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Walmart plans further expansion in China

SHENZHEN, China — Walmart is looking to further expand in China, where it has had a presence since 1996, and now has more than 400 stores.

The aisles and products look familiar, but the flavor is distinctly Chinese.

Walmart and Sam's Clubs in China are a blend of American and Chinese tastes, such as pan-fried peanuts next to pizza.

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Since opening its first China store in the city of Shenzhen, the U.S. retailer has expanded its footprint over the past two decades.

Walmart now has stores in 180 cities and districts across the sprawling country.

A Walmart China executive, Daniel Shih, said the company has experienced steady growth, making China one of Walmart's most important international markets.

"For 22 years now, we continue to grow our business. Today we have more than 400 stores and 21 Sam's Clubs in China across 180 cities and districts in China," said Shih. "China is a very important market. The spending power, the market potential is phenomenal. It's been like that for the last many years. We actually saw our strongest growth in business performance just last year. So things have been good. We are very committed to this market ... We plan to open another 30 to 40 retail outlets, including and covering all formats, whether it be hypermarkets, supermarkets or Sam's Clubs."

Experts say China's efforts to improve its business environment and further open up its markets will provide more vitality to foreign companies in China.