Chinese eatery praised for sharing US$74,000 Lunar New Year profit with staff
Published: 6:00pm, 7 Feb 2025
A hotpot restaurant in southwestern China has been lauded for distributing the 532,000 yuan (US$74,000) in profits it made over three days of the Chinese Spring Festival among its staff.
On January 31, the Qilichuan Hotpot Restaurant in Suining, Sichuan province, made headlines with its generous move.
The restaurant's owner, Huang Houming, insisted that it was a long-running tradition, not a 'publicity stunt'.
Huang said the chain has eight branches, which together made sales of more than one million yuan (US$140,000) over a three-day period. Staff at the eatery were clearly pleased with their Lunar New Year windfall. Photo: Baidu
The company has more than 200 employees, and while some took time off during the holiday, around 140 people qualified for the cash handout.
'We just wanted to let the employees have a lively and happy Lunar New Year. It is also for those who have worked hard throughout the year,' said Huang.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
an hour ago
- RTHK
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks The Hang Seng Index finished strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. File photo: RTHK Asian stocks rallied on Monday on hopes that a fresh round of China-US trade talks later in the day will ease tensions between the economic superpowers, while investors were also cheered by forecast-topping US jobs data. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. Across the border, Chinese stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.43 percent to 3,399.77. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.65 percent higher at 10,250. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.07 percent to close at 2,061.29. Regional gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz subside and countries make deals with Washington. All eyes are on London, where top officials from China and the United States are due to meet for more negotiations aimed at preserving a fragile truce agreed last month that slashed eye-watering tit-for-tat levies. The talks come days after President Xi Jinping and Trump held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while aviation giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. The impact of the trade row was highlighted on Monday in data showing Chinese exports to the United States sank more than 34 percent year on year in May and almost 13 percent from the previous month. However, shipments to other regions including the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged. Separate data showed Chinese consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. Optimism that the two sides will make a breakthrough boosted other markets such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also advanced. In Japan, the Nikkei share average advanced ahead of Sino-US trade talks in London later in the day, with investors watching for any easing of restrictions on semiconductor shipments. The Nikkei rose 0.92 percent to 38,088.57 at the close. The broader Topix rose 0.58 percent. A sub-index of growth shares rallied 0.79 percent, outpacing a 0.38 percent rise in value shares. Chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest was the Nikkei's biggest gainer in index-point terms with a 4.86 percent climb. Another chip company, Socionext, soared 7.34 percent to be the top performer in percentage terms. (Reuters/Xinhua)
RTHK
2 hours ago
- RTHK
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks The Hang Seng Index finished strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. File photo: RTHK Asian stocks rallied on Monday on hopes that a fresh round of China-US trade talks later in the day will ease tensions between the economic superpowers, while investors were also cheered by forecast-topping US jobs data. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. Across the border, Chinese stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.43 percent to 3,399.77. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.65 percent higher at 10,250. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.07 percent to close at 2,061.29. Regional gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz subside and countries make deals with Washington. All eyes are on London, where top officials from China and the United States are due to meet for more negotiations aimed at preserving a fragile truce agreed last month that slashed eye-watering tit-for-tat levies. The talks come days after President Xi Jinping and Trump held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while aviation giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. The impact of the trade row was highlighted on Monday in data showing Chinese exports to the United States sank more than 34 percent year on year in May and almost 13 percent from the previous month. However, shipments to other regions including the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged. Separate data showed Chinese consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. Optimism that the two sides will make a breakthrough boosted other markets such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also advanced. In Japan, the Nikkei share average advanced ahead of Sino-US trade talks in London later in the day, with investors watching for any easing of restrictions on semiconductor shipments. The Nikkei rose 0.92 percent to 38,088.57 at the close. The broader Topix rose 0.58 percent. A sub-index of growth shares rallied 0.79 percent, outpacing a 0.38 percent rise in value shares. Chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest was the Nikkei's biggest gainer in index-point terms with a 4.86 percent climb. Another chip company, Socionext, soared 7.34 percent to be the top performer in percentage terms. (Reuters/Xinhua)
HKFP
2 hours ago
- HKFP
US, China seek to extend trade truce with London talks
After a round of talks in Geneva last month, the United States and China will sit down at the negotiating table in London on Monday to attempt to preserve a fragile truce on trade, despite simmering tensions. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will lead the US delegation, President Donald Trump announced Friday. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng — who led Beijing's negotiating team in Geneva — will also head the team in London, China's foreign ministry announced at the weekend. 'The meeting should go very well,' Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told Fox News on Sunday: 'We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva.' While the government of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated that it was not involved in the content of the discussions in any way, a spokesperson said, 'We are a nation that champions free trade.' UK authorities 'have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody's interests, so we welcome these talks,' the spokesperson added. 'Correcting the course' The talks in London come just a few days after Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. Trump said the call, which took place on Thursday, had reached a 'very positive conclusion.' Xi was quoted by state-run news agency Xinhua as saying that 'correcting the course of the big ship of Sino-US relations requires us to steer well and set the direction.' The call came after tensions between the world's two biggest economies had soared, with Trump accusing Beijing of violating a tariff de-escalation deal reached in Geneva in mid-May. 'We need China to comply with their side of the deal. And so that's what the trade team will be discussing tomorrow,' Leavitt said Sunday. In April, Trump introduced sweeping worldwide tariffs that targeted China most heavily. At one point the United States hit China with additional levies of 145 percent on its goods as both sides engaged in tit-for-tat escalation. China's countermeasures on US goods reached 125 percent. Then in Switzerland, after two days of talks, the two sides agreed to slash their staggeringly high tariffs for 90 days. But differences have persisted, including over China's restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals used in tech products. The impact was reflected in the latest official export data released Monday in Beijing. Exports to the United States fell 12.7 percent on month in May, with China shipping $28.8 billion worth in goods last month. This is down from $33 billion in April, according to Beijing's General Administration of Customs. 'Green channel' Throughout its talks with Washington, China also has launched discussions with other trading partners — including Japan and South Korea — in a bid to build a united front to counter Trump's tariffs. On Thursday, Beijing turned to Canada, with the two sides agreeing to regularize their channels of communication after a period of strained ties. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Chinese Premier Li Qiang also discussed trade and the fentanyl crisis, Ottawa said. Beijing proposed establishing a 'green channel' to ease the export of rare earths to the European Union, and fast-tracking approval of some export licenses. That proposal from the commerce ministry in Beijing came after talks on Tuesday between China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic. China is expected to host a summit with the EU in July, marking 50 years since Beijing and Brussels established diplomatic ties.
