KUNMING - Starbucks opens its farmer support center Wednesday in Pu'er city in Southwest China's Yunnan province to ensure a long-term supply of high-quality coffee beans from the province.

John Culver, president of Starbucks Coffee China and Asia Pacific, said the center, the first of its kind in Asia, will closely cooperate with farmers to provide them with resources and expertise, as well as promote more environmentally friendly coffee growing and processing methods.

Satrbucks has established similar centers in Costa Rica, Rwanda and Tanzania to aid local coffee farmers and complete the company's value chain.

Starbucks first entered China in 1999 and has focused on opening chain stores in cities around the country. Last year it announced a plan to triple its number of Chinese stores to 1,500 by 2015.

China is the coffee chain's second-largest market after the United States.