GoodFellows: Conversations from the Hoover Institution Who’s Going To Win The Future? Dan Wang on China’s Engineers vs. America’s Lawyers | GoodFellows | Hoover Institution
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Oct 3, 2025 
Dan Wang, an esteemed research fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of "Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future," shares his insights on the contrasting ambitions of China and America. He discusses how China’s aggressive engineering drive faces demographic challenges, while America grapples with litigation and its effects on innovation. Wang critiques China’s global initiatives and examines the sustainability of its social engineering policies, providing a captivating glimpse into the complex dynamics shaping the future of these superpowers.
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China's Construction Spasm
- Physical construction has become a core Chinese strength, visible in bridges, high-speed rail, and plants built at scale.
- Dan Wang argues the U.S. has slowed down while China runs a decades-long construction spasm that shapes comparative advantage.
Lead Power Hubris, Challenger Catch-Up
- Winners in great-power competition make big mistakes out of hubris and the trailing power will relentlessly try to catch up.
- Wang observed China overreaching in 2020 and then later pivoting to resuscitate its economy and tech ties.
Lived Experience Of China's Policy Swings
- Wang recounts living in China through the 2017–2023 period and witnessing policy swings like cracking down on tech and property.
- He notes these own goals raised youth unemployment and slowed domestic dynamism before a later pivot to court tech titans again.
