DHAKA, March 17 -- Chinese language skill has now become a key tool in Bangladesh for people to shape a brighter future, language learners said at a ceremony in capital Dhaka on Friday.

Since China is Bangladesh's biggest investment and trading partner, they said demand for Chinese language skills is shooting up in the country.

Currently over 200 Chinese companies are operating or cooperating different fields of development in Bangladesh. About 100,000 Chinese nationals are now working in Bangladesh, the speakers said at the Chinese language skill certificate awarding ceremony in Dhaka on Friday.

Thousands of locals have access to employment in those enterprises but lack of knowledge of Chinese language has become a bottleneck in the area.

Shanto Marium-CRI Confucius Classrooom (CSCC), which is one of the country's few language and culture institutions that teach Chinese to feed the spiraling demand, organized the passing out ceremony for as many as 50 of its students of four categories on Friday.

CSCC is also an institute in Bangladesh that teaches Chinese martial art.

Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, vice president of Overseas Chinese Association in Bangladesh,

Shanto-Mariam Foundation Chairman Md. Imamul Kabir Shanto and Vice Chairman Ahsanul Kabir, among others, were present at the ceremony.

The speakers said it was indeed a happy occasion that Bangladeshi Chinese language students got the passing out certificates. The Chinese language skill is more important than mere a certificate as it shapes the future of the students.

Many of the speakers said since Chinese is our biggest investment and trading partner, Chinese language has become a part of our life.

Shanto-Mariam Confucius Classroom, a Chinese language and culture institution of the Shinto-Mariam Foundation and China Radio International, taught over 2,000 students, many of whom are employed in different firms and about 40 got scholarship for higher studies in China.