Trade organization World Federation of the Chinese Catering Industry, previously known as the World Association of Chinese Cuisine, said that its recent name change is part of its efforts to highlight its goal of taking Chinese food to the global stage.
According to Yang Liu, the federation's chairperson, "food has no borders, and it is one of the most important things in people's lives."
"Chinese cuisine has long been an important part of our culture," Yang shared. "As the Chinese economy grows and people's lives improve, our government is paying more attention to the development and promotion of Chinese cuisine around the world."
For the first 10 months of 2015, China's catering industry has generated a total revenue of 2.624 billion yuan, a China Daily article reported. The figure posted a yearly growth of 11.8 percent.
Also, over 100 Chinese restaurants were able to branch out overseas this year, Yang revealed. Currently, there are more than 400,000 Chinese restaurants outside the country, 50,000 of which are in the United States.
Nonetheless, Yang said that most of these restaurants are small and are poorly managed as those catering companies going abroad lack legal and international marketing skills.
Since the federation was founded 1991, it has been initiating a series of events promoting Chinese cuisine. It has also been inviting foreigners to traditional Chinese dinners during the eve of the Spring Festival.
Yang told a media conference that the federation will continue its efforts to boost Chinese cuisine. Their group is composed of more than 500 corporate and institute members in over 40 countries and regions.
One of the federation's targets is to provide Chinese catering firms with more services. These include legal training, foreign-market research, resource integration and supply management.
Additionally, the federation aims to make Chinese cuisine part of the mainstream in foreign societies by strengthening its publicity efforts and by conducting culinary events and online trainings.
Meanwhile, local governments are also making more efforts to promote home-grown dishes.