Inma Gonzalez Puy, president of the Cervantes Institute in Beijing, said Sunday China is in demand of more Spanish-speaking talents with professional background under closer ties between China and Spanish-speaking countries.

"As China is having more cooperation in trade and tourism with Spain and many Latin American countries, Spanish begins to enjoy amore eminent position as a foreign language for international communication in China," said Inma Gonzalez Puy at a meeting to promote Spanish culture and language, adding that the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 World Expo both underscore China's demand for Spanish-speaking talents.

Cervantes Institute is the world's largest official organization to promote Spanish culture and language education. It has 70 branches in more than 40 countries across the world.

Inma Gonzalez Puy said currently China was in need of people who could speak both Chinese and Spanish and have professional knowledge, and the institute was doing what it could to nourish such talents.

Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world with about 400 million users. However, in the past, not many people in China could speak the language, regarding Spanish as a "minority foreign language" -- a general Chinese name given to all foreign languages other than English.

The meeting was part of the five-day 16th Beijing International Book Fair which runs from Sept. 3. Spain is a guest of honor in this year's event.

Currently, more than 1,700 companies from 56 countries and regions attended the fair, bringing some 160,000 kinds of books.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2009)