AI-generated content emerges as industry on China brands list

Artificial intelligence-generated content has emerged as an independent industry on the Hurun Most Valuable China Brands 2026, with eight Chinese AI brands featuring in the rankings. ByteDance's Doubao topped the AIGC sector with a brand value of 8.5 billion yuan ($1.26 billion).

Released by the Hurun Research Institute on Tuesday in Shanghai, the 2026 list, now in its 21st edition, features 502 brands from 17 countries worldwide, with a combined brand value of 8 trillion yuan.

Apple retained the top spot with a brand value of 1.3 trillion yuan. Kweichow Moutai ranked second with 700 billion yuan, remaining the most valuable Chinese brand. Douyin and WeChat tied for third with 300 billion yuan each, standing as the most valuable Chinese private brands. Huawei returned to the overall top 10 for the first time in two decades, with its brand value rising 23 percent year-on-year to 100 billion yuan.

Consumer electronics remained the highest-value sector with a total worth of 1.55 trillion yuan. Finance, food and beverage, and automotive industries had the largest number of listed brands.

Meanwhile, Shanghai maintained its position as China's leading brand hub, hosting 138 listed brands with a combined value of 2.9 trillion yuan, driven by both international brand aggregation and local brand growth.