According to the latest rankings released by “Fortune,” China’s Top 500 companies in 2026, state-owned enterprises continue to firmly hold the core of the Chinese economy, while the proportion and rankings of private enterprises continue to decline. The real estate industry has experienced a sharp downturn. Analysis suggests that over the past six years, the list has revealed a continued acceleration of the trend of “state advancing, private retreating” in the Chinese economy.
The “Fortune China 500” list is organized and published by the American financial magazine “Fortune” and its China/Asia team.
Released on July 21, 2026, the “Fortune China 500” list shows a significant decline in the proportion of private enterprises in China, while the proportion of state-owned enterprises has correspondingly increased.
In 2026, the 500 listed Chinese companies had a total revenue of $14.26 trillion, showing only a 0.3% increase compared to the companies on the list in 2025. The net profit increased by about 5% compared to the previous year.
With China’s GDP reaching $19.63 trillion in 2025, the total revenue of the 500 companies on this year’s list is close to three-quarters of China’s GDP for that year.
China expert Mike Li’s analysis indicates that the top three on the 2026 “Fortune China 500” list are State Grid, PetroChina, and Sinopec, with state-owned enterprises occupying 80% of the top 100 spots, while private enterprises only hold a 20% share. Industries in the top ranks are concentrated in energy, power, infrastructure, and finance, showing the state-owned enterprises’ dominant monopoly position.
For instance, the top-ranked “State Grid” almost monopolizes China’s mainland power grid, amassing substantial revenue from its extensive market, with an annual revenue of $555.37 billion, a 1.3% year-on-year growth, and a profit of $11 billion, showing a growth rate of 10.7%.
The highest-ranking private enterprise, JD Group, ranked 9th, with annual revenue of $182.1 billion, a 13.1% increase from the previous year, but with a profit of only $2.7 billion, plunging by 52.5%, and a profit margin of just 1.5%.
Regarding the ranking in 2026, Mike believes that the top companies are still heavily concentrated in traditional industries such as energy, infrastructure, and finance rather than in the technology or consumer service sectors. However, the technology sector is rapidly catching up, a situation worth noting.
In terms of the geographical distribution of the headquarters of the “Fortune China 500” companies in 2026, they are highly concentrated in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, with Beijing, as the political center of the CCP, having an absolute advantage with 92 listed companies and leading in terms of revenue and profit. Industries mainly focus on energy, power, finance, military, communications, and construction.
Mike believes that the concentration of the “Fortune China 500” companies in Beijing reflects the absolute control of the CCP over core industries.
Over the past six years (from 2020 to 2026), the changes in the ranking of the “Fortune China 500” reflect the shifts in the Chinese economic environment and its underlying logic.
Mike points out that the significant trend over the past six years is the exit and substantial decline in ranking of enterprises that once represented the private economy in China, especially concentrated in real estate, traditional manufacturing, and internet-related industries. At the same time, state-owned enterprises have seen an increase in proportion in energy and finance.
This change aligns perfectly with the CCP’s economic policy of “expanding and strengthening state-owned enterprises,” as emphasized by Mike.
The top 10 rankings have been dominated by major state-owned enterprises such as State Grid, PetroChina, Sinopec, China Construction, and the four major state-owned banks, indicating that the Chinese economy is still primarily dominated by state capital. In recent years, the revenue growth rates of traditional industries like energy and finance have slowed down, and although the rankings at the top remain stable, their growth potential is noticeably inferior to emerging industries.
Regarding the 2026 “Fortune China 500” rankings, the publication also notes that while state-owned enterprises still maintain the top positions, their growth rates are showing signs of fatigue. The real estate industry has faced an unprecedented reshuffle, with leading real estate companies such as Country Garden, Vanke, and Greenland experiencing revenue declines of over 30%, resulting in a sharp decline in their rankings and making them the biggest underperformers on the list.
In 2020, large real estate companies such as Evergrande, Country Garden, and Vanke held important positions on the list. Country Garden was ranked 19th, Evergrande 20th, Greenland 21st, and Vanke 27th.
By 2026, Country Garden’s ranking dropped from 19th to 167, Greenland from 21st to 146, Vanke from 27th to 125, and Evergrande fell off the list.
From 2024 to 2026, many real estate companies have experienced significant revenue contractions, rapid declines in rankings, and some have exited the list, indicating that the real estate industry has transitioned from being a pillar of the Chinese economy to a high-risk sector.
Looking at the 2026 “Fortune” list, the emerging energy vehicle industry is rapidly emerging. In 2020, new energy vehicle companies were still emerging forces, but over the following six years, companies like BYD and Xiaopeng Motors have seen rapid rises in their rankings.
In addition, AI and high-end manufacturing are beginning to replace internet companies, becoming the new protagonists. In the early 2020s, the most attention was on companies like Alibaba and Tencent. However, by 2026, “Fortune” deems that the most important new phenomenon on the list has shifted towards AI hardware supply chains, semiconductors, electronic manufacturing, and computational infrastructure.
According to a report by “Securities Times,” in recent times, several Chinese local governments, including Beijing and Shanghai, have launched new rounds of support policies for the artificial intelligence industry. The CCP’s various levels of government actively support AI through measures such as subsidies for domestic chip procurement, computational power, and various incentives.
As reported by the “Wall Street Journal,” China is currently accelerating the development of artificial intelligence to narrow the gap with the United States and keep pace with American competitors.
The report points out that China’s economic reality is characterized by a “dual-speed economy,” with rapid advancements in high technology juxtaposed with domestic downturns. China’s soaring export data and emerging technologies overshadow the harsh economic reality domestically and the growing army of underemployed individuals.
On July 23, “Radio Free Asia” reported during the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Conference that over the past decade, the CCP has promoted infrastructure and digital technology worldwide through initiatives like “Belt and Road” and “Digital Silk Road.” Now, China is beginning to promote AI technology globally, which could potentially become “Belt and Road 2.0.”
Experts quoted in the report emphasize that the CCP is placing all its bets on AI concerning politics, the economy, society, and its international status. AI has been elevated to a national strategic priority, with experts warning that China’s use of AI poses a security threat to other nations.
In addition to real estate and so-called “new quality production forces,” AI seems to be the new lifeline for the CCP. However, international investment bank Goldman Sachs believes that the AI industry may not be able to sustain China’s economic growth rate.
In a report by “Caixin,” Goldman Sachs’ Chief Economist for China, Shen Hui, pointed out during a media exchange event that industries like high technology and AI, while showing rapid growth and significant contributions to GDP, were set to slow down as the industries mature, weakening their overall impact on GDP.
Shen highlighted that over the past 20 years, China’s investment rate in the economy has reached 40% or even higher, with some industries currently facing overcapacity issues, oversupply in real estate, and leading infrastructure globally. With the possibility of investment dropping gradually to below 30% of the GDP in the future, the overall trend is not optimistic.