There are more Chinese companies on the Fortune Global 500 list this year than U.S. ones for the first time, adding more Chinese vitality into the global annual ranking, according to the Fortune Global 500 list released on Monday.

A total of 124 Chinese companies (those in Hong Kong are included), are on the ranking, compared with 121 American companies. Including companies in Taiwan, the total number hits 133.

"It's hard to overstate the significance of the change in the global economy that represents. When the Global 500 list first came out in 1990, there were no Chinese companies on the list. Three decades later, the Chinese economy has skyrocketed, powered by a global trade boom that expanded from 39 percent of global GDP to 59 percent, said Fortune editor-in-chief Cliff Leaf.

U.S. retailer giant Walmart once again topped the list, followed by three Chinese companies, namely Sinopec Group, State Grid and China National Petroleum.

The banking industry has the largest number of companies on the list, reaching 50, including 10 Chinese banks. There are seven Internet companies on the list, namely Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook, JD.com, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and Xiaomi Group.

The Fortune Global 500 ranking is calculated mainly on corporate revenue. In 2019, the world's 500 largest companies secured 33.3 trillion U.S. dollars in revenue, and 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars in profit.

(Cover: A night view of the Pudong area of east China's Shanghai. /VCG)