What Drives the Success of China’s Top 100 Internet Companies in 2018?

Overview of the 2018 Top‑100 List

The China Internet Association and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the 2018 China Internet Enterprise Top‑100 ranking, highlighting Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com, NetEase, Sina, Sohu, Meituan‑Dianping, 360 and Xiaomi among the top ten.

Key Characteristics

1. Scale Growth – “Elephants Running Fast”

In 2017 the combined internet revenue of the top‑100 companies reached 1.72 trillion CNY, a 50.6 % year‑over‑year increase, with operating profit of 270.7 billion CNY (+82.6 %). Alibaba and Tencent alone contributed over 25 % of total internet revenue and nearly 60 % of operating profit.

2. Expanding Application Scenarios

The companies are leveraging the national “Network Power” strategy to create new business models, covering all aspects of daily life—clothing, food, housing, travel, entertainment, education, etc. Gaming, live‑streaming, and unmanned retail (e.g., Alibaba, JD, Suning) are prominent, while e‑commerce and integrated services account for more than three‑quarters of internet revenue.

3. R&D Investment Breakthrough

R&D spending surpassed 106 billion CNY in 2017 (+41.4 % YoY), with an average R&D intensity of 9.6 %, exceeding the national average by 7.48 percentage points. The sector employed 197,000 R&D staff (19.4 % of total staff). Over 60 companies use big data, 44 focus on AI, 51 on cloud computing, and 11 on blockchain. Patent holdings exceed 22,000, with more than 13,000 invention patents.

4. Industrial Internet Services

Twenty companies focus on industrial internet, serving nearly 30 million enterprises and generating 184.3 billion CNY in revenue (over 10 % of total). B2B e‑commerce among six firms recorded a transaction volume of 606.3 billion CNY (+≈25 % YoY).

5. Unicorn Growth and Global Expansion

Eighteen unicorns emerged in 2017, including Ant Financial, iQIYI, JD Finance, NetEase Cloud Music, Maoyan, and Xiaomi, a 38.5 % increase. Sixty companies have overseas operations, and 55 are listed domestically or abroad, indicating strong “going‑global” momentum.

6. Regional Development – Rise of Central‑West

Internet revenue in central‑west provinces reached 30.7 billion CNY (+73.45 % YoY), accounting for 1.78 % of total, with 13 companies from nine provinces making the list, reflecting a shift toward balanced regional growth.

Historical Context and Trends

Since 2013 the Top‑100 list has been published annually. Over the past five years, total internet revenue grew from under 400 billion CNY in 2014 to 1.72 trillion CNY in 2018 (4.5× increase). The list shows a 45 % turnover rate, with 27 firms appearing continuously and an average of 35 % new entrants each year, indicating a dynamic competitive landscape.

R&D spending rose from 23.86 billion CNY in 2014 to 106 billion CNY in 2018, maintaining an average R&D intensity above 10 % and supporting sustained innovation.

Future Outlook – Five Focus Areas

Rapid growth of next‑generation innovative enterprises will reshape industry competition.

Broader industry coverage and geographic diversification will drive regional economic development.

Emerging technologies and new business models will accelerate the construction of a digital and intelligent society.

Industrial internet will lead a “quality revolution” in manufacturing, promoting high‑quality development.

Party‑building initiatives will energize corporate development, with precise poverty alleviation becoming a core social responsibility.

Evaluation Methodology

The ranking evaluates enterprises on six dimensions—scale, profitability, innovation, growth, influence, and social responsibility—across eight core indicators, using a refined data‑processing algorithm to ensure fairness, objectivity, and relevance to market conditions.