While some critics suggested the prime minister’s comments were designed merely to please his hosts, they underlined the increasing consensus that the UK’s education policies should align with its trade ambitions. Only last month, the British Council warned of an “alarming shortage” of Britons able to speak languages identified as key to the UK’s future prosperity and global standing. Of the 10 languages prioritised in the report, Mandarin was fourth – just below French, and just above German.

Joan Deslandes, head-teacher and founder of Kingsford Community School in Newham – one of east London’s most deprived boroughs – was unusually quick to see the potential in Chinese languages. From when the school first opened 13 years ago, Mandarin has been compulsory for 11 to 13 year-olds, and 70 pupils took the subject for GCSE this year. Ms Deslandes admits that many schools are too afraid of league table slippage to try a subject perceived as difficult, but she saw it as a way to unite culturally diverse pupils. “We have over 60 languages spoken around our school, but Mandarin isn’t one of those,” she says. “For once, this is a language where everyone is on a level playing field.”

However, Geoffrey Bowden, general secretary of the Association of Translation Companies, warns that prioritising Mandarin above French and German is “simply short-sighted”. Pointing out that UK exports to France and Germany currently far exceed trade relations with China, he urged a wider focus across a range of languages. “David Cameron is right to say that Mandarin is a very important language for people here to learn, but it’s not an either or,” Mr Bowden said. “We need to think about exposing young minds to as many different language options as possible.”

There are still big barriers to an increased uptake of Mandarin. A YouGov poll earlier this year showed that only 3 per cent of primary and 9 per cent of secondary schools offered Mandarin lessons, and 2 per cent said the subject had been dropped altogether. Michael Gove, education secretary, signed a deal with China’s Hanban – the office for teaching Mandarin as a foreign language – to bring 1,000 more teachers to the UK three years ago, but demand still outstrips supply.

Several people told the Financial Times that a key problem remained acquainting Chinese natives with the UK school system and helping them adapt to the less formal classroom environment. It has also been difficult just to keep Chinese teachers in Britain. Last month Scotland’s first minister criticised a Home Office decision not to renew the visas of two Mandarin teachers from China who had spent a year in Scotland as part of a Confucius Institute programme.

Some schools, however, have had real successes. Wellington College, an independent school in Berkshire, last year opened a £500,000 Mandarin language centre housed in a pagoda complete with Chinese water garden. Currently 105 of the school’s 1,000 pupils are studying the language.

The new UCL academy in London has gone even further, with compulsory Mandarin for all pupils right up to sixth form, and staff.

Tom Bowen, assistant principal, says the head-teacher often addresses pupils in Mandarin outside lessons and expects them to respond in kind. He admits that it is a “very hard” subject, but says the benefits outweigh the barriers. “It’s really important that children learn to understand a culture that’s not their own . . . Chinese is now just part of our academy life.”