Overview
- The latest Leiden Rankings place Zhejiang University first, with seven other Chinese institutions in the top 10 for research output.
- A Forbes review of six major global systems shows a measurable decline in the share of top-10 and top-20 spots held by U.S. universities over time.
- Harvard’s research-output position has slipped overall, though it still leads on highly cited papers in Leiden’s metrics.
- Analysts link China’s rise to sustained national funding and strategic priorities, while reporting cites U.S. funding uncertainty and collaboration limits under the Trump administration as headwinds.
- Methodological differences across rankings influence outcomes, and some commentary highlights China’s research gains alongside low reported racial diversity at its universities.