Former prime minister and noted sinophile Kevin Rudd will lead research on US-China relations at Harvard University.

Mr Rudd has been appointed a senior fellow with Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and a visiting fellow with Harvard's Institute of Politics. He will take up the posts next week.

New life ... Kevin Rudd will split his time between Australia, China and the US. Credit:Wolter Peeters

In a statement, the ivy-league university announced that Mr Rudd would be at the forefront of the school's major research on the "possibilities and impacts of a new strategic relationship between China and the United States".

"With China on track to surpass the US as the world's largest economy during the next decade, the initiative will explore the shape of a new relationship and its impact on the global order," the Harvard statement said.