Is the number of foreigners in China who can speak Chinese on the rise?

It seems like more and more foreigners that live in China speak fluent Mandarin. Is this true? Does anyone have the percentages of this (% of foreigners who speak fluent chinese in China) or rough estimate?

Is the number of foreigners in China who can speak Chinese on the rise?
It probably is, but only by a small amount i would guess.


Last year, a teacher in my school spoked fluent mandarin to me and asked me questions regarding my fellow Chinese students, i was shocked as it had never happened before, especially since i am not living in a large city with heavy Chinese population.


But at the same time, walking in the shopping mall back in China last summer i still don't hear any foreigner talking using Chinese to the sellers.





I think a large percentage of foreigners that speak Chinese in China learned the language, or most of it back in the west, this particular group of people contributes most to the rise of the numbers as more and more Students/Businessmen etc. goes to China.


And from the looks of it right now, large part of foreigners in China is there for vacation, or they're traveling to see the country, these people might know a few words, but very few of them speaks Chinese. Their number is on the rise, and at the same time it's probably causing the percent of Chinese speaking foreigners to go down.





So i guess the number of Foreigners who can speak Chinese in China is on the rise, but not much, maybe by a minimum of couple percentage to a maximum at twenty percent over the last few years i estimate? Don't forget my percentage takes into factor the number of foreigners in China, which is on a large rise.
Reply:As most of the industries (factories) of the western countries tend to move their production lines to China, more and more businessmen have to learn the language. I know for a fact about a significant number of people here (I am in international marketing) learning Chinese, it's not only for communication, but also to make good connections; knowing the launguages is a big advantage.
Reply:yes, I wish I knew where to find the article but it talked about the NEW breed of expats in China and how it is a growing community here is what I remember





1 - they come and study Chinese first


2 - get a job locally


3 - live in local communities, not in the secluded expat communities


4 - send their kids to Chinese schools





that is all I can remember, again I wish I could find the article to give you the link
Reply:of course, and the most popular foreigner i guess is Da Shan(大山), he speaks very native chinese, even better than most southern chinese.
Reply:Yes, due to high demand of China business and manufacture, it is recommended to know Chinese.
Reply:I've heard many foreigners who move into China are putting their children into the tough local school system.
Reply:of course, Mandarin chinese is also going to be an international lanaguge succedding English.
Reply:Well, the learning of Mandarin is certainly on the rise.
Reply:yes, Some speak fluent chinese, and you can not even tell just by listen to them.