“I Just Returned From China. We Are Not Winning.”
That’s the headline from Steven Rattner, not a fringe commentator, but a former Obama Treasury official writing in mainstream U.S. media and what’s surprising isn’t hostility toward China, it’s acceptance.
He describes:
– AI scaling at speed
– Data centres powered by massive energy capacity
– Robotics deployment far beyond U.S. levels
– EV factories that look almost fully automated
– Pharmaceutical innovation accelerating fast
No hysteria, no “imminent collapse” narrative, just a quiet acknowledgement that China is formidable.
He notes China still lags in cutting-edge semiconductors, which is true. For now. But he also points out something many Western analysts gloss over: China has power, literally.
– More generating capacity.
– Cheaper electricity for data centres.
– Industrial scale that feeds AI growth.
In the AI era, energy is leverage.
He even concedes that China’s state-directed model works when it decides something matters. Money flows, infrastructure follows, regulation adjusts and talent aligns.
Compare that with Washington’s current approach:
– Tariffs.
– Political theatre.
– Policy swings every election cycle.
Rattner’s conclusion isn’t “contain China,” it’s “fix America.”
Industrial policy, research investment and strategic coherence. In other words, stop pretending trade wars are strategy.
What I find most interesting is the shift in tone.
For years, Western commentary oscillated between: “China is about to collapse” and “China cheats.”
Now we’re seeing something different: “We’re behind.”
The real question is whether Western audiences will accept that this isn’t a temporary surge, but a structural shift.
Is this the moment the narrative finally starts catching up with reality?
Read the full article here:
nytimes.com/2026/02/10/opi…
@SteveRattner