Although not as famous as Western company brands like Walmart, Amazon, or Apple, China’s most prominent companies rank among the world’s most lucrative.
Compared to the largest American companies, China claims three spots in the top five overall, with oil and gas companies China National Petroleum and Sinopec Group leading ahead of companies like ExxonMobil, Apple, and Berkshire Hathaway.
China’s biggest company — the utility giant State Grid — is the third most lucrative company globally, trailing only Walmart and Saudi Aramco. In 2022, State Grid reported 871,145 employees and served 1.1 billion customers.
Most leading Chinese companies were initially founded as state-owned entities and operated in traditional industries like utilities, banking, construction, and oil and gas. In contrast, the US top 15 list is mostly dominated by retail and technology companies.
