China has overtaken Japan as Asia's No 1 nation for world-class universities, according to the Asia University Rankings 2015 published on Wednesday by Times Higher Education, a weekly magazine published in the UK.

Twenty-one universities from the Chinese mainland appear in the top 100, up from 18 last year, with Peking University taking fourth place and Tsinghua University one place behind.

China's special administrative regions also do well, with six universities from Hong Kong - including two in the top 10 - and one from Macao in the top 50.

The University of Tokyo remains Asia's No 1 institution, but Japan has slipped to second place in the rankings with 19 representatives in the top 100, down from 20 last year.

"This really is China's year, with three new entrants and some of the country's established universities climbing up the tables," said Phil Baty, editor of the Times Higher Education Rankings.

Baty said the results prove that a serious commitment to higher education from a government that is prepared to invest in research and development really does pay off.

The Asia rankings use 13 performance indicators to examine each university's strengths in the core missions of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook, according to Times Higher Education.

Xinhua - AFP