PAPA John's International Inc said yesterday it plans to open 500 outlets in China over the next five years as the country becomes the driving force for its global business expansion.

"China will be our No. 1 market (outside the United States) within five years," founder John H. Schnatter said yesterday in Shanghai where the company celebrated the opening of its 100th store in China since it entered the market in 2003.

The world's third largest pizza company plans to open more outlets, both wholly-owned and franchised, in the nation's tier-one cities as well as in rural areas as it aggressively expands to cover the whole country.

"We are in the infancy in China's food market and dining industry and the Chinese market will end up with more stores than the US," according to Nigel Travis, the company's president and chief executive officer. "We have built brand awareness, supply chain and hire people over the past five years. We saw it (China) as a base and an access to the future at a quicker pace."

The expansion of Papa John's is expected to challenge current market leader Pizza Hut, owned by Yum! Brands Inc, which entered the market 13 years earlier and now has 350 restaurants.

Revenue generated from China represented 18 percent of Papa John's international sales outside US last year and it is expected to rise to 22 percent this year, CFO David Flanery estimated.

Sales of Yum!, which has more than 2,400 stores, rose 27 percent to 21.5 billion yuan (US$3.07 billion) in China last year, according to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association.

McDonald's operates 870 restaurants in China, and sales jumped 22 percent to 5.5 billion yuan, according to the association.