Not common at all in Hong Kong either... except in hotels and written on restaurant menus and official documents. It's supposed to be a bilingual city... but not in practice. You want English? Go to Singapore or Malaysia.
That wasn't my experience when I was there. While it's true that the average citizen may/will not speak English, it's more common than just in the high end areas that you mentioned.
I was in HK in 2013 for Chinese New Year. Lots of foreigners working there, especially Indians and Australians, but the local population struggled with English. I was in Singapore in 2010. Everyone there spoke fluent English.
My point is not that you will have enlightening discussions in English with the average Beijinger, but that there are lots of people who live in expat areas and mostly hang out with expats and Chinese people who speak decent English. Some spend years in China without knowing a lick of Chinese.
True. You aren't going to be talking about deep politics with a Beijing taxi driver without a good command of Chinese, but you'll totally be able to order a mocha frapiccino in English at Starbucks.
> You aren't going to be talking about deep politics with a Beijing taxi driver without a good command of Chinese
Do people talk politics there? Accidentally let slip the wrong sentence when the wrong pair of ears is around and bam , your life as you know it is over.
Yes, and no, China is not that totalitarian. Chinese will complain about the government all the time, just they don't appreciate foreigners, even residents, doing the same. That would be like a Chinese complaining about the USA while living there....