Top 10 Chinese innovative companies with most patents

Innovation is now a key factor in the development of industries ranging from IT to agriculture to communications, pushing growth of Chinese enterprises faster and higher on a global scale.

China Internet Weekly conducted a study and ranked companies in IT, software, machinery, biopharmaceuticals, communications and auto industries based on the number of registered patents each of them had until Dec 19, 2014.

Although the ranking does not fully reflect the companies'competitiveness in technology research, it serves as a gauge to see their performances in the market.

10. Foton Automobile
Registered patents: 3,914

9 BOE Technology Group
Registered patents: 4,160

8 Lenovo Group Ltd
Registered patents: 4,874

7 Haier Group
Registered patents: 6,406

6 Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC)
Registered patents: 6,690

5 Gree Electric Appliances
Registered patents: 8,383

4 Geely Auto
Registered patents: 8,569 

3 BYD Co Ltd
Registered patents: 10,048 

2 ZTE Corp
Registered patents: 32,649

1 Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Registered patents: 41,813