Logos are seen on Coca-Cola bottles.[Photo/Agencies]

Coca-Cola reported solid results in the second quarter, as global beverage sales rose 6 percent in both the quarter and year-to-date periods. Meanwhile, the company's business in China grew 21 percent in the first half as sales topped 1 billion units, equal to a full-year delivery for the company five years ago.

"Our (orange) juice brand Minute Maid Pulpy is the No 1 juice brand in China and continues to grow in double digits, ahead of our targets," said Kent. Minute Maid Pulpy is the first billion-dollar brand the company has originated outside of the United States.

China is Coca-Cola's third-largest market after the United States and Mexico. The beverage company now has more than 48,500 local employees and more than 40 bottling plants in China.

China's soft drinks market has maintained annual double-digit growth on average for more than 10 years. Sales of soft drinks, including soda, juice, tea and bottled water, almost doubled to 270 billion yuan ($41.5 billion) in 2010, according to the market researcher Euromonitor International.

At the end of 2010, Coca-Cola had market share of 17 percent in China, while the Tianjin-based food producer and distributor Tingyi Holding Corp held 13 percent and the Hangzhou-based food and beverages maker Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co Ltd was at 7 percent. Coca-Cola's US rival PepsiCo Inc was fourth in the list with 6 percent, said Euromonitor.

In 2010, Coca-Cola initiated its global "Vision 2020" target of doubling system revenues and servicing by the end of the decade and Kent said he sees China's role as a pillar of that strategy. "Some of the plants we are building in China are the most productive, most modern factories Coca-Cola has in the entire world," the CEO said.