Wherever there is a Chinese community in diaspora, surely there is a Chinatown.
Chinese may have the largest number of native speakers but few non-sino people speak or understand it even in simple sentences. The language has little use outside the core countries where it's spoken. It has gained prominence because of its huge number of speakers plus China is the 3rd largest country in the world.
In the same way, Spanish language has the same status because it has also large number of native speakers with few million secondary speakers and those who speak it as an acquired tongue. There are also huge Hispanic community in the US and that's the only reason why it gained prominence in the US society. Outside US, Hispanic communities are virtually unnoticed much unlike the Chinese communities all over the world. It can also boast of 20+ countries were it is spoken or large geographical area. The language is used only in international conferences whenever there are 5 Hispanic countries are included in that gathering.
In my own opinion, Chinese can surpass Spanish in influence because of the growing economy of China which is too remote to happen in Spanish speaking world. At the same time China is making a progress in scientific, technological, and economic achievements which the Spanish speaking world fails to achieve.
Chinese may have the largest number of native speakers but few non-sino people speak or understand it even in simple sentences. The language has little use outside the core countries where it's spoken. It has gained prominence because of its huge number of speakers plus China is the 3rd largest country in the world.
In the same way, Spanish language has the same status because it has also large number of native speakers with few million secondary speakers and those who speak it as an acquired tongue. There are also huge Hispanic community in the US and that's the only reason why it gained prominence in the US society. Outside US, Hispanic communities are virtually unnoticed much unlike the Chinese communities all over the world. It can also boast of 20+ countries were it is spoken or large geographical area. The language is used only in international conferences whenever there are 5 Hispanic countries are included in that gathering.
In my own opinion, Chinese can surpass Spanish in influence because of the growing economy of China which is too remote to happen in Spanish speaking world. At the same time China is making a progress in scientific, technological, and economic achievements which the Spanish speaking world fails to achieve.