Business owner rents out her kitchen so Chinese chefs can prepare food for the visiting delegationOthers say they are planning to give leader a warm welcome at Stanley Hotel
Sandy Gao’s restaurant in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, has been closed to the public since Thursday and will not reopen until Sunday. And the Chinese businesswoman could not be happier about it.
Located just a short drive from the Stanley Hotel, where Chinese President Xi Jinping will be staying for the duration of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, Gao’s eatery has been taken over by a team of chefs who will use it as a culinary base for the visiting leader’s sizeable entourage.
“The [Chinese] embassy said they wanted to rent my restaurant to prepare food for the delegation,” Gao said. “But they won’t use it to make President Xi’s food, he always uses his own cook.”
More than 20 chefs and assistants from China Railway Corporation, a state-owned company and major investor in the Pacific nation, descended on the premises on Thursday morning and would stay until the summit ended, Gao said.
Other Chinese working in Papua New Guinea said they were looking forward to welcoming Xi to the country and hoped his visit would be good for business.
“We have high hopes for the president’s visit, I am sure it will be a boost for business interests in the country, and it is very encouraging for the Chinese community here,” said a man surnamed Huang, who has been working on an oil project in the country for the past three years.
