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Episode: The Rise and Fall of China with Michael Beckley [S2 Ep.25]
Date: August 14, 2021
Host: Coleman Hughes
Guest: Michael Beckley (Associate Professor at Tufts University; Visiting Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Coleman Hughes sits down with Michael Beckley to challenge the prevailing narrative that China is on track to overtake the United States as the world’s preeminent superpower. Beckley, a political scientist known for his contrarian analysis, lays out why China's meteoric rise may hide deep vulnerabilities and why the Western consensus may be misreading core indicators of Chinese power. Spanning economics, demographics, military capabilities, technology, and the historical psyche of the Chinese Communist Party, the discussion tackles what both the West and China get wrong about themselves and each other.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Beckley’s Background and Approach to International Relations

• [02:26] Beckley summarizes his dual roles in academia and policy and explains his lifelong fascination with international affairs.
• "I've spent pretty much my whole career either in the US Government... or working for various think tanks... I've always just been obsessed with it since being a little kid, can't get enough of it." (Beckley, 02:26)

2. The Misconception of Chinese Superpower Inevitable Rise

• [05:17] Beckley argues that the fear of China overtaking the US is overstated.

  • While China’s economy and military have grown impressively, sustaining these comes at huge internal costs.
  • China's growth model is inefficient, propping up loss-making state enterprises and shouldering massive demographic and social burdens.
  • “China’s wealth is a lot less impressive than it might otherwise seem. Its military power is a lot less impressive... For all these reasons, a lot of China’s wealth and power gets sucked away simply by the huge cost of having to take care of the largest population in the world.” (Beckley, 08:01)

• [07:49] Beckley warns that China's aggression could increase—not because of rising strength, but out of weakness and insecurity as its power peaks.

  • “I've studied past cases... where you have a power that’s been rising for a while, and then it hits economic headwinds... they tend to not mellow out. They tend to get even more aggressive...” (Beckley, 07:49)

3. Concept of “Net Power”

• [07:49–09:20] Beckley introduces ‘net power’:
  • Standard metrics (GDP, military size) exaggerate power by ignoring the costs that come with a large population.
  • Net power factors in both assets and liabilities, revealing that China’s “gross” statistics mask serious structural weaknesses.

4. Realities of Chinese Economic Power

• [10:02] Despite the popular view that China’s low labor costs are a strength, Beckley notes high overall production costs and inefficiency:
  • Chinese businesses require much more capital and labor to produce the same output as their Western counterparts.
  • “On average they use about twice the amount of capital and five times the labor of the average American firm to produce the same amount of economic output...” (Beckley, 10:02)

5. Autocracy: Strength and Limiting Weakness

• [12:51] Autocracies can marshal resources and build quickly but struggle with innovation and entrepreneurship.

  • “Authoritarian regimes tend to have this surge of economic development... But then when they need to transition to a more information driven economy, that’s where things get much more difficult... it’s just really hard to mandate innovation.” (Beckley, 12:51)

• [15:28] However, Beckley flags an exception: surveillance technologies, AI, and big data may give autocracies, like China, new strategic advantages both domestically and abroad.

6. China’s Technological Ambitions and Digital Authoritarianism

• [15:54] Beckley is “extremely worried” about China’s export and refinement of surveillance technologies via global programs such as the Belt and Road Initiative.
  • “Dictatorship has just become much more efficient because of these technologies. China... is sort of beta testing them in many countries around the world and as well as within its own provinces...” (Beckley, 15:54)

7. Military Capabilities

• [19:50] China cannot project global military power like the US, but could have local advantages (e.g., Taiwan).
  • “If there was a war over Taiwan today, China would have home field advantage... the local balance of power is much closer than most people think, because geography sort of equalizes things for China...” (Beckley, 19:50)

8. Intellectual Property Theft

• [21:44] Beckley is concerned about China’s IP theft, particularly as it relates to control technologies (surveillance, speech/facial recognition) and those with military applications.
  • “It's more about these individual technologies that either have military applications or applications for authoritarian governance that worry me.” (Beckley, 21:44)

9. Demographic Crisis

• [24:12] China faces dramatic population decline and aging by the end of the century.
  • “According to current projections, China’s population by the end of this century is going to be half of what it is right now. Worse, it’s going to be a much older population...” (Beckley, 24:12)
  • The ratio of workers to retirees will invert, straining China’s economic engine and social fabric.

10. Immigration and Ethnonationalism

• [28:45] China’s government is becoming more ethnonationalist, making large-scale immigration as a solution to demographic woes unlikely.

11. Minority Policy and Social Control

• [32:01] Repressive policies, including forced assimilation, automation over pro-natalist measures, and, in worse cases, forced sterilization and mass detention (as seen in Xinjiang).

12. “Ghost Cities” and Economic Imbalance

• [34:16] Massive government stimulus post-2008 financial crisis has manifested in countless “ghost cities”—empty megaprojects meant to maintain growth and employment but resulting in soaring debt and wasted investment.
  • “China took out $29 trillion in new credit... that's equivalent to a third of the entire global economy.” (Beckley, 34:28)

13. Missed Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Reform

• [37:44] China’s retreat from economic liberalization post-WTO accession has sowed today’s inefficiencies.
  • “Clearly under Xi Jinping, it's much more of a state dominated system where the state calls the shots. It's just a traditional authoritarian system.” (Beckley, 37:44)

14. The “Century of Humiliation” – Chinese Historical Psyche

• [41:53] Chinese national consciousness is deeply shaped by a narrative of historical victimization at the hands of foreign powers (from the Opium Wars to WWII).
  • This history underpins China’s domestic legitimacy, its foreign policy (particularly on Taiwan and Hong Kong), and its sensitivity to perceived threats to sovereignty.
  • “It is a central pillar of the Chinese nationalist narrative today... It has deep emotional resonance for pretty much everyone that lives in China.” (Beckley, 41:53)

15. Theories of Global Dominance—US vs. China

• [48:54] Beckley explains why neither “balance of power” nor “convergence” theories predict an American collapse:
  • US geography, global alliance structure, and the persistent tendency of the rich to get richer all reinforce its position.
  • “The argument that I make... is not that the US is destined to lead forever... But this idea that the US is doomed to decline, if you actually look at the theories... there's very little empirical support for them...” (Beckley, 52:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the myth of unstoppable Chinese growth:
  “China has a number of weaknesses. Even though it has a big economy, that economy generates high growth at very high costs...” – Beckley [05:17]

• On AI and authoritarianism:
  “Dictatorship has just become much more efficient because of these technologies... it worries me the most.” – Beckley [15:54]

• On demographics:
  “By 2040, 2050 a third of China's population is going to be over the age of 60. So it's going to be this huge senior citizen population.” – Beckley [24:12]

• On American 'decline':
  “The United States is the only really powerful country located in the Western Hemisphere... That’s why the Western European powers immediately formed an alliance with the United States in the Cold War...” – Beckley [48:54]

• On the Chinese psyche & nationalism:
  “For China, it’s about what was taken away from us for an entire century... and we need to understand it is commemorated...” – Beckley [46:39]

• On personal risks as a China watcher:
  “Chinese state media has written articles slamming my terrible research and what an idiot I am...But I don’t think there are bigger fish for the Chinese Communist Party to fry than an academic scribbler like myself.” – Beckley [53:40]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 02:05 – Beckley’s background and entry into international affairs
• 05:17 – Why fears about China's ascent may be misplaced
• 07:49 – Net power: assets vs. liabilities in measuring superpower status
• 10:02 – The hidden inefficiency of Chinese industry
• 12:51 – Autocracy’s double-edged sword: mobilization vs. innovation
• 15:54 – The global spread and risks of Chinese surveillance tech
• 19:50 – Military power: global limits, local threats (Taiwan)
• 21:44 – IP theft and its strategic significance
• 24:12 – China’s looming demographic collapse
• 28:45 – Immigration, ethnonationalism, and stagnation
• 32:01 – Repressive social policy and forced automation
• 34:16 – ‘Ghost cities’ and the debt bomb
• 37:44 – Missed opportunities for economic reform
• 41:53 – The “century of humiliation” and Chinese nationalism
• 48:54 – Theories of US global dominance
• 53:06 – Personal safety and the risks of China-focused research

Additional Resources

• Book: Unrivaled: Why America Will Remain the World’s Sole Superpower (Michael Beckley)
• Website: michaelbeckley.org

Final Thoughts

This episode provides a comprehensive, contrarian analysis of China’s rise, focusing on the hidden fragilities behind Beijing’s international image. Beckley’s nuanced account punctures both alarmist Western narratives and simplistic triumphalism, highlighting how structural liabilities—from demography to economics and politics—restrict China’s potential for global hegemony. At the same time, the discussion illuminates the unique dangers posed by digital authoritarianism and regional aggression as China's power plateaus.
For listeners looking to move beyond surface-level debates on US–China rivalry, this conversation delivers sharp insight and invaluable historical context.