Lee Kuan Yew’s remark that “China wants to be China and accepted as such, not as an honorary member of the West” captures a core truth about China’s modern rise. More than a diplomatic stance, it reflects a civilizational logic that distinguishes China from most other emerging powers. Whereas many postcolonial states have pursued modernization … Read more
The electric vehicle (EV) and EV battery industries offer a clear lens through which to compare the mixed-economy models of the United States and China. Although the United States pioneered many foundational EV technologies—ranging from early electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries to the commercialization breakthroughs of firms like Tesla—China has emerged as the dominant force … Read more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) marks the most consequential shift in U.S. industrial policy in batteries and electric vehicles in half a century, while the CHIPS and Science Act performs an analogous role for semiconductors. Though publicly framed as climate, competitiveness, and national security legislation, the operational logic of both statutes closely mirrors core elements … Read more
In China’s industrial policy, overcapacity is not a failure but a deliberate feature, sharply distinguishing it from the experiences of Western Europe, the United States, and Japan. Whereas liberal market economies tend to view excess capacity as inefficiency and policy error—because firms cannot sustain prolonged losses, governments struggle to coordinate at scale, and political systems … Read more
China has pursued what can be described as a “proof by exhaustion” strategy to avoid the risks of path dependence and technological lock-in. Rather than committing early to a single foreign standard, China systematically explored multiple competing technologies, integrating innovation with scale-driven feedback loops. In earlier decades, China’s long hesitation before selecting one imported system … Read more
Huawei’s trajectory is often misread as a contradiction: a company that adopted American management practices yet became the target of American sanctions. In reality, there is no paradox. By learning from IBM, Huawei internalized the logic of large-scale industrial organization—process discipline, global integration, and operational resilience. It then fused those methods with Chinese organizational norms, … Read more
In recent years, a notable cohort of U.S. tech leaders—including Marc Andreessen, Elon Musk, Eric Schmidt, Sam Altman, Jensen Huang, and Reid Hoffman—has voiced admiration for China’s approach to technology development. This “China envy” is not about endorsing authoritarianism, but rather reflects a recognition of China’s growing ability to coordinate, execute, and deploy technology at … Read more
Differences in work ethic across societies are not the product of innate cultural traits or stereotypes such as “laziness,” but rather emerge from historically specific institutions, belief systems, political arrangements, and social incentives. Viewed through this analytical lens, both the American Protestant ethic and the Chinese work ethic can be understood as institutionalized responses to … Read more
In The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life (2016), Anu Partanen contrasts the Nordic social model with post-Reagan American anti-welfarism, critiquing the rise of market fundamentalism, the stigmatization of welfare, and a constricted understanding of freedom defined primarily as freedom from government. She argues that this ideological shift has weakened collective … Read more
In The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life (2016), Anu Partanen argues that Nordic countries have preserved a model of freedom once practiced in the United States. Comparing the U.S. before and after the Reagan era—roughly the New Deal through the late 1970s versus the 1980s to the present—reveals how American … Read more