The turmoil of a trade war between China and Europe burst open this week as hundreds of employees at the Hennessy cognac factory in southwest France on Wednesday walked off the job for a second day to protest what unions said were plans to move brandy bottling to China.

周三，法国西南部轩尼诗白兰地工厂的数以百计员工连续第二天罢工，针对工会所称的将白兰地装瓶业务转移至中国计划展开抗议，中欧贸易战的动荡也随之在本周揭开了序幕。

Hennessy, owned by the French luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, is exploring the move after China recently imposed steep financial penalties on European brandy imports, according to the Confédération Générale du Travail and Force Ouvrière unions, which represent Hennessy employees.

轩尼诗是法国奢侈品巨头路威酩轩集团旗下企业，根据代表轩尼诗员工的法国总工会和劳动力量的消息，在中国最近对欧洲白兰地进口实施严厉的经济处罚后，轩尼诗开始探索这一举措。

China last month raised the stakes in a trade dispute with the European Union by imposing temporary penalties on brandy from Europe and warning of possible tariffs on other European goods. The move by Beijing came after the European Union voted to proceed with higher tariffs on imports of electric vehicles made in China. France had led the push for the E.V. tariffs, and almost all the brandy targeted by China is made in France.

中国上个月对来自欧洲的白兰地实施临时处罚，并警告可能对其他欧洲商品加征关税，在与欧盟的贸易争端中加大了赌注。此前，欧盟投票决定对中国制造的电动汽车征收更高的进口关税。法国一直在推动征收电动汽车关税，中国针对的几乎所有白兰地都是法国制造。

Hennessy said in a statement that it was not planning to move cognac production to China, but that it was working to protect its interests and safeguard the industry. “It is important to note that, as of today, nothing has yet been decided and that we are evaluating all possible solutions,” the company said.

轩尼诗在一份声明中表示，该公司没有将干邑生产转移到中国的计划，但正在努力保护自己的利益，捍卫本行业。“必须指出的是，截至今天，还没有做出任何决定，我们正在评估所有可能的解决方案，”该公司表示。

The National Interprofessional Cognac Bureau, a trade group, said in a statement that brands could be “forced to explore all avenues” to blunt the impact of Chinese tariffs.

行业组织国家干邑行业协会在声明中表示，各大品牌可能会“被迫探索所有途径”，以减弱中国关税的影响。

“Workers are very impacted and emotional,” Matthieu Devers, the CGT union leader at Hennessy, said Tuesday in a video posted on X, as nearly 500 workers halted production at the distillery. “They want to show their absolute opposition to the planned tests to move some production to China.”

“工人们受到了很大的影响，情绪很激动，”周二，轩尼诗的法国总工会领导人马修·德弗斯在X上发布的一段视频中说，这家酿酒厂有近500名工人停止了生产。“他们希望表明，他们坚决反对将部分生产转移到中国的测试计划。”

Some workers from France’s other so-called Big Four cognac producers have joined the strikes, he added, including employees of Martell, a cognac house founded in 1715, and Rémy Martin and Courvoisier. Together with Hennessy, the brands produce most of the world’s cognac.

他还说，法国其他四大干邑生产商的一些工人也加入了罢工，其中包括成立于1715年的干邑生产商马爹利、人头马和拿破仑干邑的员工。这些品牌与轩尼诗生产了世界上大部分的干邑。

Hennessy and other brandy importers must deposit up to 39 percent of the wholesale value of shipments to China. Beijing, which has the option of turning the deposits into permanent tariffs, has accused European brandy producers of hurting Chinese producers by dumping brandy at unfairly low prices in the Chinese market.

轩尼诗和其他白兰地进口商必须向中国交付高达批发价值39%的保证金。中国政府指责欧洲白兰地生产商以不公平的低价向中国市场倾销白兰地，损害了中国生产商的利益。中国政府可以选择将这些保证金转变为永久性关税。

Shares in LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury group, slid 3 percent on Tuesday, deepening a slump that set in after the company warned last month of an “uncertain economic and geopolitical environment” and published earnings that disappointed analysts. The stock recovered slightly on Wednesday.

全球最大的奢侈品集团路威酩轩集团的股价周二下跌3%，进一步加剧了该公司继上个月对“不确定的经济和地缘政治环境”发出警告，并发布了令分析机构失望的财报后开始的暴跌。该股在周三小幅回升。

Brandy producers have pressed President Emmanuel Macron of France to negotiate “a diplomatic solution” with China to ensure the tariffs do not become permanent. The penalties, unions warn, could push companies to relocate more cognac production to China, dealing a devastating blow to the spirits-producing region of Cognac and other parts of Europe where brandy is made.

白兰地生产商敦促法国总统马克龙与中国谈判“外交解决方案”，以确保关税不会变成永久性措施。工会警告说，这些处罚可能会促使企业将更多干邑生产转移到中国，对干邑的烈酒产区和欧洲其他生产白兰地的地区造成毁灭性打击。

Mr. Macron said Tuesday at the Group of 20 summit meeting in Brazil that he was confident the trade dispute with China affecting France’s cognac producers would be resolved. He added that he had asked Prime Minister Michel Barnier to visit China next year.

周二，马克龙在巴西举行的20国集团峰会上表示，他相信影响法国干邑生产商与中国的贸易争端将得到解决。他还说，他已要求米歇尔·巴尼耶总理明年访问中国。

In the meantime, LVMH and other European brandy producers are scrambling to figure out a way forward — with few palatable solutions. According to the CGT union, Hennessy has plans to ship already distilled cognac to China in vats, and bottle it there to avoid the brandy tariffs. The union described the plan as a “test” that could be carried out before the end of the year.

与此同时，路威酩轩和其他欧洲白兰地生产商正在拼命寻找出路，但几乎没有令人满意的解决方案。根据法国总工会的说法，轩尼诗计划将已经蒸馏的干邑用大桶运往中国，在当地装瓶，以规避白兰地关税。工会称该计划是一次“测试”，可能会在今年年底之前实施。

Video showed hundreds of workers massed early Wednesday outside the Hennessy brandy plant in Charente, the region of France where cognac production takes place. A strike could continue through early next week, when management is scheduled to sit down with employees. Around 17,000 people in the region are directly employed in Cognac production, and another 30,000 or so earn a livelihood from the business, in packaging, transport and other fields.

视频显示，周三早些时候，数以百计工人聚集在法国干邑白兰地产地夏朗德地区的轩尼诗白兰地工厂外。罢工可能会持续到下周初，届时管理层将与员工坐下来谈判。该地区约有1.7万人直接从事干邑生产，另有约3万人在干邑包装、运输和其他领域谋生。

Cognac sales have slowed since pandemic lockdowns several years ago, and they have been hit further by falling sales in China and the United States more recently. In 2023, French brandy exports slumped in value by almost 15 percent, to 3.35 billion euros (about $3.5 billion).

自几年前的疫情封锁以来，干邑的销售已经放缓，最近中国和美国市场的销售下滑进一步打击了干邑的销售。2023年，法国白兰地出口额暴跌近15%，降至33.5亿欧元（约合35亿美元）。