Letter from Beijing 2: Tsinghua University – #113

Letter from Beijing 2: Tsinghua University – #113

From Manifold by Steve Hsu

June 4, 2026 · 1h 21m · Season 2

About this episode

This episode features discussions with American students and a professor at Tsinghua University about AI, education, and US-China relations.

This special episode was recorded at Tsinghua University in Beijing, generally regarded as the top university in China. Our guests are 3 Americans studying and working at Tsinghua: Gabriel (undergrad), Justin (PhD student in AI), and Alex (Professor in AI research). Topics discussed include: Tsinghua University and elite human capital, AI in China, US-China competition, and the flow of human capital between the US and China Han Feizi, columnist at Asia Times and the guest from the previous "Letter from Beijing" episode, is also in the room. Letter from Beijing with Han Feizi: https://www.manifold1.com/episodes/letter-from-beijing-with-han-feizi-72 Chapter Markers: (00:00) - Welcome to Tsinghua University (02:47) - Gabriel’s Undergrad Journey (12:35) - Justin’s PhD (25:10) - Professor Alex on AI and Rankings (42:51) - Second Chances and Status Signals (46:48) - China’s Exam Ladder Explained (50:20) - Infrastructure and Tech Competition (01:17:18) - Semiconductors, EUV, and Wrap Up – Steve Hsu is Professor of Theoretical Physics and of Computational Mathematics, Science, and Engineering at Michigan State University. Previously, he was Senior Vice President for Research and…

People in this episode

Host: Steve Hsu

Guests: Gabriel, Justin, Alex

Topics covered

  • Tsinghua University
  • AI in China
  • US-China competition
  • human capital
  • education
  • technology

Keywords

  • Tsinghua University
  • AI
  • human capital
  • US-China relations
  • education
  • technology competition
  • semiconductors

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tsinghua University, Asia Times

Places: Beijing, China, US

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