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The surprising similarities between China and the US
The US and China are often cast as opposites: East vs. West, democratic vs. authoritarian, market-led vs. centrally-planned. But according to Dan Wang, author of the new book “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” the two countries are more alike than you might realize. Wang joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about the US, China, and their competing visions for the future. Despite their political and cultural differences, the two superpowers share a restless drive to build, innovate, and hustle—a hunger for the “technological sublime” that pushes both countries toward big projects and ambitions.
But there’s also a more complicated side to that ambition. In China, entrepreneurs are caught between opportunity and uncertainty, never sure when the Communist Party and Xi Jinping’s “smothering love” might smash one of their businesses or punish their success. In the US, tech leaders have more freedom to pursue their goals but still need to cozy up to power in their own ways, courting the Trump administration for favorable policies and legislation. Ultimately, two very different systems have led to strikingly similar ambitions (and anxieties) when it comes to innovation and the race to build the future.
“There is a sense in which these are two great powers,” Wang says, “And that the US and China are the countries that are going to be changing the world.”GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Is the US falling behind China?
Over the last two decades, China has transformed into an engineering state. Its ability to build almost anything—bridges, high-speed rail, entire cities from nothing—has led to record growth, but also domestic challenges and soaring debt. On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Dan Wang, tech analyst and author of the new book “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future,” to talk about China’s rapid growth, the US-China relationship, and who is winning the race for technological and economic supremacy.
For better or worse, Wang says that China has leaned into a belief that almost anything can be engineered. They’ve invested massively in infrastructure, which has improved life for Chinese citizens in many ways, but the country is also dealing with a stagnating economy and record youth unemployment. China’s “engineering” mentality has led to a stubborn belief that society itself can be built from the top down, Wang says, often to draconian results like the harsh ‘zero Covid’ rules or state crackdowns on the tech sector. Can the US learn from China’s rise and avoid its mistakes?
“China's a country I describe as the ‘engineering state’ because they build a lot,” Wang explains, “They also treat society as a big engineering project, where people are yet another building material that the leadership just want to tweak and destroy if necessary.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
China has become an "engineering state," with Dan Wang
What can the US learn from the benefits–and perils–of China’s quest to engineer the future? Tech analyst and author Dan Wang joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World Podcast to discuss his new book "Breakneck," China’s infrastructure boom, and the future of the US-China relationship. Over the last two decades, China has transformed into what Wang calls an “engineering state,” marshaling near unlimited resources to build almost anything–roads, bridges, entire cities overnight. That investment has created astounding growth, but also domestic challenges and soaring debt.
It’s also led to a stubborn belief within the Chinese government that society itself can be engineered from the top down, where the state treats its people like a building material that can be tweaked or destroyed if necessary. Wang and Bremmer dig into all things US-China—the future of the relationship, the surprising similarities between the two countries, and whether Washington can learn from Beijing’s example without repeating its mistakes.
“The Chinese are able to build a lot of things that meet the material needs of the people, namely homes, solar, wind, nuclear, coal plants, roads, bridges, high-speed rail,” Wang says, “And that is something that I want Americans to have as well.”
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
What the US can learn from China's infrastructure boom
But after the boom, often comes the bust. China’s experience can be both a roadmap and a warning. The results of its building spree have been astounding: more high-speed rail than the rest of the world combined, soaring GDP growth, hundreds of millions lifted into the middle class. But the People’s Republic is now dealing with a stagnating economy. Local governments that financed all that construction are drowning in debt. China bet on physical infrastructure. The US is gambling on digital. If AI doesn’t deliver on its promise, both could end up in the same place: buried under the weight of their own ambition.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Agentic AI: How it could reshape identity and politics
As AI begins to understand us better than we understand ourselves, who will decide how it shapes our world?
Ian Bremmer cautions, "The winner or the winners are going to determine in large part what society looks like, what the motivating ideologies are." He stresses that AI’s direction is driven not by technology alone, but by the humans who design and program these systems.
"That's kind of why you need the UN and you need responsible AI governance as part of the conversation," Bremmer adds.
Ian spoke at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit panel “Bringing AI Technology, Trust, and Talent to the World,” part of GZERO Media’s Global Stage series in partnership with Microsoft. The Global Stage series convenes global leaders for critical discussions on the geopolitical and technological trends shaping our world.
Global Stage: Bringing AI tech, trust, and talent to the world
AI is the fastest-growing general-purpose technology in history but its benefits are uneven. Half the world lacks the combined foundations of electricity, internet access, and digital skills needed to use AI at all.
In this Global Stage panel, Becky Anderson (CNN) leads a candid discussion on how to close that gap with Brad Smith (Vice Chair & President, Microsoft), Peng Xiao (CEO, G42), Ian Bremmer (President & Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media), and Baroness Joanna Shields (Executive Chair, Responsible AI Future Foundation).
What does “AI diffusion” actually require? Power first, then connectivity, then skills. As Brad Smith explains, “You can’t build AI in the sky, it needs a foundation: electricity, internet, and digital skills.” The panel explores the hard realities of energy capacity, data-center diplomacy, and why grid investment will determine which nations can compete in the next phase of AI development.
Building on that theme, Peng Xiao underscores the centrality of energy to progress: “The cost of intelligence will become the cost of energy.” His company, G42, is expanding AI infrastructure from the Gulf to Africa and Southeast Asia, leveraging regional power resources to unlock broader access.
From AI fluency to AI engineering and organizational change, the conversation also breaks down the capabilities countries need and how local ecosystems can create jobs rather than replace them. Ian Bremmer reminds the audience that geopolitics and skilling are linked: “AI is geopolitical by design. The winners who shape the algorithms will shape society.”
As AI races ahead of some societies’ ability to adapt, the panel highlights the UAE’s investment in national AI education, from early-age programs to university-level innovation, as a model for inclusive growth.
How do we embed responsibility into models, content, and agentic workflows? Baroness Joanna Shields calls this a defining moment: “This is a civilization-uplift moment we can’t afford to miss.” She stresses that responsible AI means empowering everyone equally, ensuring that local cultures, values, and languages shape the systems built for them.
The discussion explores emerging tools like watermarking and auditable agent interactions, alongside the global governance efforts led by the UN and multistakeholder coalitions, to balance innovation and accountability across regions.
The Global Stage series, presented by GZERO Media in partnership with Microsoft, convenes leaders from government, business, and civil society at major international forums to examine the critical issues at the intersection of technology, politics, and society, and to explore how global cooperation can deliver solutions in an era of accelerating change.
Live premiere today at 11 AM ET: Global Stage at the Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit
LIVE PREMIERE TODAY AT 11 AM ET: What does it take to build AI economies? Our global experts explore this question, touching on data infrastructure, skilling, and governance, in a conversation at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit.
Watch our live premiere of "Global Stage: Bringing AI Technology, Trust, and Talent to the World" today at 11:00 AM ET at gzeromedia.com/globalstage. The panel was recorded live in front of an audience of global leaders, investors, and technologists attending the Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit, presented by G42, Microsoft, the Responsible AI Future Foundation (RAIFF) AI Future Foundation (RAIFF), and Eurasia Group. The event was held on November 2-3 at the Abu Dhabi Energy Center.
The discussion is moderated by CNN anchor Becky Anderson, and will feature a distinguished panel including Ian Bremmer, President and Founder, Eurasia Group and GZERO Media; Baroness Joanna Shields, Executive Chair, Responsible AI Future Foundation; Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft; and Peng Xiao, Group CEO, G42.
This livestream is the latest in the award-winning Global Stage series, a partnership between GZERO and Microsoft that examines critical issues at the intersection of technology, politics, and society.
Join us on Monday, November 3, 2025 at 11:00 AM ET at gzeromedia.com/globalstage to watch the live premiere.
Live Premiere from the Abu Dhabi Global AI Summit | Global Stage: Bringing AI Technology, Trust, and Talent to the World
Is Abu Dhabi becoming the global capital of AI development?
Ian Bremmer shares an update from Abu Dhabi, a place he calls “the global capital for AI development.”
With affordable energy, huge data centers, and one of the highest AI adoption rates in the world (59% of the population already uses AI), the UAE is powering full speed into the AI future.
But to use artificial intelligence, reliable power grids are needed.
Ian warns, “Many nations are doing a poor job building out their electricity grids … that’s going to mean inflation … and competition between using power for AI or for your people. That’s already starting to happen in the United States.”
As AI adoption grows, the next big challenge won’t be innovation, it’ll be energy. Countries that can’t meet surging electricity demand risk political backlash and slower growth, while those investing now, like the UAE, will have a powerful advantage in the new global economy.