American food processing company Lamb Weston has been expanding its business for a decade now in north China's Ulanqab City of Inner Mongolia by taking advantage of high yield of fresh potatoes by local farmers and favorable business policies by local government.
Known as the "potato city" in China, Ulanqab has built a 250-kilometer-long potato industry belt, producing over 3 million tons of potatoes annually.
As a U.S.-headquartered leader in producing and processing frozen French fries, Lamb Weston first came to Ulanqab in 2014 and has been continuously investing since then.
"Lamb Weston now boasts over 10,000 employees and operates over 30 factories worldwide. We sell nearly 100 million servings of French fries every day. We have been active in China for nearly 30 years. From the initial trading to the acquisition of our first factory in Shangdu County, Ulanqab in 2014, we have made continuous capital investments," said Zhang Chen, general manager for China at Lamb Weston.
After a decade of development, Lamb Weston's second factory in Ulanqab went into production last year. As the company's first wholly-owned overseas facility, it fully incorporated the new technologies in design, process, energy saving and efficiency improvement within its international framework.
Local government has also continuously optimized policies to further develop the industrial chain of potato breeding, planting, and processing, fostering industrial clusters while optimizing supporting facilities.
"The China market is the number one growing market for us, and we have done a lot great work in expanding both our international sales as well as our regional sales," said Mark Lehman, Senior Vice President of Lamb Weston.
American company continues expansion in northern China
A former television host from Taiwan, Zhai Xuan, has made a pivotal decision to leave mainstream broadcasting in order to create content that provides a better understanding of the Chinese mainland and cross-strait relations.
Zhai, a seasoned television host with over a decade of experience in Taiwan's media landscape, recently addressed an audience at an event in Beijing, where she revealed her complete transition into independent online media.
In her remarks, she articulated her aspiration to bridge what she perceives as a significant information gap between audiences on both sides of the Strait, highlighting her commitment to fostering a deeper understanding and connection through her new endeavors.
"I was really surprised by all the fake news. There were stories saying people on the mainland can't afford tea eggs or that they live in mud houses and in Taiwan, this was the main information many people received," said Zhai.
Zhai said she initially began producing online videos to challenge such perceptions while continuing her work as a television host.
In April 2025, she travelled to the mainland with her father to fulfill her late grandfather's wish to return to his hometown. The trip, which reunited family members separated since 1949, was recorded in a video series titled "Journey to Find Our Roots", drawing attention from viewers in both Taiwan and the mainland.
"Many people in Taiwan told me that after watching, they wanted to apply for a mainland travel permit immediately and go looking for their relatives. Some had long forgotten these things, but after seeing my story, they began thinking about their hometowns and family members they had never met and decided to search for their roots," Zhai shared her story at the event.
By mid-2025, Zhai said she began to feel increasing pressure amid rising political tensions and a tightening atmosphere around cross-Strait exchanges in Taiwan.
After more than 12 years in the industry, Zhai resigned from her position, believing it was the right thing to do.
"At that moment, I felt this was a major issue，not just for me, but for Chinese people on both sides of the Strait. If I backed down then, I wouldn’t be standing on the right side," said Zhai.
Since leaving television, Zhai has broadened her online programming to encompass a range of daily-life topics, including practical guidance on applying for a mainland travel permit and using commonly employed mobile applications, in addition to content that delves into historical memory and cultural connections across the Strait.
As the debate over cross-Strait relations continues in Taiwan, Zhai said she remains committed to her current path.
Former Taiwan TV host bridges cross-Strait divide via online media
