I write a popular substack on China’s tech and industrial policy. Over 10,000 subscribers across 130 countries.

Kudos to @charlesxjyang and team for coming up with concrete policy solutions for boosting US industrial development. Here they focus on an overlooked but important actor: economic development agencies.

Sorry meant this link in the original post:

Sounds like @davidautor read my New York Times op-ed 😉. But seriously, lots of great points about US advanced manufacturing and industrial policy in this Q&A:

A big puzzle to me is why the catfish effect seems to only run in one direction. Chinese EV makers really stepped up their game after Tesla entered. But Tesla itself hasn’t added many features that are now table-stakes in the Chinese EV market, like deeper phone integration.

RT @JChengWSJ: The Coder ‘Village’ at the Heart of China’s A.I. Frenzy—As China vies with Silicon Valley for primacy, Hangzhou, home to Dee….

The story of Chinese robot startup Noetix is pretty amazing:.- Started by 27-year-old Tsinghua dropout.- Verge of bankruptcy last year.- Won 2nd place in Beijing Robot Half-Marathon.- Now valuation surged to $200 million.- Wants to be first to make 10,000.

RT @gdp1985: Can confirm that industrial applications of AI are indeed the focus here in China. Companies are racing for max automation. If….

Source:

Volkswagen has been testing 30 robotaxis in Hamburg with safety drivers. Next year, VW will launch robotaxis in LA with Uber. But interestingly VW plans to remove safety drivers in LA first in 2026, then Europe in 2027 “where road conditions and regulations are more complex.”

Full Stack: China’s Evolving Industrial Policy for AI.Free to read: Key takeaways:.• China wants to be the global leader in AI by 2030. • But Chinese policymakers are not focused on “winning the race to AGI” (although some Chinese tech companies are,.

The whole presentation by the Co-CEO of Waymo is fascinating:

Superhuman autonomous driving:. A Waymo is able to detect a pedestrian walking behind this bus from the subtle foot movements under the bus.

Like EVs, China’s chip industry needs to consolidate. But many chip firms are backed with state funds, and local governments don’t want to mark down the value of these projects and recognize losses. It’s a political economy problem, not just M&A. Caixin:

Chart source:

Interview with Tokyo Electron President and CEO Toshiki Kawai

Tokyo Electron's CEO recently said that his company was still ahead of China technologically and that the gap would continue to widen. Tokyo Electron is a key producer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Even with export controls, China made up 42% of its 2025 sales.

English summary:

Full piece published July 1 (in Chinese):

“Overcapacity” 产能过剩 in Qiushi:. “This macro-level imbalance between supply and demand is most evident in certain industries where demand is weak and overcapacity exists, forcing existing companies to compete within a limited market space simply to survive.”