Tencent buildings in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, in July Photo: IC

Chinese brands achieved robust growth and are becoming an increasingly important force on the global stage, as a report released on Monday showed that altogether, 18 brands from China made the cut in the ranking, making China the second most represented country after the US and extending its lead over Europe.

The report, by Kantar BrandZ^TM, said that Chinese brands have grown from 11 percent of the Top 100 value in 2011 to 14 percent now. European brands, in contrast, now represent 8 percent of the ranking's value versus 20 percent in 2011.

The number of Chinese brands in the ranking hit 18, including new entrants Pinduoduo and Ke. Out of the 15 brands that were in the Global Top 100 last year, 13 managed to grow their brand values, and eight moved up their positions in the ranking.

Both Tencent and Alibaba strengthened their positions in the global Top 10, and Tencent also became a member of the world's Top Five most valuable brands with a significant annual brand value increase of 60 percent. 

Chinese experts said the rankings reflect stabilized growth, which injected new optimism into Chinese consumers, and Chinese brands are good at adapting to changing consumer needs. They have been rewarded by higher loyalty. 

After China entered a new phase of development, more Chinese companies understood they needed to evolve from "China speed" to "China quality," and from "Chinese products to Chinese brands." So they never stopped investing in brand-building. even in the darkest moment, market watchers said. 

The brand list experienced record growth with the total worth reaching $7.1 trillion - equivalent to the combined GDPs of France and Germany. The 42-percent increase, more than four times the study's annual average percentage increase over the past 15 years, was driven by confidence derived from vaccine availability, economic stimulus packages and improving GDP outlooks. 

US brands account for 56 of the Top 100 brands, with Amazon and Apple leading the way - each now worth more than $500 billion.