Here are the 20 biggest companies in mainland China

The top 20 mainland Chinese companies on the Fortune Global 500 list, the annual ranking of the world’s biggest companies by revenue, brought in $4.1 trillion in revenue and earned $261.6 billion in profit last year. Included on this list are the world’s largest utility company, bank, construction firm, and chemicals manufacturer. 

China National Petroleum, a state-owned energy company, was a standout performer, with profits jumping 111% year over year to $9.6 billion. Its profit surge was fueled by a spike in gas and jet fuel sales, as well as sales of chemicals used in pharmaceuticals and automobile manufacturing.  

While each of the 20 largest Chinese companies increased its revenue in 2021, not all saw profits trend in the same direction. 

Alibaba experienced a 56.4% drop in profits compared to 2020, thanks in part to regulatory conflict with the Chinese government. The ecommerce giant was required to pay a $2.8 billion fine in April 2021 for violating antitrust regulations, while a data-protection crackdown in China forced the company to limit the amount and type of information it can collect from consumers. 

Perhaps the most eye-catching change was at Sinochem Group, the chemicals manufacturer that merged with China National Chemical Corporation in May 2021. The new firm, listed as Sinochem Holdings, went from posting a profit in 2020 to posting a loss in 2021. 

Within the insurance industry, Ping An, which is publicly traded, and the state-owned China Life Insurance both saw profits decline despite higher revenue. Ping An’s profits dropped 24% in 2021, to $15.8 billion, after the near collapse of the Chinese property market in the second half of the year. China Life Insurance struggled to bring in new customers in 2021 and saw its new insurance policy sales decline by 15.2%. 

China’s four biggest state-owned banks all had strong years as the country’s economy rebounded from the pandemic-induced downturn of 2020. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s most profitable bank, brought in $54 billion in earnings. 

Below are the 20 biggest companies in China by revenue. 

1. State Grid

Revenue: $460.6 billion        
Revenue % change YoY (year over year): 19.1%
Profits: $7.1 billion
Profit % change YoY: 27.9%

2. China National Petroleum

Revenue: $411.7 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 45%     
Profit: $9.6 billion 
Profit % change YoY: 110.6%

3. Sinopec Group

Revenue: $401.3 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 41.4%
Profit: $8.3 billion
Profit % change YoY: 34%

4. China State Construction Engineering

Revenue: $293.7 billion        
Revenue % change YoY: 25.3%     
Profit: $4.4 billion
Profit % change YoY: 24.2%

5. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

Revenue: $209 billion 
Revenue % change YoY: 14.3%
Profit: $54.0 billion
Profit % change YoY: 18.0%

6. China Construction Bank

Revenue: $200.4 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 16.5%
Profit: $46.9 billion
Profit % change YoY: 19.4%

7. Ping An Insurance

Revenue: $199.6 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 4.2%
Profit: $15.8 billion
Profit % change YoY: -24%

8. Agricultural Bank of China

Revenue: $181.4 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 17.9%
Profit: $37.4 billion
Profit % change YoY: 19.5%

9. Sinochem Holdings

Revenue: $172.3 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 41.4%
Profit: -$197.7 million  
Profit % change YoY: profit to loss

10. China Railway Engineering Group

Revenue: $166.5 billion 
Revenue % change YoY: 17.7%
Profit: $1.9 billion 
Profit % change YoY: 13.1%

11. China Railway Construction

Revenue: $158.2 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 19.9%
Profit: $1.7 billion
Profit % change YoY: 14.7%

12. China Life Insurance

Revenue: $157.1
Revenue % change YoY: 8.6%
Profit: $3.1 billion
Profit % change YoY: -33.6%

13. Bank of China

Revenue: $152.4 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 13.7%
Profit: $33.6 billion
Profit % change YoY: 20.1%

14. China Baowu Steel

Revenue: $150.7 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 54.4%
Profit: $3 billion
Profit % change YoY: -17.5%

15. JD.com

Revenue: $147.5 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 36.5%
Profits: -$551.8 million 
Profit % change YoY: profit to loss

16. Alibaba Group Holding

Revenue: $132.9 billion        
Revenue % change YoY: 25.6%
Profit: $9.7 billion
Profit % change YoY: -56.4%

17. China Mobile Communications Group

Revenue: $131.9 billion         
Revenue % change YoY: 18.0%
Profit: $14.6 billion
Profit % change YoY: 13.2%

18. China Minmetals

Revenue: $131.8 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 29.2%
Profit: $616.8 million
Profit % change YoY: 25.6%

19. China Communications Construction Group

Revenue: $130.7 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 22.3%
Profit: $1.4 billion
Profit % change YoY: 19.9%

20. China National Offshore Oil

Revenue: $126.9 billion
Revenue % change YoY: 52.4%
Profit: $9.2 billion
Profit % change YoY: 91.2%