Martin Joined the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime as a Senior Analyst in January 2023, focusing predominantly on China-related projects. Prior to joining, Martin lived in China for over six years, working for British Council, attending Tianjin University, and developing a business in Beijing. He eventually left to pursue his PhD exploring opaque international relations and connections to the Chinese party-state at the University of Nottingham, UK. He developed a “shadow international relations” approach, winning a Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Doctoral Fellowship and a place in Merics’ 2018 European China Talent Program. After the PhD, he worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the College of Social Science and International Studies, University of Exeter, UK. His professional interests include China, international elite networks, kleptocracy, and the relationship between capitalism and authoritarianism. Whilst at the GI-TOC, Martin developed the concept of ‘geocriminality’.