Welcome back to the deep dive.
Today we are undertaking a really critical deep dive into the accelerating evolution of global commerce.
We're looking specifically at this very intentional state-backed strategy to really restructure global supply chains.
But to truly get our heads round this massive economic shift,
we're going to start in a maybe surprising place.
The world of table tennis.
Yes, the international politics of the ping pong paddle.
It might sound like a bit of an odd starting point,
but it provides the perfect highly visual analogy for the economic dynamics we're about to unpack.
It really does.
So if you, the listener, follow international sports at all, specifically table tennis,
just think about any major global tournament.
The World Championships, the Olympics, like the Paris games back in 2024.
For Chinese spectators and analysts, the competition often takes on this distinctly in-house feel.
They recognize that many of the highest stakes matches eventually just devolve into a contest
between our Chinese and their Chinese.
And that phrase, our Chinese and their Chinese, that's the critical insight that really sets the stage.
The source material highlights how fans in China have affectionately coined a name for these emigrant athletes.
The ping pong foreign legion.
The foreign legion, I love that.