# China’s Engineering State vs. America’s Lawyerly Society (w/Dan Wang)

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/china-s-engineering-state-vs-america-s-lawyerly-society-w-dan-wang
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719/china-s-engineering-state-vs-america-s-lawyerly-society-w-dan-wang.md
Podcast: [The Long Game with Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-long-game-with-jake-sullivan-and-jon-finer-7566719)
Published: 2026-04-29T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP3883726812.mp3?updated=1777421580
Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/mgln.ai/e/257/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP3883726812.mp3?updated=1777421580
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Duration seconds: 4203

## Resource

Dan Wang, author of Breakneck, breaks down the divide between China’s “engineering state” and America’s “lawyerly society” and what that means for the future of U.S.-China competition. Wang joined Jake and Jon before a live audience at the Endless Frontiers conference in Austin, Texas. In this episode: - Why China builds at scale and why the U.S. often struggles to keep up - The strengths and limits of China’s model, from manufacturing to social policy - A closer look at Xi Jinping’s leadership and decision-making - Why “process knowledge” is key to rebuilding American capacity Follow The Long Game so you never miss an episode. New episodes drop weekly. Watch the video of this episode on YouTube. Show notes are available here. Transcript coming soon. Join us on Substack. Email Jake and Jon at longgame@voxmedia.com. The Long Game is produced by the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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## Transcript

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