It's a bit used by Canadian comedian Russel Peters before — Mandarin speakers have a commonly-used filler phrase 那个 ("nei ge" meaning "that" or "that one" and is used like "errr" or "well...") which sounds exceedingly offensive to those unfamiliar with the language. You know, because it sounds a lot like the N-word.
Singaporean Dillah Zakbah was thrusted into being a mediator in that exact awkward situation, in which an African American almost got into a brawl with some Chinese nationals — at an airport in Paris no less.