#55: Kyle Chan - Will China Make The US Irrelevant?

In this episode of The Front Row Podcast, Keith Yap interviews Kyle Chan, a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, about China's industrial policy and its implications for U.S.-China competition. They discuss the evolution of China's industrial policy, its success in becoming a global innovator, and lessons the U.S. can learn. Chan emphasizes the importance of considering broader spillover effects in industrial policy, using China's high-speed rail project as an example. The conversation also covers the "China shock" and the Made in China 2025 initiative, highlighting China's focus on moving up the value chain. They explore the divergence between China's development and other countries, the role of foreign partnerships and scientific research, and the compounding effect of China's strength across multiple industries. The discussion extends to the U.S.'s approach to industrial policy, the AI race, and the need for a new U.S.-China strategy beyond containment. Chan advises the U.S. to learn from other countries, including China, and to stop undermining its own competitiveness.