I am taking a Mandarin class at a local university. We are all adult students and several do business in China. They are all American citizens and all speak English but one is Hispanic, one is from Pakistan and another is from Ethiopia in Africa. China is attracting business people from around the world and many are choosing to learn Mandarin to improve their ability to negotiate and build relationships with suppliers and customers. For now, English is the de facto world language but if you can speak English, Spanish and Mandarin you can communicate with 80% of the world population.