400,000 people will learn Chinese language in the UK by 2020

Almaty. October 25. Silkroadnews – 400,000 people will learn Chinese language in the UK by 2020, China Plus reported.
“A new feature article in the UK's Financial Times newspaper is putting a spotlight on Chinese language learning in Britain. The FT feature is suggesting an increasing number of people in the UK are starting to take an interest in learning Mandarin, suggesting the momentum is being driven - in part - by financial considerations, as China is one of the UK's main trading partners. The UK government hopes to have 400,000 students enrolled in Mandarin courses by 2020,” the publication said.
It is noted that Chinese missions in the UK are also working hard to expand Mandarin educational courses. 29 Confucius Institutes and 148 Confucius classes were established in the UK, 160,000 people registered for language courses, statistics from the Department of Education of the Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom says.
While many British public schools began offering Chinese language courses, 45% of private schools in the UK have already introduced a Chinese language training program. In addition, the Chinese language is approved as a foreign language for study in 86 primary schools and 37 secondary schools in Scotland. The number of Scottish students who prefer to study Chinese is now superior to those who choose either a local dialect, Gaelic or Italian as a second language.
Also, the number of British students passing the HSK, the national standardized Chinese language exam for foreigners, is increasing. In July of this year, 6,237 British students have signed for HSK, which is 5 times more than in 2011.
In September 2016, the British government launched its program of teaching the Chinese language with a funding volume of 10 million pounds sterling.