The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently announced the implementation of a $20 million fund intended to boost technological and scientific innovation in China, while also hoping to improve collaboration with the industry and MIT itself.

The three-year-old MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives Global Seed Funds will administer the Greater China Fund for Innovation, which has already fulfilled $2 million worth of the total investment.

"We are confident that the innovations the China seed fund will produce will give faculty and students opportunities to expand their talents in new directions and consider new perspectives," Philip S. Khoury, associate provost and professor of history, told MIT News. "We also hope the seed fund will consolidate the already strong ties between MIT and Greater China, which we are committed to strengthening and expanding."

Recipients of the funding initiatives include efforts to map the antigenic evolution of influenza viruses in China, a study on urban development in steep-slope areas and a project aimed at fusing ecology with bioengineering to improve human health.

The MIT fund is one of several recent investments in the emerging IP-based Chinese economy. Last month, General Electric announced plans to invest $2 billion in Chinese entrepreneurship and tech innovation. The country was also one of several recipients of a $77 million global tech innovation program led by computer chip manufacturer Intel.