YINCHUAN, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The 32nd Concours Mondial de Bruxelles (CMB), dubbed the "Wine Olympics," announced the winners on Thursday, with China receiving a record-high 234 medals.

The competition took place in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, earlier this month. A total of 7,165 wines from 49 countries and regions were blind-tasted by nearly 400 international experts. Among them, China participated with a record-high 672 wines.

This year, China won 234 medals, including eight Grand Gold, 102 Gold and 124 Silver. This outcome underscores the growing competitiveness of Chinese wines. In 2014 and 2015, China won five and 14 medals, respectively.

Over half of the Chinese awards were from Ningxia's eastern foothill of Helan Mountain. Ningxia's terroir is unique, resulting in exceptional wine quality, which is underscored by its repeated success in international competitions, said CMB Chairman Baudouin Havaux.

Ningxia is China's largest wine-producing region, thanks to its prolonged sunshine and a cool, dry climate aiding the cultivation of grapes. By the end of 2024, Ningxia had more than 600,000 mu (around 40,000 hectares) of wine grape plantations and an annual wine output of 140 million bottles. Its wines are exported to over 40 countries and regions.■