Restaurant owner from Taiwan brings unique flavors to Shenyang diners

A 30-year-old restaurateur from Taiwan is running a successful eatery in Shenyang City, northeast China and shared her reflections on the challenges of adapting to a competitive mainland market and the rewards of building a life rooted in hard work.

Growing up in Taiwan, Xuanxuan began to engage in the catering industry after married to her husband from northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

"My husband is from Heilongjiang Province. His family has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years. My restaurant primarily features northeastern Chinese cuisine, along with some dishes from Taiwanese cuisine," she said.

Compared with the restaurant industry in Taiwan, Xuanxuan said, that of the mainland has advantages in the overall thinking approach and there are also many companies which will help promote the restaurant to boost its operation.

"I encourage ambitious young people from Taiwan who aren't afraid of challenges to come to the mainland and join the restaurant industry. The industry here benefits from a holistic approach: While restaurant owners in Taiwan may focus on running a single establishment with excellent food, those in the mainland approach the restaurant business with a business-oriented mindset. There are specialized companies that provide services like design and marketing to restaurant owners. The restaurant industry in the mainland is highly competitive, whereas in Taiwan, wealthy individuals tend to avoid investing in restaurants," said Xuanxuan.

For customers, Xuanxuan's restaurant serves dishes cooked upon customers' arrival, which of course preserves the best favor of food.

"I've tried all the restaurants around here, and if you ask me, this one is the best. The taste is great, and nothing is pre-cooked. I come here often, eating here just yesterday," said a customer.

Xuanxuan also shared the differences in management methods, noting that restaurants in the mainland tend to care more about personal relations.

"Honestly, managing people lies at the core of running a restaurant. What differs here from what I know in Taiwan is staff management. Here, the staff comes and goes. Initially, this might have been due to my management style, as I insisted on strictly following the rules. However, in reality, small restaurants like mine thrive on personal relationships," said Xuanxuan.

Restaurant owner from Taiwan brings unique flavors to Shenyang diners

Restaurant owner from Taiwan brings unique flavors to Shenyang diners

U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday officially blocked Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel on national security grounds, which is a decision that could hurt the U.S. economy, said a U.S. scholar.

Biden said Friday that he had decided to block the 14.1 billion U.S. dollars sale of U.S. Steel to the Japanese steel giant, while urging the two steelmakers to "fully and permanently" abandon their plan.

In late 2023, Nippon Steel announced plans to acquire U.S. Steel, which is headquartered in Pennsylvania, one of the key swing states in the 2024 presidential election. Before Biden withdrew from the race, both he and his then-opponent, Donald Trump, had expressed opposition to the acquisition.

In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Nicholas Economides, an economics professor from New York University, also talked about President-elect Donald Trump's possible plans once he takes office later this month.

"It is very possible, I might say it's even likely, there will be tariffs and tax incentives and other measures that President-elect Trump will initiate, but I think that overall at present, this is in my opinion, a bad move for the United States. If U.S. steel would accept the merger, then we would have a stronger company - the Japanese and the American company together," said the professor.

As President-elect Donald Trump is only weeks away from taking office, many believe Trump's mantra of tariffs and "America First" are just one big negotiating ploy.

Economides pointed out that tariff is one of the methods Trump uses to protect certain industries of the United States.

"To a large extent, it could be a negotiating tactic. In some cases, though, and specifically specific industries, it might not be a negotiating tactic. Tariffs might be a way to protect the particular industries that Trump thinks are very important for the United States," he said.

Biden's decision to block Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of US steel plant might hurt economy: scholar