Chinese Companies Outnumber American on Fortune's Global 500 List

What happened The Fortune Global 500, based on revenues, gives a yearly look into the state of global business. For the second consecutive year, there are more companies based in Greater China than in the US featured in the ranking – 133 vs. 121. The top five is dominated by three Chinese companies (Sinopec Group, State Grid and China National) while other notable spots go to Huawei (in at No. 49) and Tencent Holdings (listed at No. 197). And, just narrowly missing the top 100, JD.com featured at 102 (up 37 places from 2019). The Jing Take Since the list started, China has gone from being absent (in the 1990s) to topping the ranking. The interim three decades have seen China’s economy soar, to the point that now even COVID-19 has failed to decimate its GDP to anything like the extents that other countries are experiencing. Notably, the ranking comes at the peak of US-China tensions, amid continued attacks on Chinese companies’ operations by Trump. The latest executive order threatening the app, WeChat, could well backfire given that Chinese consumers in the US use it to make payments. With the dominance of domestic monopolies and resultant stranglehold on American innovation, Trump’s America contrasts sharply with China’s continued salvo. Can his tit for tat baiting really impact it? This latest ranking would seem to say no. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

Chinese Companies Outnumber American on Fortune's Global 500 List

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Published August 10, 2020

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Chinese Companies Outnumber American on Fortune's Global 500 List