Private companies based in North China's Shanxi province were recently included on the list of the Chinese top 500 private enterprises in R&D investment and the list of the Chinese top 500 private enterprises in invention patents in 2021.

The two lists were announced on Oct 11 in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong province, at the 2021 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Private Enterprise Technology Innovation Summit and Private Enterprise Technology Achievement Matchmaking Conference.

Seven Shanxi companies made it into the Chinese top 500 private enterprises in R&D investment, while three were in the list of the top 500 private enterprises in invention patents.

The entry threshold for the former list was 237 million yuan ($36.70 million) in R&D investment in 2020, with the total R&D investment of the companies on the list in 2020 amounting to 742.9 billion yuan. 

The entry threshold for the latter list was 49 valid invention patents in 2020 for each company, and the total number of valid invention patents held by those companies on the list last year was 330,000.

The success in the lists reflect the fact that Shanxi's private enterprises have increased their R&D capabilities, technological levels and innovation investments, but that there is still a gap compared with provinces in Central China and compared with the national average.

In recent years, Shanxi has been driven by innovation and has guided a large number of its private enterprises to be active in strategic emerging industries, innovation and creation.

Private enterprises account for 96 percent of the 3,188 high-tech enterprises currently in Shanxi. Nearly 70 percent of its 403 enterprise technology centers above the provincial level are owned by private enterprises.

Last year, an estimated 60 percent of national key R&D projects approved by the Ministry of Science and Technology were undertaken by private technology companies.

It is widely viewed that the private economy has increasingly become an indispensable and important part for the economic development of Shanxi.