Brazil to send young diplomats to China for six months to learn Mandarin

From here in Spanish:

Five young recently assigned diplomats will be sent to study at the Beijing University of Language and Culture for six months. According to a report published by the national Brazilian news agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil is developing a Chinese language training plan for its diplomats.

According to the report, relations between Brazil and China are becoming closer all the time in the economic, political, diplomatic and cultural sphere. In 2009 China became Brazil's largest trading partner. Last year bilateral trade reached $84.5 billion, 32.5% more than in 2010.

Brazilians here encounter two large difficulties: one is the language barrier, since there are few Brazilians who can speak or read books in Mandarin. The second is that there is little knowledge of Chinese culture.

It then ends by saying that the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Antonio de Aguiar Patriota) can read and speak Mandarin due to having been the Brazilian Ambassador in China before.