Under the theme ‘Growing with Intelligence’, business leaders, brand owners and industry experts gathered in Shanghai today for the launch of the 2026 Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands report and ranking. The findings reveal a new phase of growth for China’s most valuable brands, driven by innovation, AI-powered transformation and an increasing focus on creating sustainable brand value.
The total value of the ranking has reached US$1.4 trillion, up 13% year-on-year, and marks the second consecutive year of double-digit gains. Among the 89 brands that also featured in 2025, 54 increased their value, with growing brands recording an average uplift of 22%.
Media & Entertainment, Financial Services, Consumer Technology & Services Platforms and Retail are the standout growth categories. Together, they generate 69% of the BrandZ China Top 100’s total brand value. Media & Entertainment continued to be driven by leading brands such as Tencent and Douyin, while Financial Services extended its recovery, supported by rapid value growth from China Construction Bank and New China Life Insurance.
China’s strongest brands are demonstrating remarkable growth, resilience and agility. They are now entering a new era, defined by a maturing, saturated home market, and significant opportunities abroad. This is compounded by intensifying AI disruption. Meanwhile, fast-shifting consumer expectations are shaping where growth happens. To continue the exceptional momentum they have built, brands will need to combine up-to-the-moment market and shopper intelligence with Meaningfully Different brand positionings. This ultimately means staying very close to their consumers, both on- and offline.
Top 10: Leadership line-up remains stable as Tencent celebrates six successive years as China’s No.1 most valuable brand
Nine of the Top 10 Chinese brands in the 2025 ranking have remained in the Top 10 in 2026. Tencent retains the No.1 position for a sixth consecutive year, with its brand value increasing 6% to US$209.9 billion. Alibaba ranked second with a brand value of US$112.5 billion, while Douyin has risen one place to No.3, reaching US$98.4 billion. Moutai, Huawei, Haier, ICBC, China Mobile, Ping An and Agricultural Bank of China ranked fourth to tenth, respectively.
Amid rapid economic and technological change, the BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Chinese brands remained largely stable, underscoring the strength and consistency of their brand-building strategies, while new growth trends have continued to emerge. Many have invested significantly in AI-powered technologies and searched relentlessly for profitable new spaces. These new spaces include B2B ventures such as tech, robotics, mobility and the industrial internet - as well as 'instant commerce', 'micro-dramas', and high-end groceries on the consumer side.
2026 Kantar BrandZ Top 10 Most Valuable Chinese Brands
Newcomers: Seven brands make their debut, including four AI-native brands
Seven brands have joined China’s BrandZ Top 100 for the first time, from five different categories. They are Kimi (No.45), Amap (No.46), ChatGLM (No.53), Laopu Gold (No.67), Doubao (No.78), Goodme (No.87) and Bank of Jiangsu (No.88). There are also four re-entrants, with home appliances brand Hisense (No.84) the highest ranked. ZTE (No.94), Hainan Airlines (No.99) and Master Kong (No.100) also returned to the ranking.Among the seven newcomers, Kimi, Amap, ChatGLM and Doubao are all closely linked to AI technologies or applications. The rapid arrival of AI-native brands in consumer and business decision journeys is one of the most distinctive shifts in this year’s ranking.
Meanwhile, Atour, the hospitality brand; Tastien, the fast-growing Chinese burger chain; and Songmont, the premium handbag and accessories brand, were named this year’s 'Brands to Watch’, reflecting the continued emergence of promising new growth forces in China’s brand landscape.
Midea heads this year’s fastest risers
Most of this year’s fastest-growing brands are mid-sized brands, spanning six different categories, highlighting the breadth of growth opportunities available to those that successfully innovate, diversify and expand into new areas.Midea, with growth of 54% to US$11.7 billion, is this year’s Top Riser. The list shows that growth is not concentrated in any single category or confined to the largest brands. Rednote grew by 47%, while CR Land, NIO, Chow Tai Fook, Baidu, Freshippo and China Life also featured among the Top 10 fastest risers. By innovating products and experiences, reaching new audiences, entering new occasions and reinforcing differentiated positioning, mid-sized brands are building more resilient sources of growth.
Other key trends shaping China’s most valuable brands include:
- Difference drives growth: Chinese brands that have strengthened their Difference have grown significantly faster. Since 2019, brands with increasing Difference have grown in value by an average of 64%, compared with just 2% for those losing distinction
- Brand building extends beyond technology: Technology is only one source of Difference. Strong brand assets, distinctive design, emotional connection and purpose are equally important in creating a compelling reason for consumers to choose a brand. TCL (No.64) draws on brand assets spanning sports, art and sustainability to turn technological strength into differentiated and enduring brand experiences
- Localisation fuels global growth: Leading brands, such as Haier (No.6) are combining global scale with local insight, investing in local R&D, manufacturing and marketing capabilities to better serve consumers and accelerate international expansion.
The 2026 Kantar BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands ranking, full report and in-depth analysis are now available at: www.kantar.com/campaigns/brandz/china
For category-level competitive insights, Kantar’s free BrandSnapshot tool, powered by BrandZ, offers at-a-glance intelligence on 15,000 brands worldwide. Explore it here.
