China leads global unicorn growth with surge in advanced sectors

China's unicorn enterprises are experiencing the fastest growth worldwide, particularly in advanced manufacturing, automotive technology, fintech, corporate services, and artificial intelligence, according to new data. This year, 32 new Chinese companies joined the 2024 Global Unicorn Top 500 Enterprises list, announced in Qingdao, marking the highest increase among all nations.

The cumulative valuation of companies on this annual list has surged to nearly 30 trillion yuan (about $4.2 trillion), representing a robust 7 percent increase from the previous year.

Globally, the distribution of unicorns is mainly concentrated in the United States, China, India, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany, with the U.S. and China alone accounting for 74.6 percent. According to the ranking, the top three unicorns are ByteDance, SpaceX and OpenAI. By industry, these unicorns are mainly concentrated in 14 sectors, including fintech, advanced manufacturing, information technology and healthcare.

A report from the 2024 Zhongguancun Forum in April revealed that China hosts 369 unicorn companies, making up over a quarter of the global unicorn population. This growth is attributed to China's vast market scale, strong industrial infrastructure and supportive policies, which collectively channel innovative elements into tech enterprises, according to Xie Shujiang, director of the unicorn enterprise innovation branch under the China Association of Inventions.

"This has facilitated the swift commercialization and scaling of new productive forces, propelling economic transformation and upgrading," Xie noted.

Unicorns are startups that are less than 10 years old and valued at over $1 billion. They are a key indicator of a country or region's innovation ecosystem and economic vitality. The rapid increase in unicorns underscores China's dynamic innovation landscape and its significant role in driving global economic development. As these enterprises continue to grow and scale, they are expected to further contribute to the country's economic growth.

(With input from Xinhua)