’s national spirit earn genuine international recognition. True market entry is not about shipping liquor abroad, but about exporting culture—and winning not judges’ scores, but consumers’ genuine preference.