<p>In this episode, I reflect on a whirlwind three-day visit to China - my first in over 20 years. And what I saw was remarkable. The infrastructure puts most of the West to shame. The AI isn't just hype - it's working at serious scale. And the electric vehicles? They're about to steamroll the global auto industry. Here's what really struck me during my whirlwind trip to Beijing and beyond.</p><p><strong>In this episode you'll hear:</strong></p><ul><li><strong>Infrastructure built at speed:</strong> Beijing's immaculate airport, 300 km/h rail to Tianjin for £17, and pristine expressways that put US infrastructure to shame.</li><li><strong>Verticalised AI in action:</strong> While Chinese labs trail US frontier models and face compute constraints, they're excelling in verticals - profitable robotaxis in Wuhan, healthcare AI analyzing 5.5 billion medical records, and Squirrel AI's $200m education platform that outperforms China's best human teachers.</li><li><strong>EV cost leadership is set:</strong> Chinese electric vehicles are absolutely remarkable. Years of vicious domestic competition have created incredible innovation and cost discipline that will hit European carmakers like a sledgehammer.</li><li><strong>The air quality transformation:</strong> Beijing at 37°C was clean enough for a morning run, thanks to widespread EV adoption.</li><li><strong>Scale that defies comprehension:</strong> Convention centers 100 times the size of Union Square, cities of 20 million people, and AI platforms serving tens of millions of users.</li></ul><p><strong>Our new show</strong></p><p>This was originally recorded for “Friday with Azeem Azhar”, a new show that takes place every Friday at 9am PT and 12pm ET. You can tune in through my Substack linked below.</p><p>The format is experimental and we’d love your feedback, so feel free to comment or email your thoughts to our team at <a href="mailto:
[email protected]">
[email protected]</a>.</p><p><strong>Azeem’s links:</strong></p><ul><li>Substack: <a href="https://www.exponentialview.co/">https://www.exponentialview.co/</a></li><li>Website: <a href="https://www.azeemazhar.com/">https://www.azeemazhar.com/</a></li><li>LinkedIn: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/azhar?originalSubdomain=uk">https://www.linkedin.com/in/azhar?originalSubdomain=uk</a></li><li>Twitter/X: <a href="https://x.com/azeem">https://x.com/azeem</a></li></ul><p><strong>Timestamps:</strong></p><p>(00:00) Surprises at the airport</p><p>(01:21) Immense scale</p><p>(01:54) 3 areas of interest</p><p>(02:37) Chinese infrastructure and engineering</p><p>(03:22) ~180mph train, £17 fare</p><p>(04:29) Multi-lane expressways built for scale</p><p>(05:55) Development of AI in china</p><p>(06:09) China leans into vertical AI</p><p>(08:12) Apollo robotaxis: unit-cost positive</p><p>(09:33) Yidu Tech: 5.5B health records</p><p>(10:35) Squirrel AI outperforms top teachers</p><p>(14:29) EVs & clean air</p><p>(16:14) BYD x Octopus: earn by charging</p><p>(18:30) EV boom improves Beijing air</p><p>(19:56) Luxury Chinese EV interior</p><p>(21:08) Closing thoughts</p><p>Production by <a href="http://supermix.io/">supermix.io</a> and EPIIPLUS1 Ltd.</p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>
