I partially agree, but it's also about versatility. Icons should be recognisable is a multitude of sizes and themes. The problem is that simpler icons have a steeper learning curve. Less tech savy people can't possible understand what many, or even most icons are supposed to mean. The app im typing this right now has a sort of paper plane icon on top. When did paper planes become "send"? My parents would certainly miss that metaphor.
It's the same learning burden as any other icon for most people, but with the advantage that it actually means "send". (Though not in an online messaging context; that's 发.)
There aren't enough of those. We're already well past the point where icons are completely inscrutable, even in applications intended solely for a monolingual user base.
This approach does not involve forcing the entire world to learn Chinese. It involves a bunch of written vocabulary words.
It exactly mirrors the old approach of using English words, except that it fits into the narrower space given to icons. And it is vastly superior to using icons, for the same reason that using English words is.
