China's Moutai serves shareholders juice, not baijiu, as austerity bites

DALIAN, China -- Major Chinese baijiu liquor maker Kweichow Moutai is making headlines by choosing not to serve its top-shelf Feitian at a shareholder event, a byproduct of government austerity measures aimed at cutting official spending on luxuries.

A banquet held by the company on the eve of a shareholders meeting in Guizhou province was changed this year to a simple buffet format, and the Feitian that used to be placed on each table was nowhere to be seen, according to Chinese media.