BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese green tea should extend global presence with superior quality, richer connotations, and a more sustainable approach by embracing the spirit advocated by the United Nations' International Tea Day at a critical juncture of the global tea industry's value reshaping, said Li Shien, Chairman of International Development Information Organization (IDIO).
Li made the remarks at the 2025 Global Green Tea Congress held recently by China Economic Information Service, the China Tea Science Society and the Jiangxi Ecological Civilization Research and Promotion Association in Wuyuan County of east China's Jiangxi Province with the aim to build a high-end dialogue platform for the coordinated development and joint response to challenges of the global green tea industry.
Since the establishment of the International Tea Day by the United Nations in 2019, tea has been given an important mission to promote sustainable development and international understanding, and this conference is a continuation of this mission, noted Li.
He believes that the cultural spirit of "purity, respect, harmony, and beauty" represented by green tea is highly compatible with the concepts of healthy living and green economy.
The output of Chinese green tea exceeded 2.06 million tonnes in 2024, valuing over 203.3 billion yuan and accounting for about 60 percent of the total tea production nationwide, while the domestic market consumption exceeded 1.3 million tonnes, with sales reaching 195 billion yuan, demonstrating strong upgrading potential, introduced Li.
Chinese green tea plays a crucial role in the international market, he pointed out, adding that in the first half of 2025, green tea exports accounted for 87.9 percent of China's total tea exports, covering a vast market from North Africa and Central Asia to Europe, North America, and East Asia, and particularly, deeply-processed products such as matcha are integrating Chinese tea culture into the world in a modern and fashionable manner.
However, he also noted that China's green tea exports are still mainly raw material products, and the brand added value urgently needs to be improved, with the international market layout to be further diversified. Meanwhile, he added, the global demand for tea quality, safety, traceability, and sustainable production is increasing, and promoting the standardized, green and digital development of the industry is inevitable.
In China, over 70 percent of new tea drinks are based on green tea, and the younger generation is reinterpreting the tea culture in their own language, said Li, noting that the rise of Eastern aesthetics and natural health concepts has provided a cultural resonance window for the value output of Chinese green tea.
He called for the use of tea as a link to promote cross-border dialogue, industrial collaboration, and cultural sharing, and convey the universal values of harmony, inclusiveness, and sustainable development.
(Edited by Gu Shanshan with Xinhua Silk Road, gushanshan.1987@163.com)
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