List of American Companies in China

Some American companies having a large customer base in China are Apple, General Motors, Nike, Walmart, Microsoft, KFC, Starbucks, Adidas, and Coca-Cola. The list is long and the question is why the Chinese market is an attraction for American Companies to expand their business. The reason could be the huge population of China which was 667 million back in the 1960s and doubled in 2010 and now it is 1.4 billion.

The growth of the population was in such a way that an increase in middle-class people was seen. This huge increase was seen as An increase in consumers for the goods and skilled labourers for the American Companies to be set up. One of the reasons could be the policies of the Chinese government to attract such companies.

List of Top 10 American Companies in China

Some famous American companies holding a good share in the Chinese market with their industry product and the year of their arrival in China are mentioned below in the table:

S. No.	Company name	Establishment (Year)	Product TypeFried Chicken	City	Competition
1.	KFC	1987	Fast food, Beverages, and Ice Creams	Qianmen Beijing	MC Donald’s
2.	Apple	2008	Smartphones, Personal Computers, and Tablets	Sanlitun, Beijing	Huawei
3.	Tesla	2017	Electric Vehicles, Batteries, and Storage systems	Shanghai	BYD
4.	Nike	1981	Athletic footwear, and Accessories for Sports	Shanghai, China	LiNing, Adidas
5.	Starbucks	1999	Beverages, and Food	Beijing	Costa Coffee, and Luckin Coffee
6.	Procter & Gamble	1988	Grooming, Healthcare, Beauty, and Feminine products	Guangzhou	Johnson and Johnson, S.C. Johnson, and Unilever
7.	Walmart	1996	Grocery, Baby products, Clothing, etc.	Shenzhen	N/A
8.	Coca Cola	1920	Soft Drinks	Shanghai	Pepsico
9.	Boeing	1972	Commercial Planes, Defence Products, and Space Systems	Tianjin	Airbus, Embraer, and Bombardier
10.	Microsoft	1992	Operating Systems for PCs, and Phones	Haiden District, Beijing	Tencent

Top 10 American Companies in China

There are many American companies in China and some of them are discussed in detail here:

KFC

KFC was one of the most powerful foreign brands in China in 2013. Founded by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, and grew rapidly all over the mainland of China after 1987.

• History: KFC was the first Western fast food company after the opening of its first outlet in Qianmen, Beijing in 1987.  KFC was a stakeholder of 60% in a joint venture with Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Beijing Food Corporation.

• KFC hired veterans in the fast food industry from Taiwan instead of bringing from America itself.  In 1994, there were 28 KFC outlets in China, In 2007 it rose to 2000 outlets. KFC was franchised by YUM CHINA.

• Current scenario: KFC has now adapted to the taste of China. When it first arrived it was not that welcomed but now is seen as a model of globalisation on. The most selling is the Zinger Burger in the menu and it has also added rice congee and other native items to suit the taste of customers.

• KFC V’S McDonald’s: MC DONALD’S entered China 3 years later than KFC in 1990, in China KFC is considered as more native while MC Donald’s is still considered as a foreign thing. The annual expansion speed of KFC in China was 70% while that of McDonald’s was 25%.

Apple

Apple is on the list of American companies in China. Apple is a multinational company that was founded in 1976; having its headquarters in California between 2011 and 2024 it was the company with the largest capitalization when it became second to Microsoft.

• History: Apple was slow to establish itself in China, it began marketing the iPhone in China after 2009. In 2011, it only had six outlets in Beijing, Hongkong and Shanghai. Originally Apple faced a lot of competition from Samsung.

• Current scenario: Apple’s revenue from China hits $40.31 billion in 2021. Apple stood in the first place for smartphones in China in 2023. In the first week of 2024, the shares are much down.

• Competition: Apple faces stiff competition in China’s smartphone market. In 2016, Apple sold approximately 43 million units but Huawei was the first with 75 million units followed by Oppo and Xiaomi. In 2013, Apple faced huge competition from Samsung as well.

Tesla

Tesla is a multinational American company with its headquarters in Austin. It is an automotive and clean energy company Tesla recently made its position in the list of American companies in China, some of the details of the company are as follows:

• History: Originally Tesla cars were exported to China from the US where they were manufactured, until Tesla had a disadvantage. In 2017 Chinese tech giant Tencent bought a 5% stake in Tesla when manufacturing started in China itself and the first factory was set up in Shanghai.

• Current scenario: The graph of revenue that Tesla owns from China has been rising since 2020. Tesla got $21.75 billion from China in 2023 which is 25% of the total revenue of Tesla.

• Competition: The biggest competition of Tesla in making electric vehicles is BYD which has already topped the results by the end of 2023. BYD aims at selling 3 million vehicles along with hybrids while Tesla doesn’t make hybrids.

Nike

Nike is a multinational American company in China that is the world’s largest supplier of athletic shoes and sports equipment, the headquarters of the company is in Beaverton, United States.

• History: Started in China in 1981, it sponsored many clubs and sports-related events. In 2008, Nike was selected to host the Olympics during which it made a huge impact, the sales increased by 53% but after that, it could not maintain the pace and the global business fell back. In 2013, it came with a new strategy which increased sales again in 2014-2015.

• Current scenario: Worldwide revenue of Nike was $46.7 billion of which from China was $7.2 billion. China is its second biggest market after the US.

• Competition: Nike is facing challenges from the local brands. Li-Ning and Anta have achieved growth of 15% in their sales and have been a competition to Nike.

Starbucks

Starbucks, one of the American companies in China, is a chain of coffee houses. Its headquarters are in Seattle, Washington, and was founded in 1971. It has become the biggest chain of coffee houses.

• History: Started in 1999 in Beijing, it launched 2 stores in Beijing in 2013, in 2017, it launched its single-origin Chinese coffee beans known as Starbucks Yunnan coffee.

• Current scenario: The revenue of Starbucks from China was approximately $5.1 billion. The revenues have increased 51% from the previous year. China currently has 6800 Starbucks stores.

• Competition: Luckin coffee, and Costa coffee have been one of the major competitors of Starbucks in China. Luckin Coffee has 10000+ stores in China while Starbucks is revolving around 6000+ stores. Luckin Coffeea offers much more affordable and online ordering options making it difficult for Starbucks.

P&G

P&G is a multinational American company for consumer goods having its headquarters in Ohio. It was founded in 1837 and now has become one of the major American companies in China.

• History: P&G entered China as a joint Venture with the Hongkong company, Hutchison. The first product produced was head & shoulder shampoo which occupied over 15% of the market. The next product was crest toothpaste. In 1991 the total sales made up $50 million which raised to $5 billion in 2009.

• Current scenario: The headquarters of P&G are in Guangzhou, it employs over 8000 people in China. It is one of the companies that produces large amounts of consumer goods.

• Competition: P&G is one of the most successful foreign companies in China, but still faces competition from companies such as Unilever.

Walmart

Walmart is also on the list of American companies in China. Walmart operates a chain of supermarkets, discount stores and grocery stores. The headquarters are in Bentonville.

• History: The first Walmart store opened in 1996, in Shenzhen. By 2003 it had 31 stores, which became 353 in 2011. In 2006, the sales rose to $2 billion. It is the seventh largest exporter in China. In 2010, Walmart’s market share was 11.2 among the supermarkets.

• Current scenario: Walmart is increasing its sales by adopting a new Walmart that has more than 400 stores and 21 distribution centres in China. The total sales of Walmart is about $40.5 billion of which China contributes to $14.7 billion.

• Competition: Though it faces some competition from local companies, it is one of the largest consumer goods-selling companies in China.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola is a multinational company that manufactures carbonated soft drinks. The headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2013, it became the country having its stores in 200 countries.

• History: It came to China in 1920, but the first product was not launched until the 1970s. This was mainly due to a lack of resources.

• Current scenario: Coca-Cola has over 45 factories in China giving jobs to over 48000 workers. Sprite is the most famous soft drink in China, manufactured by Coca-Cola. It holds a share of 62% in the market of soda.

• Competition: The shareholding of the most powerful competitor of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Coca-Colais 36% in the carbonated drinks while Coca-Colaa holds a share of 55%.

Boeing

Boeing is a multinational American company that designs, manufactures and sells aircraft, rotorcraft, satellites, and telecommunication equipment. The headquarters of the company are in Virginia, US.

• History: Boeing has always had a strong relationship with China since 1972. It was introduced to China when American President Richard Nixon visited China. 

• Current scenario: Over the last three years, China has taken delivery of every one of the four airlines. It holds more than 50% of the share market in China. Trips of passengers have increased up to 16%. A new project for 7,240 aircraft has been given to Boeing China valued over $1.1 trillion.

Microsoft

Microsoft is a multinational American company that designs applications for Android users. The headquarters are in Redmond, Washington. The most famous software products are the Windows line of operation systems & the Microsoft 365.

• History: Microsoft officially entered China in 1992. In 1998, Microsoft opened Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA) in Beijing.

• Current scenario: China holds less than 2% of Microsoft’s total revenue.

Conclusion

China being a country with a large population, especially a huge middle class, has a great opportunity for foreign companies to expand their business by utilising skilled and cheap labour and huge consumer goods demand. The government’s liberation policies are also one of the reasons. This can be one of the reasons why China emerged as the leading exporter in the world.

FAQs – List of American Companies in China

How many total companies in the USA are in China?

As per the survey of China Briefing, there are a total of 8,619 US Companies which are established and running in China.

Which is the biggest foreign company in China?

Hon Hai Precision, commonly referred as Foxconn, Volkswagen, and Apple are among the largest foreign companies in China.

How many major US companies are owned by China?

There are around 2,400 US companies which is owned by the Chinese investors and firms, which employs around 114,000 people.

Does China own Burger King?

There is a no mention of US Burger Brand, Burger King being purchased by any Chinese company or investor.

Which is the highest-paid company in China?

Alibaba company is known for the highest paid company in China with the average monthly salary of $5,000 for the employees.