For Practical Reasons, Is it Important to Learn Chinese?

There are many reasons for a non-native Chinese person to learn the Chinese language. Many of them are based on non-practical rationals: the love for the country, the people, the culture, and so on.

In more recent years however, a practical rational is gaining a huge momentum. This is based on the tremendous development of China's economy and influence. There is a wide-spread belief that China may overtake the west, namely the United States, as the world's leading power within this century. As such, learning the Chinese language would enhance one's future career opportunities.

I am very suspicious about such claims. Just about 20 years ago, when Japan was on the rise and threatening to take over the US in economical power, there had been a lot of talk about the importance of learning Japanese. We don't hear about that any more. For one thing, Japan has been in a bad slump for more than a decade. But more importantly, most, if not all, of the business conduct involving Japan are done with English language. Knowing Japanese is not a prerequisite to a career there.

A recent article in the Economists magazine touched on the same issue.

According to that article, there are 30 million foreigners studying Chinese language today. But it did not say how many of them are doing it for the practical reason.