Beijing, Jan 26 (IANS) Chinese think-tanks are among the world's best ones, with 9 of them making it to the best 175 in 2016, a report has said.

The number of Chinese think tanks has grown rapidly in the world last year, says Global Go To Think Tank Index Report, published by the think tank and civil societies program

at the Lauder Institute of University of Pennsylvania (TTCSP).

The report, according to China Daily, shows the US at the top with the largest number of think tanks, at 1,835, while China holds the second place with 435, followed by UK, 288, and India, 280

Selected from a list of 175 top think tanks in the world, these nine think tanks are China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations; Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; China Institute of International Studies; Development Research Center of the State Council; Shanghai Institute for International Studies; Institute of International and Strategic Studies Peking University; Unirule Institute of Economics; Center for China and Globalization; and Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, with China Institute of Contemporary International Relations ranking the highest at 33.

"It's very meaningful that a number of Chinese think tanks are influencing the world," said Wang Huiyao, president of the Center for China and Globalization. "More think tanks are needed to help our government in making decisions accurately and scientifically. Meanwhile, think tanks serve more like a 'soft power', which can also help enhance our country's international stature," he said.

Referred to as "think tanks' think tank", TTCSP manages and supports a global network of close to 7,000 think tanks and trains future think tank scholars and executives.

"Since 2006, our ranking process has been refined and streamlined, and the number and scope of the institutions and individuals involved has steadily grown." said James McGann, director of the TTCSP.

The 2016 report shows continued expansion of think tanks in Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa.