Korean Media: Global Top 2000 R&D Companies, USA 674, Japan 192, What About China?

On February 4, the Korean media "Choice Economy" published an article stating that according to the European Commission's recent "2025 EU Industry R&D Investment Scoreboard", as of the 2024 fiscal year, the total R&D investment of the top 2000 global companies was 1.446 trillion euros. This figure increased by 6.3% year-on-year, slightly higher than the growth rate in 2023, but lower than the average growth rate since 2014.

By country, 525 Chinese companies made it into the global top 2000, second only to the United States (674). This number exceeded the EU (318) and Japan (192).

According to the report, South Korea had 41 companies with an investment of 4.52 billion euros, ranking sixth in the world by investment amount, after the United States, China, Japan, Germany, and France.

Chinese companies' total R&D investment reached 233.2 billion euros, an increase of 3.9% from the previous year. However, the total R&D investment growth of US companies was faster, reaching 680.8 billion euros, with an increase of 7.8%.

From an industry perspective, US companies have concentrated their R&D investments in information and communication technology and healthcare sectors. Notably, the US has an absolute advantage in the field of information and communication technology, with its investment accounting for 76% of the global total.

On the other hand, China's investments are concentrated in information and communication technology hardware manufacturing and the automotive industry. In terms of R&D investment scale and the number of top enterprises in construction and industrial engineering, they demonstrate strong strength.

In the top 50 companies globally in terms of R&D investment, US companies account for half, i.e., 25 companies. The top five are all occupied by US IT giants: Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft.

The report analysis shows that the concentration of global R&D investment continues to rise, with the top five companies' R&D investment accounting for 15% of the total investment of the top 2000 companies.

Five Chinese companies made it into the global top 50. Huawei ranked sixth globally with 22.94 billion euros in R&D investment, becoming the only Chinese company to enter the top ten. Other Chinese companies include Tencent (20th), Alibaba (31st), BYD (37th), and China Construction Group (42nd).

In addition, several Chinese tech companies are also among the top 100 globally, such as China Mobile (58th), Xiaomi (77th), ZTE (80th), Baidu (82nd), and Meituan (92nd).

The report analysis pointed out, "Unlike US companies, which concentrate their R&D investment in information and communication technology and healthcare sectors, Chinese companies show a structural characteristic combining hard technology, new manufacturing industries, and infrastructure. While maintaining competitiveness in information and communication technology hardware, the automotive industry represented by BYD has become a new growth engine, while China Construction Group is seen as a symbol of China's infrastructure competitiveness."

The report pointed out, "The total amount and proportion of R&D investment of Chinese companies are clearly increasing. The strength of leading companies such as Huawei clearly indicates China's rise in the global innovation landscape. This trend not only promotes the transformation and development of China's economic structure, but also provides new momentum for global technological progress. As China continues to implement an innovation-driven growth strategy, its achievements in the R&D field are likely to expand further in the future."

Original: toutiao.com/article/1856155224973386/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.