Rising stars make debut on branding list

These are also dominated by technology and financial services brands with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (diversified e-commerce) and Huawei Technologies Co (telecommunications and network equipment) in third and 13th places, respectively.

Other notable new entrants include People's Insurance Co of China, Hong Kong-based Chow Tai Fook and e-retailer Beijing Jingdong Century Trading Co Ltd, which operates JD.com. They ranked 20th, 22nd and 25th, respectively.

Among the new entrants, Huawei typifies the modern Chinese corporate brand. Huawei also broke into the world's most valuable brands for 2014 for the first time, ranked 94th.

Huawei's meteoric rise is all the more impressive given strong competition in smartphones from Apple Inc and the South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Huawei is the third-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world after those two.

Huawei is also a leader among Chinese companies in terms of international expansion. Sales outside China constitute 65 percent of the worldwide total.

And there is also Alibaba's record US stock listing.

Finally, it is worth noting a co-branding initiative of ICBC and PICC that illustrates the movement toward branding and brand-building that is taking place in Chinese companies. The ICBC PICC Car Credit Card is a co-branded and car insurance-themed chip credit card.

This year's Best China Brands report provides the clearest proof yet that Chinese companies are following the modern brand management approach with investment-led and long-term growth strategies at the core of their corporate expansion plans.

China's days as a cheap production center are fast being relegated to the history books, to be replaced by an era of creative brand-building.

Expect more domestic and international Chinese brand-building success during 2015 and beyond.

The author is a visiting professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and a senior lecturer on marketing at Southampton Solent University's School of Business. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.