Lex Fridman Podcast
#466 – Jeffrey Wasserstrom: China, Xi Jinping, Trade War, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mao
24 Apr 2025
Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a historian of modern China. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep466-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/jeffrey-wasserstrom-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: Jeffrey Wasserstrom's Books: China in the 21st Century: https://amzn.to/3GnayXT Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink: https://amzn.to/4jmxWmT Oxford History of Modern China: https://amzn.to/3RAJ9nI The Milk Tea Alliance: https://amzn.to/42DLapH SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Oracle: Cloud infrastructure. Go to https://oracle.com/lex Tax Network USA: Full-service tax firm. Go to https://tnusa.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex AG1: All-in-one daily nutrition drink. Go to https://drinkag1.com/lex OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (00:06) - Sponsors, Comments, and Reflections (10:29) - Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong (13:57) - Confucius (21:27) - Education (29:33) - Tiananmen Square (40:49) - Tank Man (50:49) - Censorship (1:26:45) - Xi Jinping (1:44:53) - Donald Trump (1:48:47) - Trade war (2:01:35) - Taiwan (2:11:48) - Protests in Hong Kong (2:44:07) - Mao Zedong (3:05:48) - Future of China PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips SOCIAL LINKS: - X: https://x.com/lexfridman - Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexfridman - TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@lexfridman - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/lexfridman - Facebook: https://facebook.com/lexfridman - Patreon: https://patreon.com/lexfridman - Telegram: https://t.me/lexfridman - Reddit: https://reddit.com/r/lexfridman
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with Jeffrey Wasserstrom, a historian of modern China. And now a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast. We got Oracle for cloud computing, Tax Network USA for taxes, Shopify for selling stuff online, Element for electrolytes, and AG1 for a daily multivitamin. Choose wisely, my friends.
Let me make the public service announcement that I've done a few times about these ad reads. I do them on RSS. I do them on Apple Podcasts, on Spotify, based on the feedback I've gotten in the survey, lexfriedman.com slash survey. Many enjoy it. A quick, random, non-sequitur insights into whatever is going on in this particular mind. I don't do the ad reads in the normal way.
Half the time I don't really even talk about the sponsor. I'm just talking about stuff that I'm thinking about. Except maybe for a bit of a shout out to the sponsor for being awesome. And a quick description of what they do. Sometimes the sponsor itself, the topic, inspires me to think about certain kinds of topics.
Anyway, that's the point, to continuously be innovating how to do this podcast thing. What is this? Who am I? And who are you? And why is it the connection between the two of us? is so real. Me as a podcast fan, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and I legitimately feel like I am friends with the person I'm listening to. I think there's a real way in which that is fundamentally true.
I think people mock that. I think people say that that's not a real connection. I think it's a real connection. I don't know. My life is fundamentally better for these friendships, real or not real. Who's to say I can't have some great imaginary friends? Anyway, hopefully these ad reads are interesting. If you skip them, please still check out the sponsors. Sign up, get whatever they're selling.
I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too. Also, if you want to get in touch with me for whatever reason, go to lexfriedman.com contact. And now, on to the full ad reads. Let's go. This episode is brought to you by Oracle, a company providing a fully integrated stack of cloud applications and cloud platform services. These guys do infrastructure well.
Single platform for the infrastructure, for the database, application development, and obviously injecting AI into everything, including the pitches. These guys do compute infrastructure well and have been doing it for many, many years. Obviously, this episode about China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, trade, is very relevant to this topic.
Boy, I sit back and think about the future of compute and how it is inextricably connected to the geopolitics, to the bullshit, to the madness of the online world where they're talking shit to each other. the individual humans of the individual nations, and the leaders of those humans, and the leaders of those nations.
Anyway, cut your bill in half when you switch to OCI, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Offer is for new U.S. customers with a minimum financial commitment to see if you qualify at oracle.com. That's oracle.com. This episode is also brought to you by Tax Network USA, a full-service tax firm focused on solving tax problems for individuals and small businesses.
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