Burger King Corporation, the global fast-food chain, has opened its 12,000th restaurant, and it's located in Beijing's Joy City.

The opening supports the company's overall growth strategy and its commitment to strengthening the Burger King brand presence around the world.

According to John Chidsey, the chairman and chief executive officer of Burger King Corp, the brand grew more than 3% on a net new unit basis in the fiscal year 2009, a growth rate at the top of the industry, and the company is on target to open an additional 250 to 300 net new restaurants during the fiscal year 2010.

The 12,000th Burger King restaurant is located in Beijing's Joy City and is the first Burger King restaurant in Beijing's busy downtown Xidan area. The opening follows the brand's entry into Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xiamen and Suzhou.

According to Peter Tan, the president for Asia-Pacific of Burger King Corp, the group has opened more restaurants in the Asia-Pacific region in 2009 than during the last four years combined and they plan to open even more new restaurants this year.

There are currently 25 Burger King restaurants in China.