The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China included "forward-looking layout of future industries" in the framework of China's modern industrial system construction, which not only clarified the important position of future industries, but also elevated them to a strategic height related to the long-term development of the country. The Fourth Plenary Session proposed to optimize and enhance traditional industries, cultivate and strengthen emerging and future industries, promote high-quality and efficient development of the service industry, and build a modern infrastructure system. The Outline of the 15th Five Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China, which has been promulgated, further clarifies the forward-looking layout of future industries, promoting quantum technology, biomanufacturing, hydrogen energy and nuclear fusion energy, brain computer interfaces, embodied intelligence, sixth generation mobile communication and other new economic growth points, indicating that the future industries of the 15th Five Year Plan have become an integral part of the construction of a modern industrial system and an important direction of national strategic layout.

On January 30, 2026, the China Securities Regulatory Commission held a symposium on listed companies in the "15th Five Year Plan" for the capital market, proposing to "continuously optimize the rules and regulations of the issuance and listing system, better adapt to the development of emerging industries, future industries, and the transformation and upgrading needs of traditional industries". Future industry listed companies are not only explorers of cutting-edge and disruptive technologies, but also the foundation for the capital market to serve the country's innovation driven strategy and build an innovation ecosystem. The development quality of future industrial listed companies is related to whether China can take the initiative in the global technological revolution and industrial transformation. The capital market has core functions such as capital formation, innovation incentives, resource allocation, and risk sharing, which can inject sustained momentum and provide important support for the full life cycle development of future industries. Therefore, fully leveraging the role of the capital market is of great significance for China's layout and development of future industries.

This article selects 136 future industry listed companies (referring to industry leaders or core enterprises) from the Shanghai, Shenzhen, and North China stock exchanges based on the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting Future Industrial Innovation and Development" (MIIT Lianke [2024] No. 12) jointly issued by seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Wind, and publicly disclosed information of listed companies. It analyzes the forward-looking layout of China's listed companies for future industrial development from multiple dimensions.

1? Concentration of future industrial listed companies in eastern coastal provinces and cities

As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, 136 future industry listed companies are distributed in 24 provinces and cities across the country, with a large number in developed provinces and cities such as Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Beijing. The total number of these four provinces and cities reaches 63, accounting for 46.32% of the national total. Among them, Jiangsu ranks first in the country with 17 companies. Anhui, Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei in the central and western regions also performed well, with nearly 10 companies each, ranking in the second tier. The number of other provinces and cities is relatively small. Shandong, located on the eastern coast, has a significant gap in its future industrial layout compared to Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang provinces due to its heavy traditional industries.The future industry has forward-looking, strategic, and disruptive characteristics, and its development plays a key role in building a modern industrial system and cultivating new quality productivity. To maintain its position as a major economic province in northern China and build an important economic growth pole in the north, Shandong must strengthen top-level design and increase its future industrial layout efforts.

From the four provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang along the eastern coast, Guangdong has a relatively large number of listed companies in the future space and information industry, with six listed companies gathered in both industries. In September 2024, the Guangdong Provincial Government issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating the Cultivation and Development of Future Industries" (Yue Fu [2024] No. 67), which identified future space and future network as components of the seven major future industry development systems in the province. Jiangsu has a comprehensive layout, with 6 listed companies and 5 listed companies gathered in both future manufacturing and future information. Jiangsu's future manufacturing industry focuses on the "six emerging pillar industries+six future industries" system, optimizes the "10+X" future industry layout, and is building a globally influential industrial technology innovation center and advanced manufacturing base. Shandong Future Industry's listed companies mainly focus on the future information and energy industries, while the future manufacturing industry is relatively weak in eastern provinces and cities. The layout of future industrial enterprises in Zhejiang is also relatively balanced, with four enterprises distributed in Zhejiang Future Information, Future Space, and Future Manufacturing. While emerging technology companies such as Deep Search and Yushu Technology, represented by the "Six Little Dragons" of Hangzhou, are rapidly rising, Zhejiang has also proposed to scientifically layout future industries such as humanoid robots, biomanufacturing, clean hydrogen, and commercial aviation during the "15th Five Year Plan" period, consolidating its industrial advantages and competitiveness.

2? The development of future industry listed companies is closely related to research and development funding investment

?1? Future industries require high-intensity investment and high-level research and development

The future industry itself has the characteristics of technological frontier, disruptive and long-term cultivation, naturally possessing high R&D investment attributes. The future industry focuses on cutting-edge technology and emerging tracks, with high difficulty in technology research and development, long research and development cycles, and high costs for early-stage trial production and technological iteration. From basic research and core technology breakthroughs to the industrialization of achievements, the entire process requires sustained and substantial funding support. According to the "Statistical Bulletin on National Science and Technology Investment in 2024" released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the provinces and cities with higher R&D investment in China in 2024 are mainly distributed in economically developed eastern provinces and cities such as Guangdong (509.96 billion yuan), Jiangsu (459.75 billion yuan), Beijing (327.84 billion yuan), Zhejiang (290.14 billion yuan), Shandong (259.73 billion yuan), and Shanghai (234.37 billion yuan).Corresponding to R&D funding, provinces and cities with higher R&D investment intensity are also concentrated in eastern regions such as Beijing (6.58%), Shanghai (4.35%), Guangdong (3.60%), Tianjin (3.44%), Jiangsu (3.36%), Zhejiang (3.22%), and Anhui (2.76%).

Based on R&D funding, R&D investment intensity, and the distribution of future industrial listed companies, there is a close positive correlation among the three. Economically developed regions such as Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing, and Shanghai are not only the core gathering areas for R&D funding, but also the leading areas for R&D investment intensity, and the main carriers for future industrial listed companies. High level R&D funding provides sufficient financial support for basic scientific research, technological breakthroughs, and the transformation of innovative achievements. The intensity of R&D investment reflects the region's emphasis on technological innovation and resource allocation. Continuous R&D funding and high-intensity innovation investment can cultivate cutting-edge technologies, incubate emerging business models, and lay a solid foundation for future industrial development in terms of technology and industry. Strong R&D resources will attract innovative talents, science and technology innovation enterprises, and high-end factors to gather, stimulate and cultivate a large number of high-quality entities in future industries, and promote the growth and listing of related enterprises; In the future, the clustering of listed companies in industries will also feed back regional innovation, continuously increase their own R&D investment, further increase the total amount and intensity of local R&D funds, and form a virtuous cycle of R&D investment empowering future industry cultivation and future industry growth feeding back technological innovation investment.

?2? High market value listed companies reflect the capital market's pursuit of future industries

As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, there were a total of 5500 listed companies in Shanghai, Shenzhen, and North China, with a total market value of 118.83 trillion yuan. Among them, 136 future industry listed companies have a total market value of 1.48 trillion yuan, accounting for 12.45% of the total market value of listed companies. This means that in the future, 2% of listed companies in the industry will contribute 12% of the market value. Among them, the total market value of future industrial listed companies in six provinces and cities including Beijing, Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Shandong has all exceeded one trillion yuan. The high market value proportion of future industry listed companies reflects the market's high recognition of their technological barriers, growth potential, and industry dominance, indicating that future industries have become the core force supporting high-quality economic development.With the forward-looking layout of the "15th Five Year Plan", future industrial listed companies will accelerate the transition from technological breakthroughs to large-scale commercial landing in fields such as quantum technology, 6G communication, and biomanufacturing. They are expected to not only achieve a non-linear increase in output value, but also drive the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries through strong radiation effects, playing an irreplaceable leading role in seizing the high ground of global technological competition and cultivating new quality productivity.

The total market value distribution of future industrial listed companies in Shandong and Fujian is similar, resulting in a situation where one company dominates. As of the end of the first quarter of 2026, the total market value of Shandong Future Industry's listed companies was 1028.942 billion yuan, ranking sixth in the country, thanks to the market value contribution of Zhongji Xuchuang (300305. SZ). At the end of the first quarter, Zhongji Xuchuang (300305. SZ) had a market value of 632.686 billion yuan, accounting for 61.49% of the total market value of future industrial listed companies in the province. In the same situation, the total market value of Ningde Times (300750. SZ) at the end of the first quarter was 1855.211 billion yuan, accounting for 96.52% of the total market value of future industrial listed companies in Fujian Province. As of the end of April 2026, the market value of Zhongji Xuchuang (300305. SZ) and Ningde Times (300750. SZ) has increased by 40.89% and 20.35% respectively compared to the beginning of the year. This means that the stock prices of the two future industry listed companies have risen by 40.89% and 20.35% respectively within four months. The significant increase in market value of future industry listed companies essentially reflects investors' optimism about the future prospects of the industry.

3? Distribution of Listed Companies in Six Future Industries

Among the six major future industries, the number of listed companies in the future information industry is the highest, reaching 44. As early as 2023, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Overall Layout Plan for the Construction of Digital China". By 2025, the added value of China's digital economy is expected to reach 49 trillion yuan, accounting for about 35% of GDP. A national level digital infrastructure ecosystem has been formed, providing strong basic support for the future information industry. Future information is no longer simply an upgrade in communication technology, but a deep integration of communication, perception, computing, and AI. This has led to a significant elongation of the industry chain, attracting companies from different fields to enter across borders, resulting in a large number of related enterprises gathering within the industry.

The future space has also gathered a large number of enterprises, with a total of 31 companies. In recent years, the fields represented by low altitude economy and commercial aerospace have become highlights of the future development of the space industry. Taking commercial aerospace as an example, the scale of China's core commercial aerospace industry will increase to 1.01 trillion yuan by 2025, a year-on-year growth of nearly 7%; By the end of 2025, the number of commercial aerospace enterprises in China has exceeded 600, a year-on-year increase of over 20%.

Future energy is an upgraded, forward-looking, and disruptive version of new energy. It is not just about wind and solar power generation, but also includes a full chain system of controllable nuclear fusion, green hydrogen energy, long-term new energy storage, next-generation renewable energy, and deep integration of energy and digital technology. Next only to Future Space, the Future Energy industry has gathered 31 listed companies.

The future manufacturing industry has gathered 18 listed companies. Future manufacturing industry listed companies are not only pioneers of technological breakthroughs, engines of economic growth, and pillars of employment and taxation, but also key carriers of national industrial chain security, global competitive discourse power, and the formation of new quality productivity. Its high-quality development is directly related to the realization of China's strategic goal of moving from a "manufacturing power" to a "manufacturing powerhouse".

4? Sci Tech Innovation Board and Growth Enterprise Market assist listed companies in forward-looking layout of future industries

Among 136 future industry listed companies, there are 40 listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board, 34 listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Main Board, 35 listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, 26 listed on the ChiNext Board, and 1 listed on the Beijing Stock Exchange Main Board. The distribution of the number of enterprises on the Shanghai Stock Exchange Main Board, Shenzhen Stock Exchange Main Board, Science and Technology Innovation Board, and Growth Enterprise Market clearly reflects the differentiated pattern of China's capital market supporting technological innovation. The main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange is led by 40 companies, thanks to Shanghai's position as an international financial center and advanced manufacturing highland, especially in the "hard technology" fields such as integrated circuits and biomedicine, which have a deep industrial foundation and the "patient capital" support of state-owned platforms, attracting companies such as Juhe Materials to set up research and development centers in Shanghai and layout cutting-edge tracks. The main board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange gathers 34 future industry listed companies, demonstrating the vitality of Shenzhen as a capital of private economy and innovation, with over 90% of private enterprises forming strong industrial clusters in fields such as electronics and computers. The Science and Technology Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market, which have a relatively short history, serve as the main battlefield for "hard technology" and growth oriented innovation and entrepreneurship enterprises. In the future, the total proportion of listed companies in the industry will reach 44.85%, reflecting the huge role of the Science and Technology Innovation Board and the Growth Enterprise Market in accurately serving enterprises in cutting-edge fields such as chips, commercial aerospace, and embodied intelligence, and helping listed companies to plan ahead and accelerate the development of future industries.

5? The development of private listed companies will unleash the vitality of future industries

From the perspective of ownership nature of listed companies, among the 136 future industry listed companies, there are 72 private enterprises, accounting for a high proportion of 52.94%; There are 51 state-owned enterprises, including 38 central state-owned enterprises and 13 local state-owned enterprises, accounting for a total of 37.50%; There are 9 public enterprises and 4 foreign-funded enterprises respectively.

Private enterprises account for over 50% of future industry listed companies, highlighting their position as the "driving force" of technological innovation. With market-oriented mechanisms and high R&D investment intensity, private listed companies are accelerating the commercialization of technology in fields such as artificial intelligence and new energy, becoming a key force in promoting future industry development. Central state-owned enterprises (27.94%) and local state-owned enterprises (9.56%) play a stabilizing role, relying on their financial and industrial chain advantages to tackle long-term strategic areas such as quantum technology and controllable nuclear fusion, and build a solid foundation for the industry. Although public enterprises and foreign-funded enterprises account for a relatively small proportion, they inject diverse vitality into the industrial ecosystem through market, capital linkage, and technological cooperation. This pattern of "private enterprise led innovation, state-owned enterprise guarantee strategy, and diversified capital synergy" not only strengthens the resilience of the industrial chain, but also provides institutional and resource guarantees for future industries to seize the high ground in global competition.

From the perspective of market value of listed companies, the total market value of private future industry listed companies is close to 7 trillion yuan, accounting for 47.03%, far higher than the market value of other types of future industry listed companies. The high proportion of total market value of private future industry listed companies demonstrates the keen market sense, flexible innovation mechanism, and strong growth explosive force of the private economy in the future industry track, and is the core engine driving the development of new quality productivity. The total market value of central state-owned listed companies is 4.61 trillion yuan, accounting for 31.13%, reflecting the ballast role of the national team in key core technology research and strategic security. The market value of public enterprises has reached 2.13 trillion yuan, accounting for 14.38%, demonstrating the vitality of mixed ownership reform. The total market value of local state-owned enterprises and foreign-funded listed companies is less than 1 trillion yuan, which is relatively small. Overall, it presents a distinct pattern of "private enterprises leading, central and state-owned enterprises supporting, and diverse entities coexisting". This structure indicates that the future development of industries will be mainly led by market-oriented innovation forces, while also taking into account national strategic security and the coordinated development of diversified capital.

6? Analysis of the Operation of Future Industry Listed Companies

By 2025, 136 future industry listed companies will achieve a revenue of 6.56 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.10%, which is 8.88 percentage points higher than all listed companies and accounts for 9.01% of the total number of listed companies in China; The net profit reached 533.522 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.30%, which was 13.21 percentage points higher than all listed companies and accounted for 9.27% of the total number of listed companies in China. The profit quality significantly outperforms the average level of listed companies nationwide.

?1? Analysis of operating revenue

??See by province. Among 136 future industry listed companies in 24 provinces and cities, a total of 12 provinces and cities will achieve operating revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan by 2025, with the top two cities, Beijing and Guangdong, having operating revenue exceeding one trillion yuan, far higher than other provinces and cities. Shandong Future Industry's listed company achieved a revenue of 450.407 billion yuan, ranking fourth in the country.

??Looking at different industries. By 2025, future information and energy listed companies in the six major industries will achieve operating revenues exceeding or approaching 2 trillion yuan, while other industries will have lower operating revenues. Among them, the revenue growth of listed companies in the future information and manufacturing industries both exceeded 10%.

??From the perspective of future industry listed companies with different natures. By 2025, listed companies of central state-owned enterprises, private enterprises, and public enterprises will all achieve operating revenues exceeding one trillion yuan. Among them, listed companies of central state-owned enterprises have the highest revenue, reaching 3.05 trillion yuan, but their growth rate is relatively small, only increasing by 0.59%. The performance of public enterprises is impressive, with a year-on-year increase of 37.78% in operating revenue, far higher than other types of listed companies.

??View by market segment. Whether it is the Shanghai Stock Exchange or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the operating revenue of future industry listed companies on the main board has exceeded one trillion yuan, indicating that the main board has a significant ballast effect on future industry listed companies. In 2025, the revenue growth of future industry listed companies on the ChiNext board will be significant, reaching 20.50%.

?2? Profitability analysis

??See by province. The net profit of future industrial listed companies in 10 provinces and cities exceeded 10 billion yuan, among which Beijing achieved a net profit of over 200 billion yuan with the gathering of numerous central state-owned listed companies, far higher than other provinces and cities. The net profit of Shandong Future Industry's listed company was 28.981 billion yuan, ranking sixth in the country and performing average.

??Looking at different industries. Listed companies in the six major industries have corresponding operating revenues, with net profits exceeding 150 billion yuan for future information and energy listed companies, while net profits for other industries are relatively low. Among them, the net profit growth of future health and future manufacturing both exceeded 30%.

??From the perspective of different ownership types. Corresponding to operating income, the net profits of central enterprises and private future industry listed companies are relatively high, both exceeding 150 billion yuan. Among them, the net profits of private future industry listed companies ranked first with a growth rate of 46.75%, demonstrating the competitive vitality of private future industry listed companies.

??Look at the segmented market blocks. The future industrial listed companies on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange achieved a net profit of 314.181 billion yuan, accounting for 58.89%. Future industry listed companies on the ChiNext board have outstanding performance in both net profit and net profit growth, with a total net profit of 125.357 billion yuan, second only to the total net profit of future industry listed companies on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, ranking first with a growth rate of 48.61%.

7? Analysis of Innovation Capability of Future Industry Listed Companies

In 2025, out of 136 future industry listed companies, a total of 125 companies announced their R&D expenses. The total R&D expenses of the 125 companies for the year were 232.5034 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.72%, accounting for 13.80% of the R&D expenses of listed companies in China; The R&D investment intensity is 3.54%, which is 1.23 percentage points higher than the national listed companies.

By 2025, the R&D expenses of future industry listed companies in 6 provinces and cities will exceed 10 billion yuan, with Beijing being much higher than other provinces and cities. Overall, the R&D investment of future industrial listed companies in China presents a significant pattern of "head aggregation, central rise, and regional differentiation". Beijing, with over 60 billion yuan in research and development expenses, is definitely leading the way, and together with Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Shanghai, it forms the core innovation highland of the future industry; The high cost growth in regions such as Ningxia and Anhui, as well as the high research and development intensity in Tianjin, Henan, and Zhejiang, highlight the strong catch-up momentum and transformation determination of some areas in the field of hard technology.

In contrast, Shandong's future industry listed companies have a total R&D expenditure of 14.448 billion yuan, ranking fifth in the country. The R&D intensity is 0.24 percentage points lower than the average level of future industry listed companies in China, reflecting the relatively weak performance of listed companies in technological innovation in the future industry track. This enlightens us that as a major economic province, Shandong still has significant room for improvement in its future industrial strategic layout. It is urgent to guide enterprises to increase research and development efforts, optimize investment structure, narrow the gap with leading provinces and cities, and enhance core technological competitiveness.

(The author of this article is Sun Guomao, an expert of the Shandong Provincial Decision making Advisory Committee and an expert consultant of the Standing Committee of the Shandong Provincial People's Congress. He is a distinguished professor at the School of Accounting and Finance of Yantai University of Technology and a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Economics of Qingdao University. Li Zongchao is the vice president and senior researcher of the Shandong Asia Pacific Capital Market Research Institute.)