Israeli Tel Aviv University and Chinese Tsinghua University inaugurated Tuesday, 20 May, a joint centre for innovative research and education. The XIN Centre was launched in the presence of the Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong, President of Tsinghua University Chen Jining, and the President of Tel Aviv University Joseph Klafter. Leading business figures and scientists from both countries also attended. The XIN Centre, meaning "new" in Chinese, will initially focus on nanotechnology with medical and optics applications and will later expand to other scientific fields. It will recruit leading international researchers and top students from Israel and China as well as the rest of the world. In the framework of XIN, an investment fund will be established to seed ventures initiated by XIN Fellows. The fund of RMB100 million (US$16.35 million) will be set up by Infinity Group, Israel's largest investments managing firm. Investors in the fund will include the Beijing government and alumni of Tsinghua University.