As a general rule, if it can be done by anyone, it can be done by the Chinese!
If Thai & Viet cultivation is as efficient as we know it to be, Chinese cultivation is bound to be even better. I haven't seen it from up close or been to a plantation, but if they can get the kind of resin
@Faizal_p showed us in roughly a decade, they're bound to catch up with the other guys sooner or later.
For me, a plantation Chinese oil doesn't work, on many levels. One, the people who taught me everything I know about oud are Chinese. Their legacy is deeply rooted in the wild Sinensis oils of the late 90's/early 00's. Going into plantation Chinese oils would be like admitting to myself that phase of my career which started with Kyara LTD and continues today with the second Royal Kinam, is over. I guess I'm too vested in the historical & emotional value of wild Chinese oud to 'move on' from that and explore a purely mercantile endeavor with plantation Sinensis.
Secondly, Chinese oud is like a mafia (emphasis on the word 'like'). If things are working out smoothly within the 'family', you don't renege and start having dealings with other 'families'. There is very little overlap between the vast worlds of the China market, which currently boasts the vastest array of wild agarwood in the world; and the Guangdong & Hainan nurseries and plantations. Many of my large-scale distillation projects are directly organized and funded by the magnates and founders of the China market, praise be to Allah. For me to compromise a relationship like that for sapling agarwood simply doesn't make much sense.
While Hainan 2005 and Royal Kinam are still in stock, I will revel in their glory before looking for replacements.
