Growing popularity of China’s official language, Mandarin

A company employee pores over a Chinese-language newspaper.

Intro: More and more Cambodians are learning Mandarin, China’s official language, to get a head start in life.

According to the Khmer Chinese Association, around 40 thousand Cambodians have enrolled in Chinese language schools across the country.

Story: During the French colonial period, the language of Cambodia’s elite was French. After that, English was seen as the needed language.

Currently, millions of dollars worth of investment have poured in to Cambodia from China.

As a result, it seems, more and more parents are seen sending their children to Chinese schools.

The parents who send their children to schools such as Tuon Fa Chinese School in Phnom Penh say it's an investment in the future of their children.

"I think Mandarin is so important these days especially for business and in the future China will become the world's number one economy."

Tuon Fa Chinese School first opened its doors in 1992 with 1,700 students ranging from grade 1 to 12. Now, there are nearly 6,000 students.

Sok Leang is the deputy director of Tuon Fa Chinese School.

He says the lure of future jobs in Chinese firms is what is bringing students to the school.

"I noticed that in the last 20 years, there are a lot of investors from China, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore etc. and most of all of them speak Mandarin. So if students can speak Mandarin then it is easier for them to get jobs."

For those who can't go to Chinese school full time, there are still plenty of language tuition options.

This street in Phnom Penh used to be known for its English tuition classes. The shop houses were choc-a-block with schools offering language lessons.

English was popular, especially, for people aspiring to work for NGOs, businesses on in the ever-expanding tourist industry.

But now, most of these academies have switched their main language on offer to Mandarin.

"I am studying finance at university and I think that many banks need staff who can speak Mandarin and also the China economy is going to become number one in the world so I think that by studying Mandarin I have better chance to get a job," says 20-year-old university student Van Sorida.

Official data shows Chinese investment in Cambodia was 1.9 billion U.S. dollars last year

That is more than double the combined amount of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries and 10 times more than the United States.

Around 70 percent of the 330 factories manufacturing garments are Chinese-owned.

This TV story was aired on CNC's This Is Cambodia earlier this week.