CGTN | 17-Aug-2020 | By Heather Hao
As China grows stronger on the world stage, Chinese enterprises have become an indispensable part in promoting global economic development. The number of Chinese enterprises on the Fortune Global 500 has increased in recent years and surpassed the U.S. this year.
A total of 133 Chinese companies (including those from Hong Kong and Taiwan) are among the 2020 ranking, compared with 121 American companies, a result of 25 years of painstaking efforts from 1995 to 2020. “When the Global 500 list first came out in 1990, there were no Chinese companies on the list. Three decades later, the Chinese economy has skyrocketed,” said Fortune editor-in-chief Cliff Leaf.
Three of the world’s top 10 companies on the list are from China, namely Sinopec, State Grid and China National Petroleum, two from the United States, and the other five from the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan.
Real estate and insurance companies stand out
China’s real estate industry also witnessed the country’s fast growth and the rapid improvement of people’s living standards in the past four decades. Five real estate companies are on this year’s list, and they are all Chinese companies. Country Garden Holdings moved up 30 spots to the 147th, with a revenue of 70.34 billion U.S. dollars, becoming the leader in the global real estate industry. Its return on equity (ROE) reached 26.2 percent.
Insurance companies moved up with the fastest speed. AIA Group moved up 138 spots, and Taikang Insurance Group moved up 74 spots on this year’s list, reflecting a maturing insurance market and people’s enhanced awareness of insurance. (Graphics by CGTN’s Chen Yuyang, Pan Yufei, and Du Chenxin) (Cover via VCG)
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