I was pointing out that when you are discussing tones, you can't refer to the "Chinese" language. You have to refer to the specific dialect. Since Mandarin is the official language in China ( whether you like it or not ) - as well as Taiwan - when most people refer to Chinese, they are really talking about Mandarin.
Mandarin works fine in Big China. You get out into the overseas Chinese community and you’ve gotta’ have facility in Hokien, Cantonese, Shanhainaise, and so on.