LONDON — The Times Higher Education on Dec 2 published the 2016 rankings of the world’s best universities in emerging economies, with Chinese universities taking 39 places in the top 200.

Some 200 universities from 35 countries are listed in the latest rankings. These countries are classified as emerging economies, including the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

China is the most-represented nation in the rankings, as five Chinese institutions make the top 10, including Peking University and Tsinghua University at the top two spots.

China has invested heavily in higher education. Research and development spending increased by an average of 23 percent a year over the past decade, according to Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

“This is great news for the Chinese sector,” he said.

These rankings are based on 13 performance indicators used to create the annual Times Higher Education World University Rankings, but are specially calibrated to reflect the development priorities of universities in emerging economies.