Chinese spoons

I had hoped that this simple conundrum would have been answered already, but I can’t find anything about it in the archives.

Why are the spoons in Chinese restaurants shaped the way they are: deep, with flat bottoms and little channels in the handle? Are they really supposed to be used teh same way Westerners use spoons? Do they have some other use besides for eating soup?

You guys should know. How about it?