One of the leading Universities in China has revealed plans to open a new campus near Oxford.

A corner of the University of Oxford in England. [Photo: duitang.com]

Foxcombe Hall used to be part of the University of Oxford's Ripon College.

Most recently, it has been used by the Open University - but they're planning to vacate the site later in 2017.

That's given a rare opportunity for Peking University's HSBC Business School to acquire collegiate facilities in the Oxford vicinity.

When it opens in 2018, Foxcombe Hall will welcome students from China, the UK, and also other European countries.

They'll be given the opportunity to combine their studies in the UK with work in China, and vice versa.

As we've reported extensively over the last few months, there have been several recent exciting announcements about enhanced cooperation between European and Chinese universities.

Most recently, earlier in March we revealed plans by the University of Groningen in Holland to open a campus in China in 2018, inspired by the latter country's dedication to investing in scientific research.

Apparently, China spends an impressive 2.1 percent of its annual GDP on important research and development, compared to a figure of just 0.74 percent in the Netherlands.

The University of Groningen has a long and distinguished history, stretching back to 1614. It is well respected internationally, especially for research in the fields of Ecology, Material Sciences, Chemistry and Astronomy.