US quick-service food chain Panda Restaurant Group has disowned a new restaurant in Chinese city of Kunming bearing the Panda Express brand.

Panda Express, which in the US serves American-style Chinese cuisine, said the group will consider all legal options to protect its intellectual property rights in China.

Andrew Cherng, co-founder and joint CEO of Panda Restaurant Group released a statement that the Panda Express restaurant in China is not affiliated in any way with Panda Express and Panda Restaurant Group. 

“I am telling everyone truthfully that the recent hype in China recently on America’s Panda Express Opens a Restaurant in Yunnan’ is fake. It is a fraud.”

The Chinese Panda Express reportedly opened in July. Aside from a similar logo, the menu also includes the US chain’s popular Kung Pao Chicken and Tangerine Peel Chicken.

The management of its landlord, Chenggong Seazen Wuyue Plaza, told news portal Thepaper.cn that it was reviewing the outlet’s credentials . Earlier, centre management plaza told Jiemian News that the restaurant was not a fake, and that it had signed a contract with an intermediary, Shenzhen Xiguifu Catering Management.

The Panda Express restaurant in Kunming, Yunnan Province in southern China has been closed pending investigation for the alleged unauthorised operation and trademark infringement.

Panda Express was founded by Chinese American couple Andrew and Peggy Cherng in 1983 with more than 2000 branches across the US. It also operates in Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Mexico, El Salvador, the Philippines, South Korea and the UAE.