Microsoft founder Bill Gates was in Beijing last month to officially inaugurate China's first educational institute dedicated solely to charity sector education.

The China Global Philanthropy Institute will be based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, and has the backing of five leading philanthropists from China and abroad.

Gates, the president of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said the new organization's aim is to foster management talent in the sector, and promote professional and transparent philanthropy. It is the first charity-focused education initiative he has supported in the country.