SINGAPORE - When American basketball star Shaquille O'Neal toured China last year, photographer Stefen Chow was hired by Chinese sportswear brand Li Ning over a more experienced photographer.

Mr Chow, a Singapore Permanent Resident who had lived here since he was two, was picked because he could communicate with Mr O'Neal in English, as well as with the local organisers in Mandarin.

"Chinese (language) was my biggest obstacle back in my school days, but today it has proved to be the wisest investment, and that has help me establish myself as a photographer both in New York and Beijing," Mr Chow, 30, said.

Despite experiencing various individual difficulties, 10 Singaporeans MediaCorp spoke to - who are now or previously based in China - credited learning Chinese in school as the reason for settling well in China. However, their opinions differ on the level of Chinese needed to do well in China.

While he was "apprehensive" of his Mandarin when he first moved to Shanghai five years ago - as it had taken him three attempts before passing his oral examinations for his A-levels - head of a public relations company Kelvin Phang said it is now "normal to have the occasional English word in conversational Mandarin".

"But being Singaporean, I think we inevitably, unconsciously will throw in more English words ... especially when it's marketing speak," he said.

When he meets with a language hiccup, Mr Phang relies on an application on his Blackberry to recall Chinese business terms. "I think the only way to improve your Chinese is to use it everyday," he said.

Property executive Serene Lim, 25, who is based in Shanghai, feels that studying Chinese in schools "only provides a basic means of communication" and does not have a direct impact on business success because of differing values between the Chinese and Singaporeans.

"We often find that the Chinese are very innovative when it comes to doing business, and (the) mere ability to speak Mandarin will not help in outdoing the local competition," she said.

But Ms Ng Chui Ying, who teaches at an international kindergarten in Shanghai, feels that the Chinese changed their perceptions of her once they realised she could communicate fluently in Mandarin.

"Their attitude changes ... to one of marked respect and admiration, or sometimes just bemusement, and can affect the person-to-person relationship," Ms Ng said.

"This relationship is especially sensitive when it comes to business dealings because ... it makes it easier to establish trust and camaraderie."

While photography skills, concept and professionalism count just as much, Mr Chow opined that "it would become a true obstacle" surviving in China if language skills are lacking.

In the case of basketball star O'Neal, Mr Chow was picked over an American-born Taiwanese photographer because his competitor had problems conversing in Mandarin. The organiser's choice paid off from the first night of Mr O'Neal's visit.

"Everyone was jet-lagged and cranky. It was dinner time, and Shaq was asking for more food. As the servers panicked, they started speaking quickly in Chinese and "na ge" (the Mandarin word for "that") kept turning up in their speech. Shaq and his entourage thought they were saying "nigger" (a derogatory term for African-Americans), and started laughing," Mr Chow recalled.

"I was the only person in the room who could understand ... and I explained the confusion to both parties, including to the official translator who didn't understand. Shaq warmed up to me there after. We are friends on Facebook now."

In Singapore, many, too, are flocking back to school to brush up their Chinese. The Singapore Chinese Chamber Institute of Business has seen 1,259 Singaporeans - mostly executive types - signing up for its Singapore Workforce Development Authority-subsidised business Mandarin courses, said general manager Josephine Lee.

The Institute has also received twice as many requests for personalised coaching for Mandarin courses for chief executives types, as compared to a year ago.

Most have an eye toward working in China, while some, such as realty agents and banking professionals, attend courses as they have to deal with Chinese customers here, Ms Lee added.