Starbucks Plans to Double Stores in China in 5 Years

NEW YORK (AP) — Starbucks is pushing ahead with its expansion into China and says it is on track to having 5,000 stores there by 2021, more than doubling the number of coffee shops it currently has in the country.

The coffee chain is looking to China to fuel the company's growth. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has said that China could one day surpass the U.S. as its largest market. Starbucks Corp., which is based in Seattle, has about 13,000 stores in the U.S.

To oversee the expansion, Starbucks named Belinda Wong as the first CEO of its Chinese business. Wong was president of Starbucks China, and has worked for the company for 16 years.