But in today's China, English was compulsory from the sixth grade on, and the language had become an obsession among the younger generation.
The china clay industry in Cornwall was started nearly 300 years ago by English China Clays, which was taken over by Imerys in 1999.
Investors keep investing, and young professionals keep studying Chinese, doing internships and teaching English in China.
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The Nikkei article draws on a report in the June 23 English language China Daily.
China Daily, China's biggest English-language newspaper, has launched an African edition - the latest of several Chinese media initiatives in Africa.
China Daily, an English-language newspaper, said officials had given few details of the rising costs they hoped to offset with the price increases.
His comments were translated into English by China Daily on Tuesday.
Born in Hangzhou, China, he perfected his English skills by talking up tourists at a local hotel.
For a complete list of the top 30 on the China Chain Store list in English, please click here.
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So we invented a new product in China called "Introduction to English".
Click here to return to the main Forbes China 30 Under 30 List in English.
Click here to return to the Forbes China 30 Under 30 List in English.
As for Frederick, he is halfway across the globe, teaching English to students in China.
Their goal is to make available Espresso book machines throughout China and reprint Chinese books, English books, French books and others.
The company would have 9, 000 employees and would have locations in about 20 countries around the world, including China, India, all major English-speaking countries and many countries in the Spanish-speaking world.
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"Basic material wealth is a necessity, " observed Zhou, executive editor of the English-language newspaper, China Daily.
Before returning to China he placed his four children in English private schools.
But Mr Premji believes that once China has trained enough people to speak English, it will be a real competitive threat to his business.
In 2001, the city's main English daily, the South China Morning Post, hired monks to cleanse the newsroom after staffers reported seeing ghosts in the bathroom.
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American universities have long operated in other countries: Johns Hopkins University, for example, opened a branch in Italy in 1955 and another in China in 1986, teaching mostly in English and catering for both local and visiting students.
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Now instead of writing to that person you barely know in Beijing, you can listen to a whole Sinica podcast on the best English-language books on China as decreed by avid readers who live and work in Beijing.
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The February spike in U.S. auto sales was the topic that Thomas Rippe and Xu Qinduo at Beyond Beijing, the English-language arm of China Radio International, wanted to discuss with Tim Dunne , Director of Global Automotive Operations at J.
Many others were new arrivals from China, Vietnam and Pakistan, who barely spoke English.
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In China alone there are over 300 million people learning English right now.
In China's bigger cities children often start learning English in reception year.
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Our correspondent says that, according to one well-known Chinese songwriter, My Heart Will Go On is one of two English songs that are well known in China.
With potentially more lightly regulated non-EU markets like China and India crying out for American-style English-language TV, the UK's Anglo-American press barons see only problems in a more integrated Europe.
Even China has attracted more interest, despite India's English-speaking doctors and technicians.
Nick Cucinella, CEO at CareerBuilder China, advises graduates to have a CV in both English and Chinese, even if they don't speak the language, and that taking the initiative and targeting prospective employers and Chinese companies is the best path to a job.
Fluency in English and internationally recognised qualifications are keenly sought as China opens up to the world.
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