So the more relevant question is, “How much Chinese do you need to speak to be useful?”
Not much in many cases because there is a high probability your Chinese business contacts will have perfectly adequate listening skills, although their speaking skills may be of a lower standard. Undoubtedly, you will be both relieved and impressed by this, but this response cuts both ways.
Making an effort to learn some Chinese, even just a few key phrases beyond ni hao (‘hello’), gives you a subtle yet powerful edge. It signals respect for your Chinese counterpart’s language and culture and often paves the way for more open and collaborative relationships. A little effort goes a long way, and it rarely goes unnoticed.
Still, don’t kid yourself — you’re unlikely to learn the language well enough for complex business discussions. Accept this, and adjust your language ambitions accordingly. This is a more satisfactory solution in a Chinese context because of the greater role played by relationship building in business.
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The importance of relationships means that conversational Chinese is more relevant. Your skill level may limit you to basic conversations or even to just inserting relevant phrases and responses in common conversational settings. Simple response phrases such as “I will have water and beer”, “Turn right, I want to go there”, or most useful of all”, I don’t understand”.
Singapore offers a distinct advantage for foreigners aiming to do business in China: countless informal opportunities to practise their Chinese. Instead of wincing when served by someone with limited English, treat it as a chance to build your language skills. Whether you’re giving directions to a taxi driver, ordering food or shopping, everyday interactions become valuable practice. Mistakes are easily forgiven, and in multilingual Singapore, English is always a reliable fallback.
Don’t worry if you’re not understood straight away. When staff see a foreigner, they naturally expect to hear English and may be listening for it. So when you speak Chinese, regardless of how well, they might look puzzled simply because it catches them off guard.
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If you choose this path, steer clear of outdated language programmes that still tell you to say things like ni chi le ma? The greeting “Have you eaten?” is a dated relic from the Cultural Revolution era and has long fallen out of common use. A simple ni hao is all that is required. Any book or programme that uses “Have you eaten?” should be avoided, as it is unlikely to reflect modern China or current language use.
Making even a small effort to learn Chinese pays off in business with China.
Technical outlook for the Shanghai market
The unfolding situation in the Middle East continues to impact all markets positively. The Shanghai Index developed a powerful rally that has broken the historical resistance level near 3,435. A sustained breakout above this level has a long-term target near the previous high of 3,675. Initial resistance is provided by trend line A, with a current value near 3,565.
A trading band projection target is slightly higher at 3,700.
These projected targets are very bullish and need to be treated with caution. Although the target levels may be achieved, the projection methods used do not indicate how the trend will develop.
A rally may resemble the very, very fast move made on Oct 8, 2024, when the market moved in just one day between 3,372 and 3,674. Alternatively, the index may develop a hesitant uptrend filled with small rallies and retreats.
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What is important is that these upside targets provide longer-term objectives for any sustained breakout above resistance near 3,435. Unless there is a sharp rally, as seen in October 2024, the trend will be slower and will need to be supported by investors slowly building new positions. This activity would be reflected in the degree of separation between the long-term group of averages in the Guppy Multiple Moving Average (GMMA) indicator.
Currently, this group has a relatively narrow separation, which suggests that investors remain cautious about the prospect of a prolonged steady uptrend.
The position of trend line B has again been adjusted to reflect the way the index has rebounded after the low made in recent days. This trend line, along with the lower edge of the long-term GMMA, is the defining support feature for a continuation of the uptrend. The collapse of any rally must use these areas as support features if the longer-term uptrend is to continue.
A fall below the adjusted trend line remains very bearish because the next support level is near 3,275 at the lower edge of the long-term trading band. Breaks below the short-term uptrend line can be rapid, as shown in April this year and earlier in January.
Daryl Guppy is an international financial technical analysis expert. He has provided weekly Shanghai Index analysis for mainland Chinese media for two decades. Guppy appears regularly on CNBC Asia and is known as “The Chart Man”. He is a former national board member of the Australia-China Business Council. The writer owns China stock and index ETFs