China may boast a 5,000-year-old culinary tradition, but when it comes to fast food, Western-style outlets rule. For this you can thank-or blame-changing consumer tastes, and the breathless expansion plans of chain restaurants, which are eager to grab a bigger slice of the country's estimated annual Rmb2oo billion ($29 billion) fast-food market.rnFor two decades the battle for the modern Chinese stomach was fought between two American giants: McDonald's, the world's largest fast-food chain; and Yum! Brands, which operates the kfc and Pizza Hut brands in China. Yum!, which first arrived in China in 1987 (three years before McDonald's), has always stayed ahead of its rival-going by both the number of restaurants and consumers' awareness of the brand. In 2005 the two titans were joined by another American stalwart, Burger King, the world's second-largest burger chain.rnIn April Burger King had just 12 outlets on the mainland, including nine in Shanghai. But after this cautious start, the company is pushing ahead with a faster store roll-out: in June it announced plans to open between 250 and 300 outlets in China over the next five years, including" another ten restaurants in Shanghai.
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