published articles.
In the United States, the tension between the “1776 narrative” and the “1619 narrative” reflects a fundamental contest over national identity. The traditional 1776 narrative locates the nation’s origin in the Declaration of Independence and emphasizes Enlightenment ideals of liberty, democracy, individualism, and American exceptionalism, historically centered on a WASP cultural core and a progressive, … Read more
Faced with China’s industrial ascent, Germany is undergoing not merely a reactive adjustment but a deeper process of structural reflection and strategic recalibration. China is not a “newly industrialized nation” in the conventional sense; it is the only country encompassing all industrial categories defined by the UN, accounts for nearly 30 percent of global manufacturing … Read more
Huawei’s decision not to manufacture cars represents a rational act of strategic restraint and deliberate ecosystem positioning. It reflects a clear-eyed assessment of the company’s core competencies, organizational structure, systemic risks, and sources of long-term value, rather than a retreat from the automotive domain. By avoiding full vehicle manufacturing while focusing on enabling technologies, Huawei … Read more
The question of how China can maintain its status as the world’s factory over the next decade is, in many respects, already outdated. Rather than merely preserving a scale-based manufacturing role, China is rapidly transitioning toward a “smart, systems-based world manufacturing hub,” integrating advanced technologies, industrial depth, and platform-level coordination. This shift reflects a broader … Read more
Ren Zhengfei’s March 2023 speech, “Lighting the Spark, Creating the Future Together,” delivered at Huawei’s “Challenge the Problem” Spark Award Symposium, functions as a highly condensed strategic manifesto on how a technology company—and by extension a nation—can achieve breakthrough under sustained systemic pressure. The speech demonstrates a clear-eyed recognition of existing gaps, a disciplined reliance … Read more
Collective bargaining is often presented as a primary mechanism for raising wages, yet this view overlooks a basic economic reality: wages are prices determined largely by workers’ marginal productivity and by labor market supply and demand. When unions act as monopolistic agents that restrict labor supply or resist technological change, they can introduce rigidity into … Read more
In 2023, China’s express delivery system handled 178.6 billion parcels—more than half of global volume—equivalent to over 22 deliveries for every person on Earth. Remarkably, this vast, low-cost, and highly efficient network was built largely from scratch in just two decades. Its scale and speed are not merely matters of consumer convenience but reflect a … Read more
A persistent narrative in Western media attributes China’s manufacturing dominance to suppressed labor rights and artificially low wages, portraying its success as the product of a “sweatshop” model. Yet this explanation collapses under comparative scrutiny. India, where millions of young workers earn less than their Chinese counterparts, has failed to develop a comparable manufacturing base; … Read more
The “Flying Geese Paradigm,” proposed by Japan, uses the metaphor of geese flying in formation to describe a hierarchical pattern of industrial development in East Asia. In this framework, Japan acted as the “leading goose,” completing industrial upgrading first and subsequently relocating mature or low–value-added industries to later-developing economies. These follower countries were expected to … Read more
China’s strong and capable manufacturing ecosystem—particularly the toy manufacturing base, the counterfeit mobile phone industry, and the consumer electronics OEM system that emerged in Guangdong’s Pearl River Delta during the 2000s—provided a critical structural foundation for DJI’s rise. This ecosystem supplied far more than low-cost labor: it offered dense supplier networks, rapid prototyping capabilities, flexible … Read more