As it’s Chinese lunar new year, it would not be surprising if you’ve found yourself scrolling through some China-inspired content. But before you click the heart on a TikTok of paper lanterns or mouthwatering noodles, think twice. As an unsuspecting citizen, you may well be participating in a geopolitical battle where western civilisation itself is on the line.

This isn’t the plot of a mediocre action thriller on Amazon Prime – this is “Chinamaxxing”, an internet trend that has got some commentators worrying that gen Z are about to topple the west from the inside.

If the word Chinamaxxing looks strangely familiar, it’s because it uses the internet’s suffix du jour, “maxxing”, which roughly translates as “drastic pursuit” of something. Examples include looksmaxxing (improving your looks to an extreme); cloutmaxxing (chasing online influence); and I kid you not, monkmaxxing (extreme self-discipline and isolation).

Accordingly, by Chinamaxxing we see TikTokers trying to quickly “become Chinese” through customs and pastimes (qigong stretches, drinking hot water in the morning, learning Mandarin on Duolingo, binge-watching Chinese period dramas etc). “You met me at a very Chinese time in my life,” reads the favoured accompanying caption. And........

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