Fast food giant McDonald's is planning to add 1,300 restaurants to its existing 2,200 over the next five years.

McDonald's is introducing healthy menu items in its China branches this year such as apple slices, veggie cups, and multigrain muffins. The restaurant chain hopes to make China the company's second largest market, beating US and Japan.

Like Us on Facebook

In the next five years, McDonald will open at least 250 restaurants yearly in the mainland and boost the rate of its franchised outlets beyond 30 percent, closer to the US' 90 pecent.

McDonald's expansion plans are also echoed by those of several other multinationals, particularly in the entertainment, sports, and casual-dining sectors. Starbucks aims to open 500 stores in China a year for the next five years, while Adidas AG is also planning to add 3,000 stores in this country over the same period for a total of 12,000 stores.

McDonald said last year it was closing 350 restaurants in China, Japan and the U.S. Ninety of those were in China. Chinese consumers are also increasingly health-conscious and skeptical of fast food. In addition, western chains face more competition from Chinese fast-food rivals. In a survey of 10,000 consumers across China, 51 percent said they consumed western fast food in 2015, down from 67 percent in 2012, according to a consultancy firm report by McKinsey & Co.

According to McDonald's, the company would add another 250 outlets in Hong Kong and South Korea over the same period and was seeking franchise partners in the all three markets, where it now has more than 2,800 restaurants.

TagsMcDonald, fast food, china, Health, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea