According to recent global rankings based on China’s classification of subjects, Chinese universities outperform institutions around the world in the vast majority of disciplines.

The Times Higher Education China Topic Ratings show how more than 1,500 universities around the world, including 90 in mainland China, fare in 89 subjects graded by the Chinese Ministry of Education (MoE). In each subject, institutions are assigned an A+ to C- grade based on their success in four core areas: teaching, science, international outlook, and knowledge transfer.

Overall, the ratings show that China receives a B+, which is higher than the global average of a B.

China’s performance is comparable to that of several other big, established higher education systems, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, and it is superior to that of many others, most notably France, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. However, it lags behind a select group of research-intensive countries such as Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, and Singapore.

A thorough examination of the ratings shows that Chinese universities outperform the rest of the world in 63 of the 89 subjects studied, covering a wide range of engineering disciplines, astronomy, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, and mechanics. In 30 subjects, China receives an A- or higher on average.

Overall, A+, A, or A- grades were provided to 49% of Chinese institutions, the same percentage as the UK and US.

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