A successful coffee tale from a true believer

Rising middle class boosts US company's confidence in China

Seventeen years ago, when Starbucks Corp opened its first store in Beijing, the idea was flayed by many as they felt that coffee did not have a chance in a tea-drinking nation like China.

"That has all changed. We now have 2,000 stores in 90 Chinese cities and the country is probably the largest international market for us, even larger than the United States," said Howard Schultz, chairman, president and chief executive officer of the US-based global coffee chain Starbucks Corp.