Education authorities in Sindh say they plan to make Mandarin compulsory in schools from Class 6 (10- and 11-year-olds).
Lessons in Mandarin could become compulsory for schoolchildren in parts of Pakistan under ambitious plans to capitalise on the growing influence of Chinese companies.
A pilot project will be launched later this year in the southern province of Sindh as Pakistan looks to further strengthen ties with its giant neighbour.
While Islamabad and Washington continue to eye each other warily - and a planned visit by President Barack Obama has been postponed - 2011 has already been declared the year of "Pak-China Friendship".
Education authorities in Sindh say they plan to make Mandarin compulsory in schools from Class 6 (10- and 11-year-olds).
"Our trade, educational and other relations are growing with China every day and now it is necessary for our younger generation to have command over their language," said Pir Mazhar-ul-Haq¸ the senior provincial education minister.
But the plan has many critics, who say it is driven by political considerations. They point out that Pakistan has few Chinese language teachers and an already overstretched education system. Zubeida Mustafa, a columnist and author of Tyranny of Language in Education, accused the Sindh government of moving further into "mass confusion".
Pakistan is not the only country to take up Mandarin or Cantonese as China's economic growth transforms world trade. In July, Sweden announced that all primary schools would offer classes in Chinese within 10 years.
As its relationship with the US sours, Pakistan is talking up its ties with China, worth $8.7 billion (£5.5 billion) in trade each year, a figure expected to almost double in the next three years.
Earlier this year, Pakistan opened a nuclear reactor built with Chinese aid and the country is now believed to be Islamabad's biggest military supplier. In May, with Pakistan still reeling from the US raid to kill Osama bin Laden, Yousuf Raza Gilani, the prime minister, said: "We are proud to have China as our best and most trusted friend, and China will find Pakistan standing beside it at all times."
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