BEIJING — Chinese authorities are investigating whether Coca-Cola Co. employees improperly used location-finding technology in violation of restrictions on map-making.

Coca-Cola said Thursday it was cooperating with investigators. It said some of its bottling plants use mapping and that is widely available commercially in China to improve the efficiency of deliveries.

Coca-Cola employees in the southwestern province of Yunnan were found improperly using handheld global positioning system devices, the deputy director of the national surveying agency said.

It was one of 21 similar cases involving employees of companies using devices to ‘‘illegally obtain classified information,’’ said the official, Li Pengde, according to the China National Radio website.

Beijing tightly controls map-related activities due to national security concerns and political sensitivities about the location of its borders.