BEIJING -- A transportation research center was jointly launched by China's Tsinghua University, Britain's University of Cambridge and the US Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Tuesday in Beijing.

The Future Transportation Research Center was unveiled at a ceremony in Tsinghua University. It was established under the framework of the "Low Carbon Energy University Alliance" that was founded in 2009 by the three educational organizations.

The center will focus on future transportation studies, which include smart, green, low carbon and ecological transportation, said Wu Jianping, director of the center.

The center will establish a world-class academic exchange platform where leading experts in the world can carry out short-term research and give lectures, he said.