The emergence of China as an economic superpower

McDonald's is not McDonald's everywhere. Or at least it is not pronounced the same.

I had a very good Japanese friend invite her American friends repeatedly to go out to eat at Makudonarudo and every time she was turned down. Of course, had her friends saw the golden arches, they would have likely gone.

I would have still refused.

In China, McD's is pronounced My Don Low...

Ronald and Sinopec have signed a deal to develop drive thru restaurants at an undisclosed number of Sinopec's 30,000 gas stations.

Chinese have more cars now than ever. They have more now of everything than ever before.

Now they will have more Big Macs and super fries and clogged arteries and fat, too.

McDonald's opened its first restaurant in Shenzhen back in 1990...right outside my wife's apartment.  Now, there are about 750 golden arches to be found.

There are plans to make that number 1,000 by the 2008 games.

But, McD's execs think the country could eventually support 10,000.

I wonder what the number of burgers sold will say then.  100's of billions sold worldwide perhaps?

What do you think?