800 US colleges have established a Chinese programme, notes academic
A US academic has forecast that Chinese will be neck and neck with English in the race to become the world's dominant language within the next two decades.
Zhao Qingguang, a professor at Carleton College in Minnesota, told educators and government officials at the World Chinese Conference in Beijing this week that Chinese culture and language were likely to rise to international prominence in the near future.
Borrowing from a 1898 quote by former German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Mr Zhao said: 'What will be the main factor to influence the historical process of the world in the 21st century? Today, we can say that it will be the rise of the Chinese language.'
Professor Zhao said that when he first began to teach Chinese at Carleton College 20 years ago, people doubted the usefulness of the language.
'But today, more than 800 American colleges have established a Chinese programme, and this is only the beginning,' he said.
Despite the influx of Chinese products onto the world market, China's language and culture were still largely a mystery to the rest of the world and many people's understanding of the country did not go beyond the Great Wall, bound feet and giant pandas.