Why China Builds Faster Than America & The Rest of the World

China’s hyper-speed growth comes down to its “engineers-in-charge” model versus America’s lawyer-driven governance. In a lively chat with Dan Wang, the author of Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future, hosts Ryan and David unpack how this contrast fuels China’s rapid subway, high-speed rail, battery, EV and drone rollouts—while the U.S. soars in capital markets but lags in mass manufacturing.

They bust Western myths (no, social credit isn’t omnipotent surveillance), weigh China’s “digital authoritarianism” against U.S. legal checks and balances, and ask if China’s growth is sustainable or bound to collapse. Dan’s mic-drop conclusion? The U.S. needs about 20% more engineers, and China could do with 50% more rights-protecting legalism.

Watch on YouTube