A major Chinese biomedical service provider is teaming up with Cardiff University to explore research opportunities.

China-based Realcan will provide 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) of funding to the Welsh institution during a three-year period.

The investment will allow PhD students with Realcan to partner with Cardiff University's leading clinicians and biomedical scientists as well as Realcan research fellows.

The focus of the research will be in line with the university's key research themes - cancer, integrative biosystems, neuroscience, immunology, infection, inflammation, and other areas.

Wang Yongli, the minister counselor for education at the Chinese embassy in London, welcomed the arrangement.

"China has a long record of working with institutions in Wales, and indeed the whole of the United Kingdom, and we warmly welcome this agreement between Cardiff University and one of our most successful companies," he said.

Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor and president of Cardiff University, said: "Our links with China are strong and I am delighted that we have the opportunity to further develop our already successful research partnerships in the country."

He said Realcan shares "our vision for world-leading research to tackle pressing global health challenges" and noted that the investment will "enable us to invest in the brightest and best postgraduate researchers".

Xu Han, chairman of Realcan, praised the biomedical and clinical work carried out by the Welsh university and described the institution as a world leader in this type of research.

"The world faces many health challenges and it is only through working closely together across countries and continents that we can make a real difference to people's lives," Xu said.

The relationship is the latest joint venture involving the university and Chinese entities. It already has around 40 partnerships, including ones with Peking University, and Beijing Friendship Hospital (Capital Medical University), through the Cardiff China Medical Research Collaborative, which focuses on oncology research.

Since 1999, the collaborative has developed the University Joint Cancer Institute, through which Cardiff University and Peking University have cooperated on researching the cause, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Earlier this year, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with Sun Yat-sen University, which is located in the South China city of Guangzhou, to collaborate in the field of breast cancer research.

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