Global opportunities abound Starbucks opened its first store in China in 1998, after securing a licensing deal with Mei Da Coffee company. Today, the coffee giant operates nearly 18,000 retail stores in 60 countries. Nevertheless, Starbucks plans to have 1,500 locations in China by 2015, and 4,000 stores in the broader China and Asia-Pacific region by the end of 2013. At this rate, Starbucks' international business is on track to outpace that of Starbucks' U.S. division by 2022.