Kyle Chan is an American postdoctoral researcher in the Sociology Department at Princeton University and an adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, a US think tank. He is also a 2025 fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations. His research focuses on industrial policy, clean technology, and infrastructure in China and India. His work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, including Current Sociology, Asian Survey, and the Chinese Journal of Sociology. He has testified as an expert before the U.S.-China Commission and writes a popular newsletter called High Capacity focused on current issues in industrial policy, technology, and economic competition, particularly in China.
no
677750
00:00
start listening
Episode 420
Kyle Chan
In The Future China Will Be Dominant & the US Irrelevant | Kyle Chan
Kyle Chan is an American postdoctoral researcher in the Sociology Department at Princeton University and an adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, a US think tank. He is also a 2025 fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations. His research focuses on industrial policy, clean technology, and infrastructure in China and India. His work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, including Current Sociology, Asian Survey, and the Chinese Journal of Sociology. He has testified as an expert before the U.S.-China Commission and writes a popular newsletter called High Capacity focused on current issues in industrial policy, technology, and economic competition, particularly in China.
In Episode 420 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Kyle Chan—an expert on the Chinese economy and China’s industrial policy—about why he believes China is poised to dominate high-end technology and manufacturing, and why factories worldwide will reorganize their supply chains with China at the center, as the world’s preeminent technological and economic superpower.
Kyle and Demetri spend the first hour dissecting China’s industrial policy and dispelling misconceptions about the historical foundations of economic prosperity. Their discussion highlights the reciprocal interactions among the state, financial capitalism, and the market economy—dynamics that have driven the technological revolutions transforming modern life over the past two centuries.
In the second hour, Chan and Kofinas delve deeper into China’s playbook, drawing lessons for the United States. They outline policy choices that are both self-evident and broadly bipartisan: investing in research and development; forging strategically important economic ties with other nations; and fostering a welcoming, attractive climate for international talent and capital.
Subscribe to our premium content—including our premium feed, episode transcripts, and Intelligence Reports—by visiting HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you’d like to join the conversation and become a member of the Hidden Forces Genius community—with benefits like Q&A calls with guests, exclusive research and analysis, in-person events, and dinners—you can also sign up on our subscriber page at HiddenForces.io/subscribe.
If you enjoyed today’s episode of Hidden Forces, please support the show by:
Kyle Chan is an American postdoctoral researcher in the Sociology Department at Princeton University and an adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, a US think tank. He is also a 2025 fellow with the Penn Project on the Future of US-China Relations. His research focuses on industrial policy, clean technology, and infrastructure in China and India. His work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals, including Current Sociology, Asian Survey, and the Chinese Journal of Sociology. He has testified as an expert before the U.S.-China Commission and writes a popular newsletter called High Capacity focused on current issues in industrial policy, technology, and economic competition, particularly in China.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
Demetri Kofinas is a media entrepreneur and financial analyst whose mission is to help uncover the hidden forces and pivotal patterns shaping our lives. His contrarian perspective and critical-thinking approach has helped hundreds of thousands of people make smarter, informed decisions. This same methodology has helped guide Demetri’s decision-making as an early-stage investor and as a creator of several innovative media properties and live events.
