Every smoke cloud has a silver lining

Chinese connoisseurs are sparking a boom in imported Cuban cigars with trendy lounges and bars springing up in major cities here

The first thing you notice when you enter the Cigar Ambassador Club in the trendy The Place mall in central Beijing is the strong tobacco aroma that impregnates the room.

Amid a cloud of light smoke, Vincent Chen, a diamond trader in his 30s from Beijing, is holding a chunky Partagas cigar between his fingers.