China on Tuesday released the 2026 list of the country's top 500 private enterprises, with 110 companies reporting operating revenue of over 100 billion yuan (about 14.94 billion U.S. dollars), underscoring robust growth in the country's private sector.
JD.com, Alibaba (China) Co., Ltd., and Hengli Group Co., Ltd. retained the top three positions, according to the 2026 China Top 500 Private Enterprises list unveiled by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) in Tianjin, north China.
This marks the 28th large-scale private enterprise survey conducted by the ACFIC. A total of 6,350 companies, each with operating revenue of over 1 billion yuan in 2025, participated in the survey this year. The top 500 companies by revenue make up the list.
The survey showed that in 2025, China's private enterprises continued to improve their innovation capacity, operating efficiency and core competitiveness, demonstrating an overall trend toward new and higher-quality development.
The top 500 private enterprises reported total operating revenue of 44.93 trillion yuan in 2025, up 4.35 percent from a year earlier. They also saw a combined net profit of 1.83 trillion yuan, with 17 companies each posting over 20 billion yuan in net profit.
Manufacturing companies on the top 500 private enterprises list recorded total operating revenue of 32.22 trillion yuan, up 8.73 percent year on year.
The top 500 are actively positioning themselves in strategic emerging and future industries. Of those that provided relevant data, 311 companies invested in 679 strategic emerging industry projects, and 82 launched 112 future industry projects.
On innovation, the top 500 companies that provided relevant data reported total research and development spending of 1.26 trillion yuan, with research and development investment averaging 2.95 percent of revenue, according to the survey.
In addition, the top 500 paid 1.3 trillion yuan in taxes last year, with 254 companies each paying over 1 billion yuan.
China unveils top 500 private enterprises for 2026
As the two major holidays, the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and National Day holiday approach, China is rolling out a wide range of cultural and tourism activities, from traditional festival mooncake supplies to lantern carnivals, offering diverse choices for residents and visitors.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional holiday celebrated with lanterns and mooncake treats, falls on Sept 25 this year with three-day holiday from Sept 25 to 27. That puts just three workdays between the festival and China's week-long National Day holiday, which kicks off on October 1.
Under a month-long nationwide campaign to promote consumption, local governments across China are planning more than 20,000 cultural and tourism events and handing out over 310 million yuan (about 45.9 million U.S. dollars) in consumer vouchers and subsidies to encourage travel and spending.
The events to be rolled out this year include scenic getaways, family gatherings, autumn outings, history tourism, study trips, nighttime entertainment and food fairs tied to the country's intangible cultural heritage.
In Xunwu County, Ganzhou City of east China's Jiangxi Province, local "moonlight cake," a traditional Mid-Autumn Festival food, is enjoying a boom in production and sales. Villagers are busy filling orders, and the workshop is filled with the rich aroma of rice.
"I can sell 7,000 moonlight cakes a day. Many customers come to buy them every day, and we also wholesale them to supermarkets. We are busy every day and can hardly keep up," said Wang Yongmei, a villager from Daxianbei village, Chenguang town.
In Xining City of northwest China's Qinghai Province, pastry chefs at a local bakery are busy making traditional large steamed mooncakes. They work together to knead dough, roll wrappers, sprinkle ingredients and wrap fillings, staying busy but organized.
"This is our traditional Qinghai mooncake. It has many layers and is made with traditional spices. It is an indispensable food on the Mid-Autumn Festival table for people in Qinghai," said Ma Mei, a pastry chef.
Besides mooncakes, fresh flowers and green plants have also become popular choices for residents. At a flower market in Chengyang District, Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province, a wide variety of flowers and plants are on display, with lilies, anthuriums and phalaenopsis, which carry auspicious meanings, selling particularly well.
In Hong Kong, the "International Lantern Spectacular," organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, is being held at Victoria Park.
More than 3,000 lanterns with distinctive features from around the world are on display, including the time-honored Qinhuai lanterns and lanterns from other cultures and traditional Hong Kong handmade lanterns. The event has attracted large numbers of residents and tourists.
During last year's eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday period, Chinese travelers made 888 million domestic trips and spent a combined 809 billion yuan (about 112.4 billion US dollars), according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
China rolls out diverse events ahead of Mid-Autumn Festival, National Day holidays
