A worker welds a product at a bioreactor factory in Lianyungang, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 23, 2024. Local government has been conducting a series of measures such as financing facilitation and talent introduction, ensuring the high-quality development of local companies in emerging industries. Photo: VCG

China's top 500 private enterprises have posted steady performances with rising revenue and a greater focus on innovation, an industrial ranking showed.

The All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on Saturday released the 2024 list of China's top 500 private enterprises, with JD.com, Alibaba and Hengli Group securing the top three spots.

According to an analysis released alongside the list, in 2023, the total operating income of the top 500 private enterprises was 41.91 trillion yuan ($5.93 trillion), with an average income of 83.822 billion yuan, an increase of 5.22 percent over the previous year. 

Notably, total assets were 49.85 trillion yuan, with an average income of 99.694 billion yuan, up 7.64 percent over the previous year.

The top 500 private enterprises are heavily focused on manufacturing. The number of manufacturing enterprises accounts for 66.4 percent of the top 500, and the proportion has increased for three consecutive years.

These companies are accelerating their digital and green transformations, as more than 60 percent of them have implemented a digital transformation.

In terms of innovation capabilities, the total research and development expenses of the top 500 private enterprises stood at 1.05 trillion yuan, and they had 666,700 valid patents, up 9.39 percent over the previous year.

This is the 26th survey of China's major private enterprises conducted by the federation. A total of 9,642 companies, each with annual revenue of more than 500 million yuan, participated in the survey.  

The report came after China's Ministry of Justice and the National Development and Reform Commission published a draft of the private-sector promotion law to solicit public opinion on October 10.

The draft, with 77 articles in nine chapters, features equal treatment and protection of private-sector businesses. 

It includes provisions on ensuring private businesses' fair participation and competition in the market, improving the investment and financing environment for these businesses, supporting their technological innovation, optimizing services for them and strengthening the protection of their rights and interests.

The National Development and Reform Commission said that private capital has been introduced in all five newly approved nuclear power projects in China, with the share of private enterprises standing at 10 percent for the first time.

Global Times