Why Americans Must Start Learning Chinese

China is going to rule the world and The US will disappear as the super power. I believe you have heard that before. It is not our faults to sudden feeling of inferiority or insecurity with the downturn economy. However, don't believe the hype from the media. It is the media's job to sell hypes, sensationalism, fears and, sometimes, news. Out of the dooms and glooms of stories we hear every day, there are positive things we can learn from.

It is true that there is no denying that China is growing economically, financially, and politically. However, just like any big countries, China is not perfect and has big problems, too. China may have the oldest civilization in the world, but, China is very young in the international 'games of economy, finance and politics.' Just like young kids, kids must learn to crawl and walk before they can run (eventhough some parents may argue that their kids learn run first and never walk). China, too, can't 'rule the world' that quick no matter how much money China has.

One of main factors of China's resurgence in the recent years has been China's big investment in its young people's education. There is no secret that China is hungry for education. English, science, engineering ,etc have been main focus of many parents in China. China has also been many years sending its young and bright students overseas, especially to the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. China has been learning the success of other countries, especially the Western countries, and bringing it home. It is impossible to learn others' successes without learning the languages and the cultures of those countries.

China, in fact, learns mostly from how the fact that the US and most Western countries have been at the advantage because of their common languages and cultures. You cannot separate culture from the language. And, you can not separate culture from business. China recent success proves that it is time for us, the Americans, to learn from China's success. China has been successful in selling "Western" products to Texas (even though, one might argue, many of them are Texas companies which has outsource to China) for many years now. If China could do this, America can't afford just to sit by to see China's success. It is probably our turn to learn couple things from China's success.

There is no denying that our similar language and cultures (demography) with most European countries have helped the US to have a competitive edge in the Western countries. However, there are big untapped market in Asia that will be taken over by China, if America is not doing anything about it. China has been using its close geographical and demographic advantages in capturing Asian markets. This alone, should make Americans realize how important it is to start learning the languages and the cultures of Asian countries.

Chinese (Mandarin Chinese) is spoken mainly in mainland China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Singapore. However, it is also spoken by Chinese diaspora in many parts of Asia and the world. Even if Mandarin Chinese may never be more popular than Spanish or French in the international market, it is to our advantage if we could tap in the vast opportunity which China will bring to the US economy.

Another reason is that back in our home, we see more and more Chinese immigrants assimilating in our society. When we have a new neighbor, it is only polite to embrace them as much as they embrace us. America will be the real harmonic 'melting pot' once we open our eyes and our hands to embrace other cultures. The world is becoming global. Americans can't afford to live as if "the world is only America" anymore. Besides, learning Chinese, once you start, it is really a lot of fun. It is like when you were a kid, you are learning this new 'secret language' again.