Chinese institution tops Asia University Rankings

The rise of Chinese universities in the global rankings is to be expected according to some academics after China's Tsinghua University placed top of the Times Higher Education's Asia University Rankings.

It's the first time a university from the Chinese mainland has taken the number one position in the London-based magazine's Asia table.

Tsinghua University in Beijing knocked National University of Singapore off the top, which has held onto the number one ranking since 2016 and has now dropped to second place.

William Kirby, T. M. Chang professor of China studies at Harvard University, told Times Higher Education that he is "not surprised at the rise of Chinese universities in global rankings", noting that "today, no country puts more resources into higher education than China, which is home to the fastest growing system of higher education in the world – in quality as well as quantity".

He pointed out that given its strengths in engineering and applied sciences and its development of programs in the humanities and social sciences, "it is also not surprising that Tsinghua is doing particularly well".

Three higher education institutions from Hong Kong also feature in the top 10. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has fared well in the standings, jumping from 5th last year to 3rd and leading the special administrative region of China for the first time.

Times Higher Education said this is due to an improvement in its industry income and international outlook scores.

The University of Hong Kong remains in 4th position while the Chinese University of Hong Kong is in 7th place.

Times Higher Education noted that overall, 72 Chinese universities feature in the ranking, up from 63 last year, and 16 of its 26 institutions in the top 100 hold steady, rise or enter the list for the first time.

However, Peking University dropped two places to 5th, which is attributed to declines in its research income and industry income scores.

Also speaking to Times Higher Education, Gerry Postiglione, professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Hong Kong and an expert in the comparative sociology of Asian higher education, said that China's rising number of "World Class Universities" represents "a potential long-term asset for engaging with the significant diversity of other leading research universities located in countries encompassed by the Belt and Road Initiative".

In 2017, Beijing listed 42 universities it wanted to achieve world-class status in a bid to make China an international higher education power.