Odd Lots · Thursday, July 2, 2026
Dan Wong suggests that China's current economic challenges are intertwined with Xi Jinping's focus on militarization and preparing for great power competition with the US. This 'Fortress China' mentality prioritizes high-tech pursuits like semiconductors and batteries, with resources funneled towards elites, potentially sidelining the concerns of ordinary citizens.
“And I have a chapter in my book called Fortress China, and I think this is much more of a fortress mentality, in which everything has to be about pursuing the semiconductors and pursuing the batteries and making sure that social pressures are not blowing off a lid.”
“And you know, when President Trump visited Beijing, you know, the the White House social media was you know, almost treated Trump as a supplicant.”
“And so you know, there's all of these things where this is much more about great power versus great power, and in great power, the little people don't really matter all that much, and so this is much more about the elite.”