According to Fortune magazine's latest Fortune Global 500 list, a total of 95 Chinese companies currently rank on this widely watched annual rundown of the world's top corporations by revenue. Among the 95 Chinese companies mentioned, 89 are from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, while six are from Taiwan.

This year also marks the 10th consecutive year that Chinese companies have seen their ranks swell on this list - their total number increased by 16 compared with the previous year. Meanwhile, the combined gross revenue of these 95 companies stacked up to $5.2 trillion over the past fiscal year, accounting for 17 percent of the total revenue of the 500 businesses.

While it's heartening to see Chinese companies gaining a larger profile as their standing in the global market increases, their ranking in this case points to some troubling signs for the future.

 First of all, among the 89 companies from the mainland and Hong Kong, only seven are privately owned. And of the 18 Chinese companies that made their debut on the list this year, only two are from the private sector.

Apparently when State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are allowed to gobble up the lion's share of China's social wealth, there's little left over for private enterprises. Such unequal results have their roots in the huge gap which separates private companies and SOEs when it comes to the distribution of economic and social resources. In a real market economy, the private sector should play the most important role in driving economic growth - and as a result, it should take the largest share of the market's wealth.

Meanwhile, it's also disconcerting to see so many companies from China's financial sector among the world's top 500 businesses. Combined profits of the nine commercial banks from the Chinese mainland account for 55.2 percent of the total profits generated by the 89 mainland and Hong Kong companies enumerated by Fortune. In comparison, the eight US banks on the list only account for 11.9 percent of all US companies' profits.

Financial enterprises belong to the tertiary sector, which is supposed to profit by serving the real economy. If the financial sector is pulling in excessive profits, then entities in the real economy will earn less and enthusiasm to produce will wane among real manufacturers. Such a development will affect the sustainability of financial companies' profits, resulting in financial risks eventually.

Finally, most of the 18 Chinese companies that have surfaced on the list this year are concentrated in the energy sector, including four coal producers based in Shanxi Province. As coal's golden decade fades in China, questions could be raised regarding the sustainability of other Chinese companies on the Fortune 500 list.

The author is an economic commentator and senior officer from Agricultural Bank of China. yfhfrx@sina.com