"Most of that number only learn English as a second language." In most of these areas, English is not a 'second language', it's a 'second administrative langua

"Most of that number only learn English as a second language." In most of these areas, English is not a 'second language', it's a 'second administrative language' with a de-facto official status. Languages have incredible incumbency, now that English is fairly entrenched in most places, it's not going away. Unless you think that China will start producing entertainment (TV, films, music), products, services - available only in Chinese - that the rest of the world 'really needs' - it's not going to happen. If China makes anything work well internationally, it's going to have to be in a local language or in English. Even today - as China is a fairly large economy - there are very, very few people learning to speak Chinese as a second language. Though it is much more common than before - it's still rare. Here's a hint: in the UK - even though they do most of their business with the continent - almost none of them speak another language. Why? Because there is very low utility - everyone else speaks English. So it's pointless for Brits to speak French, German, Swedish etc..