'It's the same tech for half the price': how Chinese manufacturers are breaking the mould on value and performance

'It's the same tech for half the price': how Chinese manufacturers are breaking the mould on value and performance

Joe Whittingham met me from the future over a virtual call. It was 9am for him in Xiamen, China, 9pm for me in Philadelphia, USA. He had a head start on the day, and in many ways, so do the brands he works with. Whittingham is the founder of Panda Podium, an English-language retail platform for Chinese cycling brands. A former teacher who moved to China 17 years ago, he stayed, learned Mandarin, and found himself living within driving distance o…