I think jaws point about language accessing history and culture is even more important when it comes to giving children and young people an opportunity to learn non European languages like Mandarin and Arabic.
Knowing Mandarin is quite useful in business but mainly for taking down barriers and being able to share cultural norms. English is one of the 18+ exams in China so making yourself understood in China is not usually the issue but a little Mandarin goes a long way in terms of building relationships.
However learning Mandarin or Arabic opens up the perspective of non western cultures and that ability to appreciate other perspectives will be increasingly important in the world of the future, well beyond the daft knee jerk of Brexit
Mandarin characters in particular are insights into culture because they are pictograms rooted in culture - some of that is global, the character for man represents a field and strength and for woman, femininity and a broom 
It all helps our young people to understand the reality of Jo Cox's words, more in common indeed but it does help if we understand what sets us apart too.
Peregrina I don't think the fad has done Mandarin teaching any favours, schools think that adding it to the curriculum makes them look good so they scour the local area for anyone who can speak it and is prepared to sit in front of a classroom of pupils. There is a desperate shortage of actual Mandarin teachers who understand how to teach it. The result is a lot of bored pupils who get put off. I know of only a handful of schools, all private, who have gone to the trouble of recruiting skilled teachers and developed educational strategies to ensure it is taught effectively.