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Why Learn Chinese?
The rise of China presents new economic, political and social realities that demand greater U.S. engagement at every level. As the foundation of that engagement, we urgently need to raise the number of Americans who can demonstrate a functional proficiency in Chinese.
- China ’s tremendous economic growth creates
new opportunities and challenges for U.S. businesses. Between
1978 and 2002, China's annual GDP growth reached 9.4%, three
times the world's average, and in recent years (2001-2004) China
accounted for one third of global economic growth.
- China is an immense market for American goods
and services, and a vital supplier to American manufacturers and
consumers. U.S. trade with China exceeded $245 billion in 2004
(second only to trade with Canada and Mexico).
- China ’s political importance in the
Asia-Pacific region is broadly acknowledged and, particularly
since 9/11, its help has been sought on difficult issues like
North Korea and terrorism. Collaboration with China is
increasingly deemed essential for solving a range of global
issues, from nuclear proliferation to the environment, from
currency exchange to trade laws.
- As the most enduring world civilization, China
has a major international cultural presence, in literature and
cuisine, in music and film, dance and art, religion and
philosophy, drawing on its tremendous heritage to enrich our
present.
- An official language of the United Nations,
Chinese is the most widely spoken first language in the world,
extending beyond the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan to
Indonesia , Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, to the
Philippines, and to Mongolia.
- Chinese
will top English as the most-used language on the Internet by
2007, according to forecasts by the World Intellectual Property
Organization.
- In the United States the Asian and Pacific Islander population is projected to grow 213 percent, from 10.7 million to 33.4 million, in the next 50 years, a substantial demographic shift. Their share of the nation’s population will double, from 3.8 percent to 8 percent.