There is a lot of selection bias in generalizing about a culture via its world travelers :).
The state really sucks at propaganda though, so it shouldn’t be surprising that efforts like this are filled with lots of cringe. It definitely shouldn’t be considered pop culture.
Basketball was introduced to China by missionaries in 1895, so it's been there almost as long as it has in the US.
Change Chinese to American, or Ethiopian in that part of your comment. This is selection bias pretty hard.
Expats/emigrants/travelers are basically the group least able to generalize over their countrymen back home.
It’s pop literally because it’s popular. The people who have the freedom and interest to travel the world are not “typical” citizens in any country.
That didn't sound right as in my experience most people do a foreign trip at least once a year. Turns out it of course very much depends on the country: Finland travels the most while US is among the least foreign-travelling westerners. That according to https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-whose-citizens..., which says every Finn does 1.7 foreign trips per year on average.
Sorry for the spammy site but hard to look for hard source data on mobile.
They’re clearly upper to upper middle class and they’re clearly going to enjoy different “hobbies” abroad.
One of the things that I find amusing about Chinese people I meet and talk with who are traveling outside of China is that they are not obsessed with pop music, celebrities or sports, or at least far less than we are in the west.
As an example, I met a fashionable young Chinese lady with an apparently large income who was traveling the world. You know what she did for fun? She played the piano, did tourist stuff and went out for dinner with friends.