Compared with 1990, McDonald's menu in China has grown and includes foods tweaked for local tastes to satisfy consumers.
But Schwartz says that the hamburger and fries Western style is still at the heart of the Chinese menus.
"We do extensive focus group studies of Chinese consumers, and one of the things that Chinese consumers say over and over again is that 'we come to you because you are a Western brand, if we want to rice or congee we can eat at home or in Chinese restaurants, we want to sample the Western brand,'" he says.
Some of the menu ideas developed in China have been exported to other markets around the world. Take corn cup as an example, it was invented by the McDonald's China research and development center and proved to be very popular due to its healthy content and flavor and it has been introduced to other Asian marketplaces.
Skinner visited China in August for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, as McDonald's was an official partner of the event.
"We are very proud to be here," says the global CEO.
The mainland's fast-food market was worth almost $200 billion last year and was growing 16 percent per year, sources from the Ministry of Commerce say.
"We are going to continue our growth at a faster rate in China, while it has little to do with the association with Olympics, China is a huge market with great opportunities for businesses around the world, and it's no different for McDonald's," he adds.
Editor:Du Xiaodan