McDonald's to open 2,000 new restaurants in China

Shanghai, Aug 8 (IANS) The US fast-food chain McDonald's announced on Tuesday it is set to open nearly 2,000 new restaurants in China over five years as part of a strategic partnership with Citic and the Carlyle Group.

McDonald's Corporation said in a statement that it sealed a strategic partnership with these two companies to operate and manage McDonald's businesses in mainland China and Hong Kong, Efe news reported.

"China will soon become our largest market outside of the US. We are excited to join forces with Citic and Carlyle for better localised decision-making to meet changing customer demands in this dynamic market," McDonald's President and CEO Steve Easterbrook said in the statement.

The partnership deal has been approved by China and was sealed on July 31 with which McDonald's largest franchise outside the US is to be created.

The new partnership announced a series of initiatives under "Vision 2022" which, among other things, include increasing the number of restaurants in mainland China from 2,500 to 4,500.