China at Full Speed, Is Europe Falling Behind?

For nearly a decade, Dan Wang has tracked China's economy from the inside - first through his annual letter, widely read by policymakers and investors, then as a technology analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. His new book, Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (forthcoming in French as La Chine à toute vitesse, Éditions Arpa), advances a deceptively simple but striking thesis: China is governed as an engineer state, built around construction and execution, while the United States has become a lawyer society, structurally prone to gridlock. The argument reaches well beyond the US-China rivalry. It cuts to the heart of Europe's own dilemmas: a deep commitment to the rule of law and democratic deliberation sits uneasily with the capacity to build at scale - infrastructure, industry, technological sovereignty. We're happy to host a discussion with Dan Wang during his visit to Paris. Arthur Blanchon, Research Director at the Global Trade Policy Observatory, will discuss his thesis. The event will take place at the Senate, in the Salle Monory. Also joining the discussion: Clément Beaune: High Commissioner for Planning (Haut-Commissaire au Plan) Yannick Jadot: Senator for Paris, author of the Senate information report on the new deal in international trade Alexandre Ouizille: Senator for Oise, co-organizer of the roundtable