Jianggan Li: China vs. USA Tactical Pause, Moves vs. Countermoves & Rare Earths Leverage – E647
"America looked at China as Russia with communist leadership and a weak, fragile economic engine, assuming China was politically communist and economically the same. The Chinese economy is actually a hybrid system with a communist structure on top and a strong capitalist engine underneath that drives production, innovation, and competition. That bottom engine responds quickly to tariffs, policy changes, and the closing of the de minimis loophole, revealing far more flexibility than many expected." - Jeremy Au, Host of BRAVE Southeast Asia Podcast
"Media outlets naturally focus on stories that attract attention and clicks, making nuanced views hard to deliver, and if I'm running a media outlet and driven by KPIs, I will write something sensational that gets more clicks, forwards, likes, and comments compared to a balanced analysis." - Jianggan Li, Founder of Momentum Works
"NVIDIA said that if the US prevents them from selling top-end chips to China, China will develop its own, and that narrative resonated with some people in the administration, leading to late-year moves to relax certain rules. From both a narrative and prediction perspective, it is worth thinking beyond headlines by mapping the players, the scenario, and how each actor’s moves could shift the landscape, and if you do not want to run that analysis in your own mind, you can run it with ChatGPT, which handles this kind of strategic game modeling well." - Jianggan Li, Founder of Momentum Works
China analyst and Momentum Works founder Jianggan joins Jeremy Au to break down how US–China tensions evolved through a year of tariffs, rare earth leverage, supply chain shocks, and fast-moving geopolitical swings. They examine why both sides misread each other, how Chinese companies adapted faster than expected, and why the global system settled into a tactical pause instead of a decisive split. Their discussion shows how on-the-ground China differs from Western narratives, how product iteration and factory conditions changed under competitive pressure, and why neither side can force a quick victory. Jianggan also shares insights from thirteen trips across China as he tracks e-commerce exporters, shifting macro sentiment, and the emerging negotiation patterns that shape 2026.