The Winchester & Chandler's Ford MP raised the issue with the Foreign Secretary, William Hague, as it came to light that under the previous Labour government, language teaching in the Foreign Office had substantially declined.
He said: "In the light of the Prime Minister's visit to China, can the Foreign Secretary tell the House what he is doing to ensure British diplomats speak Chinese - and other languages vital to our success - and to reverse the decline in language teaching in the Foreign Office that he sadly inherited?"
Responding, William Hague confirmed that a new language school was now open in Whitehall. Once diplomats are trained, the Foreign Office will have 40% more speakers of Mandarin and Arabic in posts abroad than in 2010 and 20% more Latin American Spanish and Portuguese speakers.
Steve continued: "With the excellent news that David Cameron's trade mission to China has already resulted in deals signed worth £6 billion, it seems a no-brainer to ensure that our representatives abroad are well-versed in the languages of the countries hosting them.
"I cannot for the life of me understand why the previous government decided to abandon this vital skill area, and am delighted to see the work the Coalition Government has done in this regard."
More information ...
You can read back the exchange here by scrolling half way down Question 15