Visitors inspect intelligent products that were developed by Haier Group's COSMOPlat industrial internet platform. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Qingdao-based home appliance maker Haier Group made this year's list of the World's 500 Most Influential Brands, which was released on Dec 7 in New York.

Haier has made the list for 18 consecutive years since the release of the first edition of the World's 500 Most Influential Brands.

Compiled by World Brand Lab, the list has been published annually since 2003. It is judged based on brands' global influence. World Brand Lab tracks three key indicators of brand influence - market share, brand loyalty, and global leadership - for more than 15,000 leading brands around the globe and uses this data to develop the list.

Google, Amazon, and Microsoft claimed the top three slots. The list includes brands from 31 countries. The US topped the list with 198 companies, retaining its position as a global brand superpower. France, Japan, China, and the UK boasted 48, 46, 44, and 37 brands on the list respectively, while Germany, Switzerland, and Italy made up the third tier of brand powerhouses.