{"id":6127,"date":"2025-09-25T20:41:22","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T20:41:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/?p=6127"},"modified":"2026-04-29T18:21:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T18:21:10","slug":"breakneck-chinas-quest-to-engineer-the-future-by-dan-wang-ncta-online-bookclub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/breakneck-chinas-quest-to-engineer-the-future-by-dan-wang-ncta-online-bookclub\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Breakneck: China&#8217;s Quest to Engineer the Future&#8221; by Dan Wang &#8211; NCTA Online Book Study"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Photograph: Getty Images via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.economist.com\/culture\/2025\/09\/04\/a-new-theory-of-chinas-rise-rule-by-engineers\">The Economist<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>While much of today\u2019s news emphasizes growing U.S.-China tensions, <strong>Dan Wang\u2019s <em><a title=\"Permalink to Breakneck: China\u2019s Quest to Engineer the Future\" href=\"https:\/\/danwang.co\/breakneck\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Breakneck: China\u2019s Quest to Engineer the Future<\/a><\/em> <\/strong>offers a fresh perspective on China and sheds light on the United States in the 21st century. Combining sharp analysis with engaging storytelling, Wang presents a vivid portrait of a nation in transition. In 240 pages, he takes readers through the bustling metropolis of Shanghai and on bike rides into the countryside, offering an insightful view of China\u2019s rapid growth and its far-reaching consequences.<\/p>\n<p>Educators joined NCTA seminar leader <a href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/people\/tese-neighbor\/\"><strong>Tese Neighbor<\/strong><\/a> and World Affairs Council GC Director <a href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/people\/ryan-hauck\/\"><strong>Ryan Hauck<\/strong><\/a> for a conversation on Wang\u2019s political, economic, and philosophical exploration of the world\u2019s two most powerful nations. Together they considered whether China\u2019s achievements\u2014its vast infrastructure projects, rapidly expanding cities, global factories, and growing technological and military capacity\u2014will challenge or inspire the United States to renew its own strengths. This discussion took up questions raised in Wang\u2019s work and in recent commentary, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/arts-culture\/books\/breakneck-review-lawyers-vs-technocrats-1aefcff8?reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink\"><em data-start=\"692\" data-end=\"713\">Wall Street Journal<\/em> (9\/7\/25)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"profile-publications\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/publication\/breakneck-chinas-quest-to-engineer-the-future\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"book-cover\">                                    \t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-198x300.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-675x1024.jpg 675w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-768x1166.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-1012x1536.jpg 1012w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-1349x2048.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-375x569.jpg 375w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-750x1139.jpg 750w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-1140x1731.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/09\/223736214-scaled.jpg 1686w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/>                                        <\/div>\n<div class=\"people-deet\">\n<h3>Breakneck: China&#8217;s Quest to Engineer the Future <\/h3>\n<p class=\"pub-sub-head\">Publication Date:<\/p>\n<p>2025<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Dates and Times<\/h3>\n<p data-start=\"115\" data-end=\"214\">Participants were assigned to either Group 1 or Group 2, with flexibility to switch if needed:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"216\" data-end=\"350\">\n<li data-start=\"216\" data-end=\"283\">\n<p data-start=\"218\" data-end=\"283\"><strong data-start=\"218\" data-end=\"230\">Group 1:<\/strong> Wednesday, December 3, 4:00\u20136:00 PM (Pacific Time)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"284\" data-end=\"350\">\n<p data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"350\"><strong data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"298\">Group 2:<\/strong> Thursday, December 4, 4:00\u20136:00 PM (Pacific Time)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"352\" data-end=\"393\">The book club took place via Zoom.<\/p>\n<h3><strong data-start=\"96\" data-end=\"120\">Program Requirements<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Participants were expected to read the book, complete a brief assignment, and actively engage in the two-hour book club session with cameras on.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Program benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>A physical copy of the book<\/li>\n<li>Online Resource packet<\/li>\n<li>Four free Washington State OSPI clock hours<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Program Resources<\/h3>\n<p>Follow\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/padlet.com\/earc\/december-2025-breakneck-china-s-quest-to-engineer-the-future-rswgxxll6xqdg8xd\">this link\u00a0<\/a>for the Padlet with the program resources made by the program leader.<\/p>\n<p><em>This program was sponsored by the East Asia Resource Center at the University of Washington and funded by a Freeman Foundation grant in support of the <a href=\"http:\/\/nctasia.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Consortium for Teaching about Asia (NCTA<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photograph: Getty Images via The Economist. &nbsp; While much of today\u2019s news emphasizes growing U.S.-China tensions, Dan Wang\u2019s Breakneck: China\u2019s Quest to Engineer the Future offers a fresh perspective on China and sheds light on the United States in the 21st century. Combining sharp analysis with engaging storytelling, Wang presents a vivid portrait of a<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/publication\/breakneck-chinas-quest-to-engineer-the-future\/\">Read more<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":588,"featured_media":6131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-past-programs"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&quot;Breakneck: China&#039;s Quest to Engineer the Future&quot; by Dan Wang - NCTA Online Book Study - East Asia Resource Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jsis.washington.edu\/earc\/breakneck-chinas-quest-to-engineer-the-future-by-dan-wang-ncta-online-bookclub\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&quot;Breakneck: China&#039;s Quest to Engineer the Future&quot; by Dan Wang - NCTA Online Book Study - East Asia Resource Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photograph: Getty Images via The Economist. &nbsp; While much of today\u2019s news emphasizes growing U.S.-China tensions, Dan Wang\u2019s Breakneck: China\u2019s Quest to Engineer the Future offers a fresh perspective on China and sheds light on the United States in the 21st century. 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