China, which recently celebrated its 60th anniversary, has an infatuation with some American brands. Take for example KFC. According to this report, if you ask a local Chinese what their favorite restaurant is and you're more than likely to hear KFC. So what are the secrets to KFC's success? How did they succeed when others failed to crack the world's biggest consumer market.

According to Warren Liu, a former executive linked to the company, it's all about relationships and execution. As outlined here, the first thing KFC China did was select partners with government connections. In China, relationships are the most important part of building a business. Whereas in the west, you do a deal and develop a relationship from there, in China it works the other way around.

The other thing they did was localize their offerings, offering congee or Chinese-style porridge for breakfast; beijing chicken roll (à la Beijing Duck) served with scallion and seafood sauce and spicy diced chicken resembling a popular Sichuan-style dish.

Their latest creation is you tiao or Chinese dough fritters.

In other words, KFC's Chinese strategy was to think and act as a local company, not as an American blow-in.