China’s slowing economy has led to a wave of restaurant closures, with three million eateries shutting down in 2024 alone. In Beijing, used kitchen equipment seller An Dawei, known as the “restaurant undertaker,” says demand for secondhand appliances has surged as closures rise. While China has introduced new policies to boost domestic consumption, low demand and price wars continue to challenge the industry.
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00:00Hauling out vents and sinks is all in a day's work for An Dawei.
00:10He sells used kitchen equipment, but in Beijing, he's known as the restaurant undertaker.
00:29Restaurant closures in the city are surging.
00:32An's team takes apart around 200 restaurants every month, nearly triple what they were
00:37doing just a year ago.
00:40That's just part of the 3 million restaurants that closed in all of China last year.
00:48Many restaurant failures come from laid-off office workers who opened restaurants expecting
00:53China's economy to bounce back after the COVID-19 pandemic.
01:22China recently announced a new plan to boost the country's domestic consumption, which
01:26has lagged for years.
01:28But low demand and race-to-the-bottom price wars mean even cutting labor costs might not
01:34be enough.
01:48Plummeting consumer spending may be dragging down most of China's economy.
01:53But until demand returns, it's big business for the undertaker.
01:58Alex Chen and Chris Gorin for Taiwan Plus.