Does the Future Belong to China?

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

4 Sept 2025  Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

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Is the United States still a worthy opponent for China? In this episode, Ross Douthat talks to Dan Wang, the author of “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” about the alarming speed at which China is able to build and could blow America out of the water.

https://youtu.be/ZNK3vNg13XA?si=J9DOPCf8ZN4QGUFk

01:08 - “A life full of ease and beauty”

05:16- Rule by engineers

10:34 - China’s Technological Mastery

15:36 - Is autocracy driving innovation?

24:44 - What are the real stakes of the competition?

35:14 - How could China fail? 

51:29 - Advice for America

Thoughts? Email us at interestingtimes@nytimes.com. 

Read the full transcript here: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/op...

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