Liu Yinan is among the first batch of undergraduates with a bachelor degree in Swedish.

"When I went to college in 2005, my university was the only one in the country that offered Swedish as a major," said Liu, 23, who graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University 2009.

"Later Shanghai International Studies University and Communication University of China also offered the subject."

His university enrolls only one Swedish class every four years, and there were only 24 people in his class.

"I thought that, as there were very few people who study Swedish, the career prospects would be good; besides, I like Sweden," he said.

"Swedish is not particularly difficult; but you know, when I tell people my major, many confuse Sweden with Switzerland."

During the course, the students in his class all stayed in Sweden for a period. Liu was in Gothenburg for one month.

"I feel that you've got to go to the country; otherwise it's impossible to learn a foreign language well," he said.

The overall prospects for Liu's classmates are good. "Our class had a high employment rate," he said.

"About 70 percent of the students got a job; the rest pursued a master degree either here or overseas.

But not all of them landed a job related with their majors.

"Fewer than 10 students in my class got a job that has anything to do with Sweden: two went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, two to Xinhua News Agency, two became teachers of Swedish and one went to travel agency," said Liu.

"There are Swedish companies here in Beijing such as Volvo and Ikea," he added.

"But they all use English as their working language, so they don't need to hire people who speak Swedish."

Liu Yinan attended only a few job interviews before he got an offer from Xinhua news agency as an editor in the international news department. His main duty is to translate news stories from English to Chinese and edit them.

In the near future, he is expected to be sent abroad as a reporter, very likely to Sweden.

"It's hard work," he said.

" I've always got a great deal of work; and sometimes I have to work night shifts. But I love it."