"Awkward" as in converse to the 1300 - 1600 + dialects/languages that China has? Before any Chinese wants to complain about "small talk" being hard to understand, they should think about whether their own language is any better with making things clear. For Chinese Americans some of them prefer using English when speaking to Chinese people who do not have a high level of English because they would have an even harder time getting the message across if they used Mandarin. When I worked at a bilingual position back in college I found this to be all too true. Many Chinese will feign not understanding any English just so they can speak to someone who understands Mandarin. But when Mandarin is used it is like they do not trust any of the answers and will ask and ask and ask until the same answer is given at least several times over. However, using English such as phrasing it in a way that makes the answer sound firm and clear yields a much better chance of acceptance.

If the Chinese really want themselves to be accepted and be treated more equally, they would do good by not using their own language as an excuse to make life harder for others. Things that pertain to common sense need to be kept simple, while things that are more sophisticated need to be held up and communicated with logic. Both areas are very lacking.