China's growing importance as an export market for Denmark has led Niels Brock Business College to start a special high school study program, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.

The program, which starts this summer, will specialise in Chinese culture, language, society, and business traditions.

The number of Danish jobs is expected to grow in China in the future, and the school wants to be at the forefront of this development, the school's CEO Anya Eskildsen said.

"We have experienced great demand from Danish companies seekingqualified workers for their activities in China. We're creating this new study programme so that students will be prepared for therapidly expanding Chinese business market and future possibilitiesin China," Eskildsen said to Ritzau.

She said knowledge about local factors was always important when establishing a business, but in a country so radically different from Denmark as China, it was utterly necessary.

Students will obtain a complete high school education and a comprehensive knowledge of China.

In the first year, students will take a short trip to China for14 days, and in the third year, they will study in China for an extended period of three to five months.

Initial plans call for 30-35 students in the study programme. After three years an additional two-year programme for marketing economists is planned.

"We expect that in 3-5 years, we can offer highly qualified business people who can function well in China," Eskildsen said.

In addition to China, Niels Brock has plans for similar study programmes that specialize in Arabic, Russian, and Turkish business culture.