ByHEWEIin Shanghai
[email protected]C
hinese corporations are
rising rapidly in the global
economy, withChina over-
taking the United States
for the first time in the number of
companies ranked on the Fortune
Global 5 00 list.
The list, released on July 22,
includes 129Chinese enterprises,
compared with 121 for the US.
Chinese businesses have not only
grown in scale, but their technologi-
cal prowess and improving balance
sheets are reshap-
ing the global
business land-
scape, according
to experts.
The emergence
oflargecompanies
has been one pillar driving the coun-
trytowardasustainablegrowthpath,
and this has putChina well ahead of
other emerging economies, they said.
“As a matter of fact,China reach-
ing parity with the US on big enter-
prises indicates the torrents of merg-
ers and acquisition activities aiming
to forge globally influential conglom-erates are starting to pay off,” said
Jiang Qingyun, a business profes-
sor at the School of Management at
Fudan University. “It’s a reflection
of the country’s economic strength.”
AMcKinsey Global Institute study
confirmed such momentum by sur-
veying the growth patterns of 71
emerging economies.China is at the
top of the seven economies that have
achieved GDP per capita growth of
3.5 percent and more annually for
50 years.
The study cited e-commerce giant
Alibaba Group as an example. It has
been helping smallerChinese com-
panies expand exports by providing
guarantees to importers, which is a
proven track for sustainable devel-
opment.
Chinese companies also excel in
innovation, as technological power-
houses make strides.
Huawei moved up to 61 from last
year’s 72.Among the 1 0 companies
that have the biggest jumps in rank-
ings, six come fromChina, including
Alibaba, which was up 118 spots to
182, as well as Tencent, which moved
up 94 places to 237.
“History has showed how compa-
nies in the so-called new economyrealm have injected growth oppor-
tunities in the US,” said Zhuo Fumin,
chairman of VstarCapital.
During a venture capital-themed
forum held by Fudan University,
Zhuo said the fostering ofChinese
companies in the digital area, such
as providing better financing chan-
nelslike the new STAR Market at the
Shanghai Stock Exchange, is bound
to catapult them to the forefront of
the next wave of economic growth.
This performance matches what
other indicators suggest. The lat-
est Global Innovation Index: Ener-
gizing the World with Innovation,
published on July 24, has identified
China as a progressive innovator.
Theindex,acollaborationbetween
Cornell University, graduatebusiness
school INSEADandtheWorldIntel-
lectual Property Organization, devel-
opsaglobalinnovativerankingbased
on 129 economies’ 8 0 indicators.
These include traditional measure-
ments, such as research and develop-
ment investment and international
patent and trademark applications,
as well as newer indicators like app
creation and high-tech exports.
According toBruno Lanvin, the
executive director of Global Indicesat INSEAD,China broke into the
top 2 0 of the index last year and
continued to make progress in the
area of quality of innovation, where
it remains a strong leader among
middle-income countries and is
“important in the longer run”.
He saidChina maintained its first
place in quality of innovation among
middle-income economies for the
seventh consecutive year, improv-
ingitsperformanceinallinnovation
quality metrics, and ranked third in
the quality of universities.
“Based on such data, it is likely
that the number ofChinese tech
companies in the Fortune Global 5 00
will increase, especially in sectors of
the ‘new economy’ (like platforms
and artificial intelligence) in which
access to large data sets is a strategic
advantage,” he said.
“Innovation is crucial forChina,
since it can help the country’s econ-
omy overcome the ‘middle income
trap’, a situation in which economic
growth slows down as an emerging
market reaches middle income,”
Panos Mourdoukoutas, an econom-
ics professor at LIU Post, a private
university in New York, wrote in a
Forbes column published on July 24.“AlthoughChinese corporations
are beginning to match theirAmeri-
can counterparts in siz and inno-e
vation, they have yet to develop a
matching profitability clout in the
world economy,” he said.
For instance, the combined reve-
nueofChinese companies accounted
for 25.6 percent of the Global 5 00
total, trailing that of US companies’
28.8 percent.
The average profit of the 129Chi-
nese companies on this year’s list
reached $3.5 billion, lower than the
list’s average of $4.3 billion.But it
improved from $3.1 billion for 111
Chinese mainland and Hong Kong
companies on last year’s list.
For the same groups of mainland
companies, the average return on
equity, a key indicator of business
strength, was 9.9 percent on this
year’s list, compared with 8.9 percent
for last year’s. The average return on
sales also improved, from 5.1 percent
to 5.3 percent.
“That is a fact to be expected,”
said Jiang, the business professor
at Fudan University. “Chinese com-
panies are relatively smaller in prof-
itability, but they are growing at a
much faster pace.”Forfirsttime,nationovertakesUSinnumberofcompaniesonFortuneGlobal500list
Chinese firmsreshapebusiness arena
ByCUIJIA
[email protected]Most of the trainees at vocational
education centers in the Xinjiang
Uygur autonomous region have
graduated from the centers and have
started to play a positive role in soci-
ety, Xinjiang officials said on July 3 0.
The centers aim to help people
who have been influenced by ter-
rorism and extremism understand
their mistakes and the possible pub-
lic harm they could cause, the offi-
cials said.
“Many people have found suitable
jobs that they like after graduation
and begun to have considerable
income. Furthermore, they have
been helping others to pursue a bet-
ter life,” said Shohrat Zakir, chair-
man of the regional government.
He spoke inBeijing at a news con-
ference on Xinjiang’s development
held by the StateCouncil Informa-
tion Office.Shohrat said the centers provide
free classes in the country’s common
language, impart knowledge of the
law and provide vocational skills to
trainees with little education who
have been influenced by terrorism
and extremism and are suspected of
minor criminal offenses.
“The centers are never ‘labor
camps’ as they are described by
some,” Shohrat said. “Our goal is to
enable people to see the nature of
extremism, which often is disguised
as a part of religion, so they won’t be
lured into activities that endanger
people’s lives and the unity of the
country.”
Since most of the trainees have
graduated, many teaching facilities
are being used to provide short train-
ing courses on agricultural skills for
local people, Shohrat said.
The penetration of religious
extremism from overseas led to fre-
quent terrorist incidents in Xinjiang
in recent years. Personal safety hasbecome a concern for locals as well
as visitors to the region, which covers
one-sixth ofChina’s territory.
According to the region’s de-
extremization regulations, govern-
ments at the county level or above
can set up education facilities,
including vocational training cen-
ters, to stop people from becoming
victims of extremism and even car-
rying out terrorist attacks.The centers have never target-
ed people from particular ethnic
groups or with certain religious
beliefs,Arken Tuniaz, vice-chair-
man of the regional government,
said.
More than 1, 000 reporters, diplo-
mats, experts and religious leaders
have visited the centers in Xinjiang
since last year to see for themselves
how the trainees live,Arken said.There has been no terrorist inci-
dent in the region for nearly three
years, thanks to a series of measures
adopted to maintain social stability,
including the vocational education
centers, local authorities said.
The region’s economy has
benefited from stability. In 2 0 18,
Xinjiang recorded 15 0 millionvisits
from domestic and foreign tourists,
up 4 0 .1 percent year-on-year.Vocationalcentergraduatesnowplay
positiveroles,steerclearofextremism
Traineesfindsuitable
jobsacrossXinjiang
ShohratZakir,chairmanofthegovernmentoftheXinjiangUygurautonomousregion,answers
reporters’questionsduringanewsconferenceonXinjiang’sdevelopmentheldbytheStateCouncil
InformationOfficeinBeijingonJuly3 0 .WANGZHUANGFEI/CHINADAILYComment
R&Dbigfactor
inFortune
success,
pageCHINADAILY GLOBAL WEEKLY August 2 -8, 2019 CHINANEWS 7