China's top 500 private enterprises see increasing operating scale, better performance: report

The operating scale of China's top 500 private enterprises has been steadily expanding, with overall performance improving, according to a report released by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce on Saturday.

The report shows that in 2023, the total operating revenue of the top 500 private enterprises was 41.91 trillion yuan (about 5.93 trillion U.S. dollars), with an average of 83.82 billion yuan (about 11.86 billion U.S. dollars) per enterprise, representing a 5.22 percent increase from the previous year.

The total assets reached 49.85 trillion yuan (about 7.05 trillion U.S. dollars), with an average of 99.69 billion yuan (about 14.11 billion U.S. dollars) per enterprise, marking a 7.64 percent increase from the previous year, said the report.

Among the 47 industries represented in the top 500 private enterprises, 25 industries saw increases in total operating revenue and total assets compared to the previous year. The growth mainly involved sectors such as electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing, software, and information technology services, according to the report.

In the top 500 private enterprises, the total operating revenue of manufacturing companies amounted to 27.53 trillion yuan (about 3.90 trillion U.S. dollars), marking an 8.31 percent increase from the previous year and accounting for 65.68 percent of the top 500 private enterprises.

The total assets reached 22.86 trillion yuan (about 3.24 trillion U.S. dollars), marking a 15.52 percent increase from the previous year and accounting for 45.86 percent of the top 500 private enterprises.

Meanwhile, the total research and development expenditure reported by enterprises in the top 500 private enterprises was 1.05 trillion yuan (about 150 billion U.S. dollars), with an average research and development investment intensity of 2.66 percent.

There are 17 companies with research and development expenses exceeding 10 billion yuan (about 1.42 billion U.S. dollars), said the report.

The top 500 private enterprises hold 666,700 valid patents, marking a 9.39 percent increase from the previous year. Among them, the number of valid domestic patents has risen by 8.86 percent, while the number of valid international patents has increased by 13.61 percent.

China's top 500 private enterprises see increasing operating scale, better performance: report

China's top 500 private enterprises see increasing operating scale, better performance: report

China's top 500 private enterprises see increasing operating scale, better performance: report

U.S. firms and consumers shouldered nearly 90 percent of the economic burden from last year's sweeping tariff hikes, contradicting the Trump administration's argument that the levies are paid by foreign trading partners, according to a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday.

The study reveals that as average U.S. import tariffs surged from 2.6 percent to 13 percent in 2025, foreign exporters largely declined to absorb the added costs by lowering their prices.

Instead, the economic impact fell predominantly on domestic entities: during the first eight months of the year, 94 percent of the tariff incidence was borne by U.S. importers and consumers. That share remained elevated at 92 percent in September and October, dipping only slightly to 86 percent in November.

The findings align with a separate analysis published this week by the U.S. Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that about 70 percent of tariff costs were ultimately transferred to American consumers through higher retail prices on imported goods.

US firms, consumers absorb nearly 90 pct of tariff costs in 2025: bank report