Kyle Chan: Is this the ‘Chinese century’?

Kyle Chan: Is this the ‘Chinese century’?

UnHerd with Freddie Sayers · 2025-06-04
51:07

Is China poised to dominate the global economy? UnHerd's Editor-in-Chief, Freddie Sayers, speaks to Kyle Chan, a Princeton University expert on Chinese industrial policy, to unpack the seismic shifts reshaping the U.S.-China economic rivalry, as explored in Chan’s recent New York Times Op-Ed ‘In the Future, China Will Be Dominant. The U.S. Will Be Irrelevant.’


Together, they dive into China’s meteoric rise in high-tech sectors like AI, robotics, and electric vehicles, and dominance in manufacturing output, and aluminium, steel and battery production, and question whether U.S. policies—such as President Trump’s latest tariffs and cuts to research funding—are inadvertently paving the way for a 'Chinese Century'.


What are China’s next steps to counter U.S. policies and global trade isolation? Can the U.S. reverse its talent drain and supply chain disruptions to stay competitive? And is the 'Chinese Century' inevitable, or will demographic and economic headwinds derail Beijing’s ambitions?

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UnHerd with Freddie Sayers

Freddie Sayers from online magazine UnHerd seeks out top scientists, writers, politicians and thinkers for in-depth interviews to try and help us work out what’s really going on. What started as an inquiry into the pandemic has broadened into a fascinating look at free speech, science, meaning and the ideas shaping our world.


Due to popular demand here is a podcast version of our YouTube — available to watch, for free here or by searching ‘LockdownTV’.


Enjoy! And don't forget to rate, like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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