The market for commercial beverages in China realized decisive gains in the last decade, reports the first study of that gigantic market published by Beverage Marketing Corporation, the leading information and consulting resource for the worldwide beverage industry. The Multiple Beverage Market in China, 2000 edition, opens with an overview of the market as a whole, followed by a detailed analysis of each of the major beverage categories. "With the development of China's economy and the improvement of Chinese people's living standard," it declares, "consumption of commercial liquid beverages grew quickly throughout the 1990s, and the makeup of the typical beverage menu has changed significantly."The specification of commercial beverages relates to the fact, noted in the study, that more than 90% of the fluid the Chinese people drink is still non-commercial water. However, average annual per capita consumption of commercial beverages has been increasing steadily, passing 64 liters, or nearly 17 gallons, in 1999, it reports, and total volume of these beverages exceeded 800 million hectoliters, equal to more than 21 billion gallons.