Taco Bell Will Open Its First Restaurant In China Later This Year

Taco Bell will open its first restaurant in China by the end of 2016, executives for parent company Yum! Brands have announced.

The company's two other chains, KFC and Pizza Hut, have expanded well in China, and KFC just opened its first location in Tibet — becoming the first Western chain to do so.

The China Taco Bell will be located in Shanghai, the country's largest city by population, with an estimated 24 million people.

"This will be the beginning of what could be a huge potential idea for China," said Greg Creed, CEO of Yum! Brands. "We'll know quickly" if Chinese markets are receptive to Taco Bell, Creed added.

Last year, Yum! Brands announced plans to spin off its operations in China into a separate company called Yum! China, which will oversee operations at all three Yum! restaurants. Franchisees of KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell will only pay three percent of revenue to Yum!, while franchisees in other countries pay six percent.