The Chinese language is getting increasingly popular worldwide, with as many as 40 million people now learning it as a second language, a senior education official said.

"The number of people learning Chinese now is quite beyond our expectations," Xu Lin, director of the Chinese Language Council International, told a press conference on March 12.

According to earlier reports, only about 25 million people were learning the language in 2004.

Xu said the council aimed at opening 100 Confucius Institutes worldwide, jointly with foreign and domestic universities, by 2008.

"But as of this month, 256 Confucius Institutes and 58 Confucius classrooms have been established in 81 countries," she said.

"There were so many people eager to learn Chinese that we just could not shut them out," she added.

The Confucius Institute is a non-profit language school, named after ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius, which has been helping non-natives learn Chinese since 2004.

Meanwhile, an increasing number of primary and high schools in various countries are now offering Chinese language courses for students.

In the United States, for example, 1,200 primary and high schools have opened Chinese language courses, up from 200 schools three years ago.

And in Thailand, more than 1,000 primary and high schools are offering Chinese language courses to 300,000 students, Xu said.

Zhang Xinsheng, vice minister of education, said the reason why such a large number of non-native speakers wanted to learn Chinese was because "they have seen China's future".

"China has never meant to export its language and culture forcefully," he said.

Ji Baocheng, president of Renmin University of China, which has cooperated with foreign colleges to set up nine Confucius Institutes, said: "It's the students' own wish to learn. We are just providing them with the opportunity."

The trend is irreversible, because China is now the world's third largest economy and second largest trade block, he said.

The council expects that by 2010, 500 Confucius Institutes would be established worldwide.

By Xin Dingding

Editor: Dong Jirong