Nor can it have hurt that the President appointed the Governor of Utah, a Republican fluent in mandarin, to be his Ambassador to China, and that the Secretary of State has engaged in broad contacts with their Chinese counterparts at every level of government.
For that job, Freeman boasted a stellar resumé: fluent in Mandarin Chinese, widely experienced in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War, and an ex-assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration.
An accountant and consultant who worked for Arthur Andersen in Shanghai, Hoogewerf is fluent in Mandarin and is fascinated by the entrepreneurial energy that has been unleashed since Deng Xiaopeng began to liberalize China and open it to the world in 1978.
Huntsman undertook his mission in Taiwan, where he became fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese Hokkien.
It also highlights a next step for Apple's retail strategy: Jung, who is fluent in Mandarin, made Avon a force in China.
Ms. Kwan at Burson-Marsteller grew up in the United States but is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Mr. Rudd, who is fluent in Mandarin and was once an Australian diplomat in Beijing, has advocated deeper cooperation with China in global economic forums and with President Obama.
Which leaves an opening for Bernstein, 33, who spent six years as an energy and retail consultant for McKinsey & Co. in the U.S., Korea and China, grew fluent in Mandarin and has developed basic survival skills.
Mr. Huntsman, a former United States trade representative who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese — partly from his experience as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — coasted to re-election in Utah over Bob Saintsmeyer, a Democoastedd managementoconsultant.
Wu is from Southeast Asia, but he is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
He is a Mormon whose missionary work took him to Taiwan, where he became fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
