Industrial Maximalism and Its Discontents: Dan Wang on US-China Competition – # 104
Thu Jan 29 2026
Links:
Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future
https://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-Chinas-Quest-Engineer-Future/dp/1324106034
Dan's 2025 annual letter
https://danwang.co/2025-letter/
Related episodes:
Jian Lian on Industrial Maximalism, Manifold Episode #99
https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/jian-lian-on-chinas-industrial-policy-and-global-strategy-99
(00:00) - Introduction and Welcome
(02:14) - Breakneck - Dan's huge book
(05:00) - China's Technological and Political Landscape
(21:07) - Industrial Maximalism and its Discontents
(47:59) - Chinese Researchers in Silicon Valley and Tsinghua
(51:09) - Excerpts from Dan's 2025 annual letter
(52:56) - China's Market Competition and Innovation
(56:34) - AI, Automation, and Future Risks
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Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.
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Links: Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future https://www.amazon.com/Breakneck-Chinas-Quest-Engineer-Future/dp/1324106034 Dan's 2025 annual letter https://danwang.co/2025-letter/ Related episodes: Jian Lian on Industrial Maximalism, Manifold Episode #99 https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/jian-lian-on-chinas-industrial-policy-and-global-strategy-99 (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome (02:14) - Breakneck - Dan's huge book (05:00) - China's Technological and Political Landscape (21:07) - Industrial Maximalism and its Discontents (47:59) - Chinese Researchers in Silicon Valley and Tsinghua (51:09) - Excerpts from Dan's 2025 annual letter (52:56) - China's Market Competition and Innovation (56:34) - AI, Automation, and Future Risks – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at MSU and Director of the Institute of Theoretical Science at the University of Oregon. Hsu is a startup founder (SuperFocus.ai, SafeWeb, Genomic Prediction, Othram) and advisor to venture capital and other investment firms. He was educated at Caltech and Berkeley, was a Harvard Junior Fellow, and has held faculty positions at Yale, the University of Oregon, and MSU. Please send any questions or suggestions to manifold1podcast@gmail.com or Steve on X @hsu_steve.