DURHAM N.C.

Duke University is partnering with a major academic health center and hospital network in China to help it do a better job of serving its patients, the school said Wednesday.

Duke officials said the seven-year agreement calls for its experts to travel to Beijing and help Peking University Health Science Center in areas including health care management, research, and clinical trials.

That's critical as China's population ages and its economy becomes more market-based, with less government support for institutions, according to Duke.

A Duke-PUHSC Cardiovascular Training Center is among the partnership's first projects. Also envisioned are a heart center and a Center on Global Health.

The partnership can not only improve health care in China, but increase Duke's ability to help attack global health issues, said Dr. Victor Dzau, chancellor for health affairs and president and chief executive officer of the Duke University Health System.

"We see this not only as a moral imperative but also a key to global stability," Dzau said.

Financial terms of the agreement haven't been disclosed, said Duke spokesman Christopher DiFrancesco.

Peking University Health Science Center was founded in 1912 and consists of eight independent hospitals and more than 10,000 students at 11 schools, according to Duke.

Duke's presence in the region also includes a medical school established in Singapore by Duke University and the National University of Singapore, which opened to its first class of 26 students last month, DiFrancesco said.

--Associated Press