French spirits manufacturer Hennessy has suspended plans to relocate the bottling of its cognac to China, an employee representative informed by management said on Tuesday.

The announcement of this project had provoked a strike by several hundred employees last week.

Owned by the world's leading luxury goods group LVMH, Hennessy had said it was studying options for dealing with the anti-dumping measures imposed by Beijing last month on wine brandies. In particular, the group was planning to test shipping bulk cognac for bottling in China.

On Monday, the company finally informed staff and union representatives that it had suspended the bulk shipment test following the exchange between the French and Chinese presidents on the sidelines of the G20 summit held in Brazil last week, said Mathieu Devers, a technician at Hennessy and employee representative on the company's social committee (CSE).

Hennessy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suspension of the project.

"We are satisfied with the suspension, even if unfortunately it remains only a suspension," said Mathieu Devers, pointing out that management could resume the project if political discussions between Brussels and Beijing do not make sufficient progress.

Since last month, Beijing has been demanding advance payments of between 30% and 40% on imports of wine spirits from the EU, a measure that mainly affects French cognac producers such as Hennessy, Pernod Ricard and Rémy Cointreau.

According to Frédéric Merceron, Force Ouvrière union representative at Hennessy, management announced at a meeting on Tuesday that the company wished to strengthen its position in buoyant markets and expand into other sectors where it is not present, in order to offset the impact of these customs measures.

(Reported by Alban Kacher, written by Dominique Patton; French version by Florence Loève, edited by Blandine Hénault)