THE inaugural “China Company Competitiveness Indicator” published Monday by the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) shows the country’s thriving digital technology landscape and its leading role as a global innovation powerhouse, said IMD China’s CEO.

The indicator is an initiative launched by IMD China that measures on a sector-by-sector basis how competitive companies are in the Chinese market.

It found that among 23 firms in the food and beverage sector (F&B), Kweichow Moutai ranked first, The Coca-Cola Co. second and China Mengniu Dairy Co. third.

“The top performers in the F&B sector are the ones that are really good at staying resilient in their core business while at the same time preparing themselves for the future,” said Mark Greeven, CEO of IMD China, who directed the group that conducted the research.

“There is also a lot of diversity. We have companies from very traditional backgrounds, such as liquor, dairy, snacks, or soy sauce, becoming really strong and ranking very high in our indicator.”

Greeven also said that a mix of domestic and foreign companies are top-performing ones in the Chinese market.

According to IMD, the results are based on hard data and consider eight main factors: business success, business robustness, investors’ expectations of future growth, research & development efforts, early innovation results, business diversity, customer engagement, and environmental, social and corporate governance.

Greeven also highlighted China’s role as a driver for global competitiveness and innovation.

A lot of domestic companies in China are real innovation powerhouses and China’s role in innovation can “no longer be ignored,” Greeven said.

“Whether it is inside China, or outside China, we can learn a lot from the innovation landscape and ecosystem in China. I hope that this becomes a driver of growth for multinationals. I’m very, very optimistic about that,” he added.

Greeven emphasized that for foreign multinational companies, “finding inspiration and collaborating with local domestic companies” will be key to their success and help them tap into China’s innovation power.

Founded by business executives, IMD is an independent academic institute based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Singapore. It opened a hub in Shenzhen in January 2023. (Xinhua)