In this episode of The Silk and Steel Podcast, host Carl Zha sits down with Han Fei-Zi (aka Blue Bear, formerly Doggy) – a prolific writer at Asia Times – for a deep dive into classical economics, the Lucas paradox, China's development model, and why the West fundamentally misunderstands China's economic rise.
The key insights:
• The Lucas paradox – capital should flow from rich to poor countries, but since the 1970s, it's been flowing from poor to rich
• How assets-for-goods trade has de-industrialized the West and enriched Asia (at a cost)
• Why China's economy is already 2-3 times larger than the US on a real basis – and why that's dangerous for Americans to ignore
• The difference between Western aid (Peace Corps, microcredit, window dressing) and Chinese infrastructure investment (roads, rails, dams, solar panels)
• Why manufacturing is the hardest part – and why the US can't replicate China's supply chains
• The zero-to-one myth – China isn't just copying; it's scaling and improving faster than anyone
We break down:
• Why the Belt and Road Initiative had a record year in 2025 (double 2024)
• How China's solar panel exports to Africa, Pakistan, and South America are transforming the Global South
• Why Western aid workers teaching Africans agriculture is absurd (Africans have been farming for thousands of years)
• The Dutch disease and Baumol's law – and how they explain US de-industrialization
• Why Elon Musk admitted that design is a "rounding error" compared to manufacturing engineering
• The birth rate panic – and why China's STEM workforce will triple by 2050
Plus: Why the US should become a "theme park" (cowboys, NASCAR, NBA), why a brown guy telling white people to work harder killed his political career, and why Americans think they invented everything (they didn't).
Han Fei-Zi writes for Asia Times and can be found on X as Blue Bear Monkey (formerly Doggy – RIP).
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