This article reports an analysis of the Chinese discourse on McDonald’s during three historical periods: 1978-1991, 1992-2000, and 2001-2012. It finds that the Chinese discourse had gradually diversified in its content and agents involved. It argues that the evolving meaning of McDonald’s in China was a product of, and closely reflected, China’s pluralizing political and economic structure. The Chinese case illustrates that, to acquire a balanced and nuanced understanding of brand meaning, scholars should not only examine agency but also structure so as to avoid the pitfalls of either blind pessimism or naïve optimism.