Walmart has spent the last six years as Fortune 500's number one company. The discount retailer first entered China in the 1990s, and today has stores all over the country. So how can they make it a seventh straight year at number one, and what is their outlook for China? CGTN's Zou Yun reports.  

Pan-fried peanuts next to pizza. This blend of American and Chinese tastes is easy to find at Walmart Supercenters here in China. Since opening its first China store in 1996 in the city of Shenzhen, the US retailer has expanded its footprint tremendously over the past 2 decades.

DANIEL SHIH SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WALMART CHINA "For 22 years, 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."

Along with the explosive expansion is the company's steady growth; momentum that has made China one of Wal-Mart's most important international markets.

DANIEL SHIH SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WALMART CHINA "China is an important market, the spending power, market potential is phenomenal, it's been like that for the last many years. We see our strongest growth just last year. Things been good. We are very committed to this market."

Steven Zhou has witnessed all of these developments. Joining the company when it first entered the Chinese market, Zhou says Walmart has made great adjustments over the years to cater to Chinese shoppers' tastes.

STEVEN ZHOU GENERAL MANAGER, SHENZHEN WALMART STORE "We explored the preferences and tastes of ordinary Chinese consumers, and then adjusted our SKUs from 20 thousand to 30 thousand. We even offer deep-fried dough sticks in the morning. In our store alone, we could sell 25 to 30 thousand in one day."

ZOU YUN SHENZHEN "Live fish, chicken feet, pig guts, these are products you probably wouldn't find at a Walmart in the United States. But they're very common at Wal Marts in China. The stores are already stocking mooncakes. All these are part of Walmart's efforts to better adapt to the tastes of Chinese consumers."

Moreover, Walmart has not only etched a firm spot in China's retail sector, but also maneuvered into China's burgeoning e-commerce market, which is the world's largest. In 2016, Walmart announced a strategic alliance with JD, China's second largest e-commerce firm, and has since created a new impetus.

DANIEL SHIH SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WALMART CHINA "I think we have seen significant growth in our sales, as well as sales from omni channels, online to offline. Two years ago we invested 50 million dollars in JD Daojia to form a strategic partnership with them. And we invested an additional 320 million US dollars to strengthening our collaboration. It's because we have seen great outcomes from those initiatives."

Experts say China's continuous efforts in improving its business environment as it further opens up its markets will provide more vitality to foreign companies in China.

LI YONG, SENIOR FELLOW CHINA ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL TRADE "They have been welcomed, and they are respected for their contributions to China's economic growth. They are going to be treated as local companies, they already have national treatment, and they'll continue to be treated as local companies."

As for Walmart, they are also excited to see the future of China's retail business.

DANIEL SHIH SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, WALMART CHINA "We spent and plan to spend 300 million RMB to remodel and renovate our stores. We plan to open another 30-40 retail outlets, including and covering all formats, higermarkets, supermarkets and Sam's Clubs."

And all of these investments are a testament of Walmart's commitments to the Chinese market. ZY, CGTN, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province.