Coke's history in China

Business

Coke's history in China

Coke has a long history in China, it built its first bottling plant there immediately after WWI.

People form the shape of China during a Coke celebration.

A vintage Coca-Cola advertisement from the '20s.

Coca-Cola trucks line up along a dirt street in China in the '20s. Coca-Cola products currently account for 35 percent of China's carbonated beverage market and generate annual sales of up to $1.2 billion, according to press reports.

The Pudong business district skyline rises above an advertisement for Coca-Cola in Shanghai, China in 2004.

A Coke celebration in August 2007 at the Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai. These are people walking as if pouring out of a Coke bottle to form the shape of China below.

A Chinese worker checks bottling line of Coca-Cola at Shanghai Shen-Mei Beverage and Food Co. Ltd. in 2000 in Shanghai.

Vendors in a 1920s photo. Coke employed about 14,000 in China in 2000.

Coke was the first U.S. company to distribute its products in China after Deng Xiaoping opened the country to foreign investors in 1979. Here, carts carrying chilled beverages hit the streets.

Coke has a long history in China, it built its first bottling plant there immediately after WWI. Here, trucks and their drivers line up for a photo. Following are more historical photos of Coke's presence in China in the early 20's.

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People form the shape of China during a Coke celebration.

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