China's Spanish students take bull by horns as links grow

The strange vowel sounds and awkward pronunciation provoked giggles among the class of eager Chinese students as they tried to say hola, and como estas. But the linguistic challenge couldn't stifle the air of enthusiasm at the first introductory lesson hosted by Beijing's new Cervantes Institute.

Although small in number, the crop of 170 mainland students trying to master the intricacies of Spanish represented the vanguard of an effort by China to tap a global market of Spanish-speakers that's 400 million strong.

Most students at the opening of the Cervantes Institute two weeks ago had signed up for its commercial Spanish course and already had some connection with Chinese companies doing business in Spain or Latin America. Others were local employees of Spanish or Latin American companies operating in China. Many were university students keen to be a part of what they saw as a bright commercial future between China and Latin America.

The move to expand the mainland's understanding of Spanish comes as China has made several inroads into the Latin American market. Beijing signed a free-trade agreement with Chile last month, the first deal of its kind with a Latin American country and one that the authorities hope will make Chile a gateway for Chinese business with the continent.

The opportunities appear vast: Chinese trade with Chile surged more than 700 per cent between 1996 and last year, and total bilateral trade last year was HK$55.5 billion, the Trade Ministry said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: 'The treaty should give greater dynamism to the development of trade and economic relations with the region. We are all developing countries that share identical interests and political goals.'