China overtakes Japan as Asia's number one nation for world-class universities, according to the Asia University Rankings 2015 published Wednesday by the Times Higher Education.
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Some 21 universities from the Chinese mainland enter the top 100 of the rankings, up from 18 last year, with Peking University taking fourth place and Tsinghua University being fifth.
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China's special administrative regions also do well, with six universities from Hong Kong (two in the top 10) and one from Macao represented in the top 50.
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Although the University of Tokyo remains Asia's number one institution, Japan slips to second place with 19 representatives in the prestigious top 100, down from 20 last year.
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The Asia rankings use 13 performance indicators to examine each university's strengths against its core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook, according to Times Higher Education, a weekly magazine that provides information about higher education.
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"This really is China's year. With three new entrants and some of the country's established universities climbing up the tables," Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education Rankings told.
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Baty also said this is living proof that a serious commitment to higher education from a government that is prepared to invest in research and development really does pay off.Â