Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province recently inaugurated a group of bases to promote Chinese food in other countries.

The move is in response to China's program to support the development of Chinese food overseas as well as overseas Chinese restaurants.

Nantong Tourism Secondary Vocational School has been selected as one of the bases to train Chinese cooks.

"Our school will nurture outstanding cooks engaged in promoting Chinese food overseas and assist overseas Chinese people in running Chinese restaurants via online trainings," said Sun Yong, vice-president of Nantong Tourism Secondary Vocational School.

Shanghai Hotel in Saint Petersburg, Russia, is one of the overseas bases selected to promote Chinese food.

The hotel is the most renowned Chinese restaurant in Saint Petersburg and had received more than 200,000 Chinese and foreign guests every year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Establishing an overseas promotion base will help strengthen cooperation between overseas Chinese restaurants," said Yu Jianjun, president of Shanghai Hotel.

Yu revealed that he is negotiating with some large-scale Chinese food restaurants in Russia to set up a Chinese food enterprise group with unified delivery and management.

The enterprise group will then help explore the market for Nantong cuisines in Russia, Yu added.

Wu Yajun, director of the Nantong Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, said that they will collect recipes for Nantong's special dishes and information about the city's specialty products and create a Chinese food brand with Nantong features to better promote Chinese food overseas.

Seven schools and restaurants are designated as bases to promote Chinese food in other countries. [Photo/ntfabu.com]