China has agreed to limit the champagne label to only wines produced in the French region bearing that name, with a trade group welcoming the move as a boost for the beverage in

But in a country famed for mass-producing fake goods, the "champagne" label has been applied widely, not only to Chinese-made sparkling wines but also goods ranging from candles to dog toys, said the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC).
The new restriction will enable the organisation to seek action against mislabelled products more effectively, it added.
China had "achieved an optimal level of protection", CIVC spokesman Thibaut Le Mailloux said Monday, welcoming the development.
The country was "one of the biggest future markets for champagne", he added.
China's national quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), said champagne had been given "geographic mark protection" within the country.
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China has only recognised three other labels in the wine and spirits sector, including cognac, Scotch whisky and the American vineyard region of Napa Valley, said AQSIQ's director-general Pei Xiaoying.
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The trade body is still lobbying the United States and Russia to recognise the champagne label and block local sparkling wine producers from using the name.
"Chinese law gives us protection that Russia and the US do not," Le Mailloux told AFP, describing their approach as "anachronistic and without future".
Source-AFP