COLUMBIA --- The new Confucius Institute at the University of South Carolina will allow more residents to learn Chinese language and culture and benefit from trading with the emerging international power, university officials said Monday in announcing its creation.

The new institute, through a partnership with the Beijing Language and Culture University, will enable South Carolina to offer more classes in Chinese studies and provide 20 scholarships to in-state students starting next fall, said Tan Ye, director of USC's Center for Asian Studies.

The exact amounts have not been worked out, but could be worth $7,000.

High school principals and language supervisors will also be invited to take a two-week trip to China, and the institute will offer language and protocol classes that will initially be free to South Carolina business people who trade with China, Mr. Ye said.

USC's Chinese studies classes have tripled in the past couple of years, with 150 students taking language or literature courses, and the number of students interested in studying in China is higher, school officials said.

USC is the first research school in South Carolina to establish a Confucius Institute. There are roughly three dozen in the United States and nearly 300 worldwide, Zhao Ming, vice president of the Beijing Language and Culture University, said through a translator. Institutes in North Carolina and Georgia have formed partnerships with Nanjing University.