Robert Wu

Oct 15, 2024 | investinginchina.substack.com | Robert Wu

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest person to fool. —Richard Feynman—The title of my article was inspired by the Germany newspaper DIE ZEIT. I translated it to English. Sometimes, when I read public media’s coverage of China, it feels like I’m reading Don Quixote all over again. Don Quixote was fighting windmills, tilting at imaginary threats, mistaking them for dragons.

Oct 8, 2024 | investinginchina.substack.com | Robert Wu

Last week, I shared a simple mental model I use to quickly assess certain Chinese policies (you can find it [here]). This time, I want to expand on the pendulum swing analogy. The key point of this model is that what happened in the past doesn’t necessarily predict what will happen in the future—in fact, it often suggests the opposite. Changes can be rapid and dramatic. To illustrate this, I’ll use the Chinese tech sector as an example.

Jul 20, 2024 | china-translated.com | Robert Wu

This essay has been sitting in the corner of my draft box for a long time. Unlike other articles in this newsletter, this one is not about China, but about the West. So for some time, I struggled to find the right occasion to publish it.

May 31, 2024 | robertwoo.substack.com | Robert Wu

[This is a free post. But please consider joining my many good patrons to support my work. Moreover, if you are already a paid subscriber of Baiguan, you are entitled to complimentary access. Please DM me if you want it.]This week, state media announced a detailed account of last week’s “reform” symposium, in which, one peculiar line quickly grabbed the attention of everyone.

Apr 19, 2024 | robertwoo.substack.com | Robert Wu |Kevin Xu

This week, Noah Smith set his ever-sharp eyes on China’s industrial policy and explained to us how it is “defeating” Western companies such as Tesla. If he stops writing uninformed pieces about China, this series of mine on his China cluelessness will lose steam. But since he keeps at it, my critique is kept alive. Why am I doing this? Because Noah represents a perfectly worded body of thoughts that mainstream Western elites have managed to attain about China.