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China's special teas, including oolong and flower-flavored tea, promise bright prospects as more consumers worldwide take to drinking these beverages.

This conclusion was drawn at a forum on globalization versus China's special teas during the 2002 China International Tea, Tea Set and Tea Culture Exposition held recently in Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province.

In the later half of the 20th century, black tea continued to dominate global tea consumption, though its market share was tending to shrink, according to industry experts. Meanwhile, green tea and special teas, particularly the dark cured Chinese tea oolong, started to claim a larger share.

In Japan oolong accounts for 18 percent of the country's total tea consumption - imports last year were 454 times greater than in 1965.

In China, oolong consumption is also rising, and annual output increased from 56,200 tons in 1997 to 68,400 tons in 2001.

Last year China produced 155,000 tons of famous and quality teas, up from 6,600 tons in 1984. Fujian Province, where oolong originated, leads tea production in the country.

Experts believe economic globalization will bring an excellent opportunity for China to develop its tea industry, as it has entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) and will benefit from tariff cuts in foreign countries.

Foreign tariffs on Chinese tea imports have been reduced by a large percentage following China's WTO entry.

To boost China's production and exports of special tea, the experts suggest the drawing up of necessary regulations and more technical input to ensure the sustainable development of such types of tea.

New high-quality and high-yield varieties of tea trees should be bred and more machinery used to help expand and standardize tea production, they added.