VIENNA, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- In the small town of Bergl in Styria, Austria, there's a "chocolate theater" that draws over 2,000 visitors daily during peak summer months. Over 8,000 kilometers away, in Shanghai, China, there's an almost identical chocolate theater, attracting both locals and tourists alike.

These two theaters are chocolate-themed experience stores opened by the Austrian chocolate company Zotter, which integrate visits and tastings with hands-on production experiences, film screenings and exhibitions.

Julia Zotter, junior CEO of the company, said in an interview with Xinhua recently that since entering the Chinese market, the company has received support from the local government and has gained the affection of Chinese consumers. Looking to the future, the company is full of confidence in the Chinese economy and is willing to continue to deepen cooperation with China.

Zotter is an Austrian family-owned chocolate company founded in 1987 by Josef Zotter. During high school, Josef's daughter Julia spent a year in China as an exchange student, during which she experienced the hospitality of the Chinese people firsthand and learned to deeply appreciate the Chinese culture. When Zotter was considering expansion into new markets, Julia persuaded her family to explore the Chinese market.

She advocated for introducing a new business model to China: establishing offline experience stores like the chocolate theater, where consumers could taste chocolate and take part in the chocolate-making process, helping to cultivate a local chocolate culture. In 2014, the Zotter Chocolate Theatre opened in Shanghai's Yangpu District and quickly became a hit with consumers.

After more than a decade in the Chinese market, Julia said that China's opening-up policy and favorable business environment have greatly benefited foreign companies like Zotter.

"When we first entered the Chinese market, we were unfamiliar with many laws and regulations. However, the Shanghai government provided us with great support, and the local people were very friendly. We also found excellent partners who helped us resolve many issues," she said. "For a company like Zotter, which focuses on providing a consumer experience, it would have been difficult to implement our business model without this support."

Zotter has participated in every China International Import Expo (CIIE) since 2018, attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year. Reflecting on her experiences at the event, Julia described them as "very amazing."

"We exhibited chocolates of different flavors and designs at the Zotter booth, which attracted many people to visit and taste them. Because there were so many people queuing for the tastings, it even caused congestion," she recalled. This November, Zotter will unveil 50 new products at the CIIE and introduce an entirely new product line.

Through opportunities like the CIIE, Julia has also witnessed the resilience of the Chinese economy. "After the pandemic, China's consumption levels are recovering, and demand for high-quality products and services is increasing," she said, adding that both market demand for Zotter's chocolates and the number of visitors to the company's chocolate theater in China have grown.

"I am confident in the prospects of the Chinese economy because I believe China has the ability to overcome difficulties, allowing everyone to work together in the right direction," she added. ■