Source?And if you think the money is in the actual operations - wrong. The real money (saved or made) is in the leases / real estate part of the transactions.
Read a research article about 6-12 months ago which indicated that McDonalds franchises will have to make big capital investments over the next few years to compete with the upcoming options, while it was a US based report, I can imagine that McDs is also keen to bring some cash into its coffers either for defensive or offensive moves it will need to make.
Also, it brings the China markets in line with the rest of the world, where McDs operates.