Wu, now a member of the judging panel, has mentored young English public speakers for 17 years.

The competition itself is also developing with the times.

In 1996, it only had one category, which was solely for college students. As the competition's influence has grown, the range of contestants has expanded and now spans kindergarten children to college graduates and young professionals.

Last year, the first international category was launched, attracting young speakers from more than 30 countries.

Zhan Cheng, a professor and PhD supervisor at Sun Yat-sen University's School of Foreign Languages, said the scale, influence and professionalism of the competition had greatly increased after years of development. It now represents the pinnacle of the teaching and practice of English public speaking in the country, he said.

"The development and expansion of the event indicates that China is now opening its door wider and wider to the outside world," said Zhan, who was the second runner-up at the 1999 China Daily 21st Century Cup.

He said he was surprised by how the English public speaking skills of contestants had improved compared to when he was a contestant."I think it's because China is more open and young people have access to more information and more opportunities," Zhan said.