Beijing appears ready to fuel a fresh wave of interest in English-language learning in the run-up to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting this fall.

"Compared with many international metropolises, the popularization of English is not as strong in Beijing," said Chen Mingming, a foreign language expert at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"The government should come up with more platforms and channels to facilitate the learning of the language and better receive guests from across the globe during the APEC meeting."