Smarter Children
Better performance on verbal and non-verbal tests
Greater empathy
Mental muscle exercise, resulting in greater brain function, improved executive functioning (e.g. decision making, attention), and larger cognitive reserve
Business and political interest in China
The rise of China as a global force has increased political interest in China
IPOs of Chinese companies, e.g. Alibaba, Pinduoduo, New Oriental, in American stock exchanges have piqued U.S. investor interest
U.S. companies are fighting to enter China (e.g. Google, Facebook, Uber)
Famous sponsors
Mark Zuckerberg at a Q&A session in Beijing - “我的中文很糟糕，但今天会试试用中文 (My Chinese is terrible, but I’ll try to use it today).”
Jim Rogers, American investor, moved to Singapore so his daughters could grow up learning Chinese. The daughters are currently teaching Chinese as their part-time gigs.
Media Attention on Chinese
Starring an Asian and Asian-American cast, Hollywood blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the past decade. Fun fact, this movie was filmed by the son of the owner of Chef Chu’s, a Bay Area foodie favorite!
Palo Alto High School and Harvard-educated, NBA basketball star Jeremy Lin of the Toronto Raptors has seen his ups and downs in the league. We’re all cheering the Taiwanese-American on as he starts a new chapter with the Raptors!
Hong Kong actress Angelababy has starred in numerous Chinese movies and TV shows, as well as more recently Hollywood films - Hitman: Agent 47 and Independence Day: Resurgence.
From Wuhan province in China, Chinese actress Liu Yifei is highly anticipated in her lead role in the 2020 remake of Mulan. Her Chinese nickname is 神仙姐姐 meaning Fairy Sister.
Chinese-Canadian singer, rapper, and actor Kris Wu started out in the K-pop band EXO, before going solo making Chinese and English songs. His recent drop of the album Antares took over the top seven song rankings on iTunes.