Piers Tang

Piers Tang is a long-term China observer, focusing on China–United States relations, China's industrial ascent, and the differences between Eastern and Western cultures.

Taiwan’s Strategy: Democracy and Freedom as Political Tools

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Taiwanese authorities strategically emphasize “democracy and freedom” not solely as a reflection of genuine ideological commitment, but as a deliberate tool—a “political survival algorithm”—to navigate structural constraints, reinforce legitimacy, and shape national identity in ways that history, ethnicity, or sovereignty alone cannot achieve. This strategy operates across multiple domains: securing domestic legitimacy, engineering collective identity, … Read more

How China’s Technological Rise Helps Everyday People

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China’s technological upgrading is good for ordinary Chinese people because income, dignity, and living standards are structurally determined by who controls high-end tools of production. By moving up the technological value chain, China enables surplus value that once leaked abroad to remain within the domestic economy, where it can be redistributed through higher wages, lower … Read more

Insights from U.S. Polarization and Trump for China

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The sustained popularity of Donald Trump, despite his polarizing rhetoric and controversies, reflects profound social, economic, and community divisions within the United States. These fractures—shaped by uneven economic development, declining social mobility, and weakening local cohesion—have created fertile ground for political polarization and populist appeal. Examining this phenomenon alongside China’s experiences in poverty alleviation, social … Read more

The Racial Subtext Behind Western Anxiety Over China

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Recent U.S.–China tensions have increasingly been framed not only in strategic terms but also through uncomfortable cultural and racial subtexts. In a widely cited remark, State Department official Kiron Skinner described China as the first U.S. “great power competitor” that is “not Caucasian,” a statement that prompted debate about how perceptions of race, status, and … Read more

China’s 1949–1979 Foundations Power Today’s Self-Reliance

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While China’s emergence as a global power is often credited to the post-1978 Reform and Opening-up era, the first thirty years of the People’s Republic of China (1949–1979) established the critical structural, social, and strategic foundations that continue to shape its trajectory. This period of intense national mobilization, austerity, and long-term planning enabled China to … Read more

How China Built Industry While Mexico and India Fell Behind

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China industrialized while Mexico and India did not because the three entered globalization under fundamentally different political and economic logics. China delayed mass legitimacy and consumption in favor of decades of forced accumulation, state-led capacity building, and elite grooming, allowing it to enter the global economy as a strategic actor capable of shaping outcomes. Mexico … Read more

China’s Unique Path: Learning Globally, Reforming Locally

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China’s economic reforms, launched under Deng Xiaoping in 1978, followed a pragmatic, incremental approach often described as “crossing the river by feeling the stones.” Rather than adhering to a fixed blueprint, China pursued a sequential, learning-oriented process, carefully observing and adapting lessons from other countries while avoiding major mistakes. This approach unfolded in three broad … Read more

CUSPEA and the China–US Tech Rivalry: Lessons for Today

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The China–United States Physics Examination and Application (CUSPEA) program, launched by Nobel laureate Tsung-Dao Lee in 1979 and concluded in 1989, offers a revealing lens through which to examine the relationship between human capital, international collaboration, and technological competition. Created to rebuild China’s scientific capacity after the Cultural Revolution, CUSPEA enabled nearly 1,000 of China’s … Read more

How Huawei and Xiaomi Differ in Innovation and Market Role

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Xiaomi and Huawei differ fundamentally in their corporate positioning, value creation, and roles within the national and global technology ecosystem. Huawei is a technology-driven company, emphasizing strategic breakthroughs and the industrialization of cutting-edge technologies. In contrast, Xiaomi is a business-driven company, prioritizing supply chain integration, commercialization, and user-centric products. These distinctions extend across industrial cycles, … Read more

How China Mastered Integration While Britain Couldn’t

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Historically, Britain struggled with long-term political integration in ways that China did not. While Britain repeatedly failed to fully assimilate Ireland, Scotland, and distant colonies, China successfully incorporated diverse peoples and frontier regions—including Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang—under dynasties such as the Yuan and Qing. This contrast reflects deeper differences in political philosophy and practice: … Read more