Britain pumps up Chinese language training

The British government will grant children chances to study Chinese as part of efforts to pave the way for future trade and tourism cooperation with China, British Chancellor George Osborne said on Thursday.

In a speech to businessmen in Hong Kong, he disclosed a new grant for the training of Chinese-language teachers in 50 London schools, which will reach up to 3,000 primary school pupils.

"I want thousands more children in Britain to learn this language of the future world economy," said Osborne, whose daughter is already learning Chinese.