A $7 million gift to the Kennedy School by a Hong Kong real-estate magnate will fund a new scholarship program for Chinese students, Kennedy School Dean Joseph S. Nye said yesterday.

The donor, Nina Kung, is chair of Chinachem, Hong Kong's largest privately owned real-estate company, and a professor at Beijing University.

Kung's gift will allow ten students from China who are in the middle of their college careers to study public policy at the Kennedy School each year, beginning in the fall.

The scholarships will be named in Kung's honor and applicants will undergo a selection process similar to that used by the Rhodes and Marshall scholarship programs, Nye said.

Besides the scholarships, the gift will go toward funding three separate programs.

One of these will involve a collaboration between the Chinese National School of Public Administration and the Kennedy School, according to a news release.

The remainder of the money will be spent on conferences and seminars on U.S.-China relations, as well as curricular development at the Kennedy School.

Kung's gift coincided with the Kennedy School's goal of increasing its focus on China.

"It has always been my priority to develop a special program with China," Nye said. "It is a country of increasing importance to the United States."

Nye said the new program reaffirms the school's commitment to train international students.

Currently, approximately one-third of the school's students are foreign.

JoAnn C. Fan, co-chair of the Asian Student Caucus at the Kennedy School, said Kung's gift will help create more communication between China and the U.S.

"Policy mishaps occur when there are misunderstandings between cultures," Fan said. "If this program can provide awareness, I think that it's very positive."

The $7 million gift was Kung's second donation to the Kennedy School. Last year, a $1 million grant sponsored a two-week conference for Chinese military officers.