BEIJING, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) - Chanel, BMW and French wines are the preferred choices for affluent consumers in China, even if they have to pay a premium for foreign luxury, a survey showed.

A Beijing shopping center : Chanel, BMW and French wines are the preferred choices for affluent consumers in China - Photo : Teh Eng Koon/AFP

More than 56 percent of well-off Chinese favour foreign or world-famous brands, according to a report released by MasterCard Worldwide this week, based on a survey of high-earning Chinese city dwellers.

The survey covered 1,800 people with an annual income over 16,000 dollars in Beijing, Shanghai and the southern city of Guangzhou.

Most of the respondents believed that brands were either "extremely important" or "important," with 92.7 percent citing high quality as a key factor for choosing a brand, the report said.

Some 68.3 percent said brand recognition and 58.5 percent said fashionable looks and design were also reasons for preferring certain brands.

All of the top ten automobile brands and watch brands are foreign, with BMW and Rolex ranking the first in each category, respectively.

Foreign brands also dominate when it comes to fashion, with Chanel taking the top position and Giorgio Armani in second among a top ten that, again, are all foreign, the survey said.

It also found that the consumption of wine, although a relatively recent lifestyle trend in China, is fast becoming popular especially among the rich, with French wine preferred by 80.7 percent of the respondents.