Jaime Xiao 
Fast Food, Stale Analysis: The Truth Behind Why China’s KFC Tastes Better It is genuinely amusing to read recent coverage in The Economist detailing the rapid expansion of Western fast-food giants like McDonald’s and KFC into China’s rural towns and lower-tier cities. The prevailing narrative spun by featured financial analysts and market observers is one … Read more
It is not outsourcing. How open weight Chinese AI is silently rewriting the US job market. There is a popular narrative that the recent wave of tech layoffs in the US is simply a cycle of overhiring. However, looking closely at the data from API aggregators like OpenRouter tells a much more structural story. I … Read more
Before Xi Jinping became China’s president, his fellow Tsinghua University alumni were certainly successful, but they weren’t exactly the undisputed kings of the billionaire rankings. Recently, however, the narrative has shifted dramatically. A highly concentrated group of nine companies, all originating from Tsinghua’s alumni networks and faculties, have either achieved unicorn status or gone public. … Read more
The Yangtze’s new motor city How Wuhan, a metropolis nearly 1,000 kilometres from the ocean, is reshaping the global trade in automobiles. To gaze upon the muddy waters of the Yangtze as it winds through Wuhan is to look at the undisputed industrial heartland of inland China. Located roughly 1,000 kilometres from the nearest coastline, … Read more
The Mathematical Illusion of “Aiming Higher”: Why China’s Sub-5% Growth is a Structural Certainty The shift from demographic dividend to intelligent capital: Automation is the necessary macroeconomic response to a shrinking workforce. The Economist recently published a critique of the Chinese government’s 2026 Government Work Report, arguing that policymakers are “dangerously rooted in the past” … Read more
The Engine Room of a New Empire: How Hong Kong Financed China’s Motoring Revolution Three years ago, during the Chinese New Year, I stood in a remarkably quiet Hong Kong. The city was only just emerging from the long shadow of pandemic isolation. The streets were subdued, the entrepreneurial hum was muted, and the eerie … Read more
Northern lights, dark factories The Prime Minister’s “Dark” Ambition Ford is right: Mark Carney is about to destroy the Canadian auto industry. And the PM plans to rebuild it at the same time. The architect in the shadows. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan relies on replacing old labour with new code. IN THE UNION halls … Read more
The week in Chinese tech: Sovereign AI and the humanoid sprint Science & technology Silicon and Sinew: The Week in Chinese Innovation From sovereign legal models to record-breaking humanoids, China’s tech firms are sprinting toward 2026 Beijing and Shenzhen | February 8th 2026 WHERE DOES the courtroom end and the computer begin? This week saw … Read more
China’s Tech Horizon: Top 10 Developments in AI, EVs, and Robotics 01 Nvidia’s Landmark OpenAI Investment Stalls Negotiations between Nvidia and OpenAI concerning a strategic investment of up to $100 billion have reached an impasse, with core disagreements over valuation and strategic control. The chipmaker’s CEO, Jensen Huang, clarified that the figure was “never a … Read more
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