[seanmcdirmid]

All my coworkers are bilingual; if I spoke better Chinese, it would only get me some platitudes. It is my skills that add value to the team, not speaking Chinese doesn't detract from it (also, I work for an American company, so our biz language is English).

I would disagree a bit about what makes us different, or what Chinese can't do well. Creative independent smart local hires or experienced international savvy local hire managers exist, but there are not so many of them yet (the supply is not well developed), so why not bring in a foreigner who is easier to find? After that, diversity is still important; something we take for granted in the states.