I totally understand you, because I also ran into this problem before. I couldn't figure out why people just didn't reply to my requests. Then by pulling myself in others' shoes, I guess I know the reasons. If it were me who receive those requests, I would also be hesitated to accept them. For me, I accept those who declare their intentions Just to be language partners. If the request is long and detailed, that will be better. Anyway, my tip is when you send your request, try to make it detailed ( like why do you want to learn this language or how long have you learned this ,etc) and clear on your purpose instead of just saying" Hi! I am xxx, and I wanna be your language partner on italki." Maybe I am being picky, but that's what I've learned from my experience on italki; moreover, it really works. I hope it can help you! Btw, if you want to learn Chinese, I am very happy to help!