https://www.thewirechina.com/2026/07/12/americas-ev-reckoning/
"As a senior climate advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense from 2021 to
2023, my major role was integrating climate and energy concerns into the
National Defense Strategy and other strategic documents. President Joe Biden
saw China as the pacing threat against which America’s grand strategy had to
prepare, and my office focused on how climate impacts would impact allies and
partners. That, increasingly, was seen through the lens of strategic
competition with China.
After my government service ended, I pivoted to working more on critical
minerals, batteries, electric vehicles and U.S.-China relations, and
participated in several unofficial “track two” dialogues between the two
countries. On one of those dialogues, held in China in 2024, I had a chance to
tour the operations of Chinese automaker NIO, battery maker Gotion and VW’s EV
factory in Hefei, capital of Anhui province and an automotive centre in the
world’s largest car market.
The level of sophistication of those factories was eye-opening. I had also
heard that Xiaomi had a massive new factory near Beijing, so made it a priority
to see it on another visit to China last month to better appreciate what the
U.S. auto sector potentially faces, even if Xiaomi is not yet exporting outside
of China.
After presenting a paper at an academic conference on the escalating economic
arms race between the U.S. and China, I toured Xiaomi’s sprawling EV complex in
southeast Beijing.
I am not the only American impressed — and worried — by what I saw. Ford CEO
Jim Farley liked Xiaomi’s SU7 sports car so much that he flew one back home to
the U.S."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
