Chinese think tanks reflect quantity, not quality: report

China has the second-largest number of think tanks in the world only after the United States, but experts said the lack of top-notch Chinese institutions and global influence reflects the need to improve intellectual support of the country's policy-making process.

The report 2013 Global Go To Think Tanks Index, released on Wednesday, said that China had 426 think tanks as of August, accounting for about 6 percent of the world's total, second only to the US, which has 1,828.

But only six of the Chinese think tanks are among the top 100 think tanks worldwide. The rankings are determined by the think tanks' academic successes and global influence, according to the report, compiled by the Think Tank and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania.