Chinese universities continue upward trend in world rankings

Higher education institutions from the Chinese mainland continued their upward trend, with around 45 percent improving their positions compared to last year, according to the 2026 QS World University Rankings released on Thursday by Quacquarelli Symonds.

Peking University held its top spot among Chinese mainland universities and ranked 14th globally, while Tsinghua University rose to 17th, up seven spots. Fudan University climbed nine places to 30th.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has retained its position as the world's leading university for the 14th consecutive year, followed by Imperial College London and Stanford University. The latest rankings include more than 1,500 universities from 106 countries and regions, QS said.

As global competition intensifies, China's continued investment in education, research, and international collaboration will be key to maintaining and expanding its presence on the world academic stage, it added.

The sustained rise of China's universities demonstrates their growing influence in global higher education, said Ben Sowter, QS senior vice president. Peking University's continued excellence and this year's 32 upward movers signal strong national momentum, he said.

Among the key drivers of this success were improvements in faculty research impact and employer reputation. About 71 percent of universities on the Chinese mainland improved in citations per faculty member, while 64 percent advanced in employer reputation.

Nanjing University in Jiangsu province jumped to a personal best of 103rd globally, supported by gains in academic reputation, employer perception and citations per faculty. However, most C9 members saw declines in international student ratio, faculty diversity and graduate employment.

Institutions in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also achieved a great leap, with the University of Hong Kong climbing to the 11th place globally.

China has firmly established itself as a research powerhouse. The next steps will be to attract more global talent and deepen international partnerships. Zhejiang University, Tongji University in Shanghai, and Nanjing University are setting examples in global academic collaboration and international faculty recruitment, Sowter said.

In addition, the ranking highlights a shifting center of gravity in higher education towards Asia, which now claims the highest number of ranked universities worldwide.

"We are witnessing a rebalancing of global academic influence. While traditional powerhouses maintain strong positions, the data shows clear momentum in regions investing heavily in research capacity, internationalization, and long-term strategy," Sowter added.