English has been accepted as the universal language in business for a long time. With massive population and increasing importance of China as a trading/commercial giant in the world, do you think Chinese/Mandarin as a language will become essential (i.e would it really matter) in order to deal more effectively with China suppliers?

Replying to [smarco]:
I hope so! I am waiting for this day!

Replying to [Trollslayer]:
Bravo, Trollslayer!
Do you know how, how many Russians live in London now?You have better start to study Russian language asap.
It is not a question - populations and country terretiry. The most important thing is our relationships, all of us are the humanbeens on this planet, so if you can speak, deal and trade on different language in different countries - it is our respect to people of these countries.

Serge - You ask if a previous poster has an idea how many Russians there are in London now. I'm sure that you do. However, are you aware how many Polish, Chinese, French, Filipino's and various other nationalities are present in London, en masse?

All I'm saying is that there isn't really a correlations between how many rich Muscovites there are in London and what the most useful language is for global trade. Russia may become more important than it has been, but my expereince in dealing with Russians is that they are very good linguists, and are very good at learning English, so only the rarest of English speakers will take the effort to go that extra mile to impress their Russian business partners.  

Replying to [smarco]:

It is definitely English for the important pointers:

1. Most business people understand the terms and conditions of an offer.
2. The Rules and Regulations are better understood and this is the framework of all business. The English language is not only a media of communication but also a powerful tool to the set of rules.
3. Business jargon and acronyms in English is commonplace among most if not all countries worldwide.

Payment and Quotation terms such as:
Irrevocable Letter of Credit, or Advance payment by t/t, or Credit Terms payment period. FOB, CIF, CNF.

Shipping terms:
Bill of Lading, Offload, Drop Shipping, Door to door courier, port to port, airfreight, seafreight, Consolidated cargo.

There are many more of these business terms, which we find difficulty to get the Chinese equivalent for us to define and the other party to understand.

Street

Replying to [smarco]:


I agree with you Street. For exemple, I would not be able to make business in Mandarin!!



And all about the negotiation terms, international laws terms, shipment, payment, I mean Europe, Africa, America and a lot of countries that do not speak Mandarin.



Anyway I think it's pretty amazing to have a strong language in Asia as Mandarin should be. Here in South America our main language is spanish but Brazil, where we speak portuguese. It would be great making business just in Portuguese or spanish.



Best regards

Replying to [smarco]: what' s a funny answer.
should english will higher the price of the exporting items, i hope all the business people speaker engglish,and only do international business with you, so i can make more money than other countries.
shall we?

Replying to [smarco]:
Hi

I think it depends on the situation. In general I think english is still the most important commercial language to learn, because it is spread all over the world, instead mandarim is not commom around the world. Thinking 10 years ahead, I believe english is still the massive commercial language.

What about in 50 years time though?

Replying to [smarco]:i think it will be in 50 years.

Replying to [ChurchillUK]:
Thank you!
You are right. The main question is the history how, where and how many years the English language has been implanted.