ARTS treasures including work by Bradford-born David Hockney are to travel to China as part of a drive to showcase British culture backed by almost £6 million of Government grants.

And the Bradford district looks set to benefit from a further £3 million that will be spent on boosting Chinese tourism to the UK and encouraging high-spending visitors to venture beyond London to cultural attractions like Haworth's Bronte Country.

The initiative was announced by George Osborne during a week-long visit to the east Asian economic giant designed to boost bilateral trade and kickstart what the Chancellor hopes will be "a golden decade of UK-China relations".

Highlights of the cultural programme include bringing the British Museum's blockbuster exhibition "A History of the World in 100 Objects" to China for the first time, backed by £750,000 of state funding.

Some £1.6 million will allow the British Library to mount exhibitions over the next four years featuring hand-written manuscripts and early editions of works from authors ranging from Shakespeare to Jane Austen and Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The Tate's Landscapes of the Mind show of 100 artworks from 300 years of British landscape painting will be presented in China, backed by £1.3 million of state funding.

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The show will include Hockney's Bigger Trees Near Warter, which was displayed in his home city at Cartwright Hall, Manningham, for a period during 2011.

Some £740,000 will support a tour of the recent Shakespeare's Globe production of The Merchant of Venice and train Chinese arts organisations for commemorations next year of the 400th anniversary of the Bard's death.

A further £700,000 is being spent on encouraging Chinese tourists to visit the north of England as part of the Chancellor's Northern Powerhouse initiative to boost the economy of the region, while £1.3 million will fund a VisitBritain campaign to highlight cultural tourism opportunities in the UK.

Speaking at Beijing's National Theatre, where he joined Vice Premier Ma Kai to watch excerpts of Mandarin-language productions of War Horse and Richard III, Mr Osborne said: "Britain's world-class cultural institutions, education and brands are internationally renowned and respected, and a key element of our global economic and political influence.

"That's why I've ensured that Government funding will continue to support some of our greatest museums, galleries and theatre companies - including the British Museum, Tate, Shakespeare's Globe and the Royal Shakespeare Company - to boost their profile in China."

VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe said: "We know that Chinese travellers rate culture, history and historical experiences high on their list of must-dos, which is excellent news for Britain which excels in these tourism offers."