Core Memory China Builds, The US Regulates - EP 35 Dan Wang
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Sep 24, 2025 
Dan Wang, a technology analyst and author of "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future," dives into China’s unique engineering culture and contrasts it with the U.S.'s regulatory mindset. He discusses how China's governance enables rapid infrastructure development, even in poorer provinces, while the U.S. struggles under regulatory constraints. Wang also highlights the challenges of American manufacturing, the social costs of China’s policies like one-child and zero-COVID, and the implications of AI deployment in a hardware-focused future.
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China's Engineering-State Origins
- Deng's era and decades after turned China into an "engineering state" by promoting technocrats into leadership.
- That mindset produced massive, metric-driven nation-scale projects from high-speed rail to dams.
Cycling Through Unexpected Infrastructure
- Dan cycled from Guiyang to Chongqing and found top-tier infrastructure in one of China's poorest provinces.
- Guizhou has 45 of the world's tallest bridges, 11 airports, and high-speed rail linking remote regions.
The 1960s Correction Went Too Far
- The U.S. corrected 1960s excesses with lawyers and regulation, which constrained abuses but also later blocked major projects.
- Dan Wang argues the U.S. now needs a correction against that correction to regain capacity to build.
