One would think that with the international interest in China and in the Chinese language, translators and interpreters would be begging for jobs.
Far from it.
Translators and interpreters are needed desperately for both foreign and Chinese governments and enterprises.
This shortage of language skills occurs at a time when foreign language has never been more popular in China - it's compulsory in schools.
And learning Chinese is popular overseas.
But not everyone wants to be an interpreter or translator.
The translation industry employs around 500,000 people, including retirees, college students and returnees from overseas universities who work as freelancers.
But only 60,000 professional translators can produce accurate translations from Chinese into a foreign language, according to Wang Xin, an official with the Training Center of the China International Publishing Group.
China currently has nearly 3,000 registered translation firms with more than 400 in Beijing, according to the Translators Association of China. But many of them are "briefcase companies" with only a telephone, a computer and one or two full-time employees. The part-time translators and interpreters they hire are not always qualified.
"Even the 60,000 professionals is not enough to meet China's growing demand for exchanges with other countries," Wang said on the sidelines of an address on "cultural aspects of translation," by Professor Wang Ruojin of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
"Unless the problems are tackled properly, it will become a major obstacle to China's economic development," said Wang, adding "China may lose access to a huge amount of valuable information if no accurate and timely translation is given, particularly with regard to the state-of-the-art economic, scientific and technological updates from the rest of the world."
English is compulsory in primary and secondary schools.
Besides, Chinese companies are facing worldwide customers and competitors, she said. "The accuracy and efficiency in translation are essential in the globalization drive."
(Xinhua)