China published the 2021 list of the 500 largest Chinese companies. / CFP
China published the 2021 list of the 500 largest Chinese companies. / CFP
China published its 2021 list of the 500 largest Chinese companies on Saturday, which showed improved performance and increased spending on research and development by companies.
The new list, released by the China Enterprises Federation and the China Enterprise Managers Association for the 20th consecutive year, showed that the combined net profit of companies rose 4.59 percent year on year to 4.07 trillion yuan ($629.6 billion).
The total revenue of the largest Chinese 500 companies increased by 4.43 percent year on year, while the total revenue of the global Fortune 500 companies decreased by 4.81 percent year on year.
China’s State Grid Corporation topped the list, followed by China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical Corporation, and China State Construction Engineering Corporation.
Among the 500 largest Chinese companies in 2021, 222 companies recorded revenues of more than 100 billion yuan, up from 217 companies the previous year.
Meanwhile, the industrial structure of the 500 largest enterprises continued to be improved, and the number of enterprises in emerging strategic industries and modern service industries continued to increase. Among the 500 largest Chinese companies in 2021, 249 are in the manufacturing industry and 176 are in the service industry.
In addition, R&D spending totaled 1.31 trillion yuan, up 21.5 percent year on year.
The list shows that the top 500 Chinese companies own more than a quarter of the country’s patents. In 2021, these companies hold 1.45 million patents, an increase of 16.89 percent year on year.