Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes China's technological dominance
7 snips
Dec 5, 2025 
In this discussion, Dan Wang, a research fellow at the Hoover History Lab and author of *Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future*, shares his insights on China’s technological rise. He contrasts China’s 'engineering state' with the West's 'lawyerly' approach, exploring implications for innovation and infrastructure. Dan delves into China's dominance in clean tech, the rapid iterations of its industries, and the internal challenges it faces. He also warns about Europe’s competitive disadvantages and advocates for a more assertive policy response.
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Engineering State vs Lawyerly Society
- China functions as an "engineering state" that treats society and economy as optimization problems to be engineered.
- The U.S. is a "lawyerly" society that blocks extremes but struggles to build large functional infrastructure quickly.
China's Industrial Lead And Key Gaps
- China leads globally in many clean and industrial technologies like solar, EVs, and advanced manufacturing.
- It still lags in semiconductors and aviation despite fast overall industrial progress.
Scale, Patience And Hyper‑Competition
- Rapid progress stems from China's scale, patient state investment, and hyper-competitive regional ecosystem.
- Local protection, subsidies, and fast product cycles make Chinese firms move far quicker than Western counterparts.
