Oxford's reputation as a national centre for the study of modern day China has received a boost following a £2m award to Oxford University.

The cash, which comes from the Leverhulme Trust, is designed to develop Chinese Studies within the University.

The funding will transform research into the People's Republic of China, one of the most rapidly changing countries on earth. It has also allowed the university to appoint its first Professor of the Study of Contemporary China -- Prof Vivienne Shue.

She is currently the Professor of Chinese Government at Cornel University in the US and will focus on contemporary China, with particular reference to the social sciences. She will also take a leading role in promoting inter-disciplinary work on China at the university -- which already has more than 20 posts filled by academics researching aspects of ancient and modern day China.

The new funding also provides for research posts, and post doctoral and graduate studentships providing expertise in areas such as poverty elimination, urbanisation, biodiversity and medicine. Prof Shue will take up her post, in Oxford's Institute for Chinese Studies in Walton Street, in August.

Prof Dame Jessica Rawson, Professor of Chinese Art and Archaeology, who will be overseeing the management of the £2m fund, said: "We are very grateful that the Leverhulme Trust has recognised the central role of China over the coming decades and supports Oxford's development of this important field.

A university spokesman said: "China has one-fifth of the world's population, and both the state and its society are currently undergoing an unprecedented period of transformation. Changes include huge migration from rural areas to the cities, integration with the world economy and international relations, and an industrial expansion likely to create an extra burden on the environment in the future.

"Oxford University is at the forefront of understanding how these changes might shape our future world."