New Zealand Chinese Language Week.

September 26 – Oct 2 is New Zealand Chinese Language Week.

The Asia NZ Foundation describes NZCLW as

a Kiwi-driven initiative designed to increase Chinese language learning in New Zealand.

NZCLW seeks to bridge the cultural and linguistic knowledge gap between China and New Zealand by delivering fun and practical initiatives that assist Kiwis to learn Chinese

 They offer some online resources aimed mainly at school students and teachers but many of the videos are of interest to anyone who does business in China.

So why learn Mandarin Chinese?  New research from the McKinsey Global Institute states that

China offers a $5 trillion consumption growth opportunity over the next decade

That’s a lot of business and one Wellington businesses could be getting a slice of.

If you have a product that could appeal to the Chinese market a new opportunity has recently been released with the establishment of the Kiwiso store as a unique way of presenting New Zealand brands to the Chinese market.

NZ Trade and Enterprise offers a free Intro to China overview and make many more resources available after signing up to access their portal.

Returning to Asia NZ Foundation and a recent interview with Richard Dunsheath, New Zealand’s trade commissioner to Shanghai, discusses how the Covid pandemic has impacted Chinese consumer behaviour and New Zealand businesses operating there.

If you are thinking of unlocking some of business opportunities offered by the Chinese market then kick off your learning of the language with some of the resources available through WCL

Unlocking Mandarin Chinese with Paul Noble (2021)

By Noble, Paul

Ever tried to learn Mandarin Chinese and found it too hard? Bestselling language coach Paul Noble has a quick and easy way to get you back on track with his unique tried-and-tested method.

Mandarin Chinese for beginners : learning conversational Chinese (2018)  By Ren, Yi

Chinese is fascinating and learnable, and this friendly approach to the basics helps you understand the language by comparing and contrasting it with something you already know: English. This book is for people who want a grasp of how to speak and understand Chinese–for business, for pleasure, or for travel. Chinese for Beginners abounds with extra touches that are tried and true, drawn from the authors’ years of teaching.

Mango Languages – accessible with your WCL registration card – gives you access to
an online language-learning system for Mandarin Chinese as well as Cantonese Chinese.

And finally, The National Library is offering an online talk on Thursday 30 September 12.10pm to 1:00pm

Historian Nigel Murphy will give a talk about New Zealand Chinese naming conventions especially business and personal names.  You can learn more about what promises to be an interesting topic and register for it here