At a banking training session years ago, a veteran colleague drilled into us: “Repetition is reputation!” Five bullet points, endlessly repeated, were all we needed. Silence was the enemy—worse than being wrong, worse than being tiresome. Words had to be said, reports published, noise made, or the cash register stopped ringing.
That lesson stuck. Now, as Han Feizi, I’ve written 50 columns for Asia Times, and I find myself repeating the same five points. It’s not a lack of imagination; it’s that these points remain true and largely ignored. My first column, three years ago, came at the invitation of David Goldman, then a columnist and now a senior advisor at the US State Department. He asked one of his Twitter trolls—my alter ego—to write about China’s misunderstood consumption. Fifty articles later, the themes haven’t changed.
Here they are, my five bullet points: China has been underreporting its GDP for decades and is already the world’s largest economy. China’s relentless investment in education will keep fueling its growth for years. The United States, trapped by inflated asset values, faces a monumental challenge in reindustrializing. The American Empire is an anachronism, and its dissolution would benefit everyone, including Americans. And cars—the most sublime industry—are a perfect lens for tracking global economic and social trends.
I write for an American audience, because I’m Chinese American and spent my formative years there. I consider myself a patriot, and my columns are meant to help, not to mock. But as Vivek Ramaswamy discovered, offering helpful advice as an Asian American often invites spite. Many Americans refuse to listen simply because the messenger is Asian.
My method is to state the obvious. I’m not that smart. But in the twilight of empires, people cling to shibboleths with blinding desperation. The Qing Dynasty couldn’t accept the obvious for over a hundred humiliating years. America is in a similar denial.
The Tesla Roadster: A case study in face
Consider Tesla’s Roadster. In 2017, Elon Musk promised a 2020 launch, with deposits up to $250,000. He claimed under-two-second 0-60 mph, 250 mph top speed, and 1,000 km range. 2020 came and went. Meanwhile, Chinese EV makers introduced six sports cars with over 1,000 horsepower, several achieving sub-two-second 0-60 mph, with prices as low as $80,000 for the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
In October, Musk staged a demonstration of the “Roadster” that any auto engineer would call cringe-inducing. A contraption flew over parked cars and hung upside down—but it bore no resemblance to a production vehicle. Tesla then pushed delivery to 2028, a weasel move. Americans, easily bamboozled by parlor tricks, fawned over the circus act.
This is about more than a low-volume flagship. Tesla’s sales have been flat since 2023, while BYD’s have surged over 60%, nearly tripling Tesla’s. Tesla has discontinued the Model S, Model X, and Cybertruck, leaving just two models against BYD’s 30-plus. Musk lobbied for and got 100% tariffs on Chinese car imports, a desperate measure to protect a fading lead.
The Roadster stunt is a perfect metaphor for America’s “face” problem. Face—the social value, reputation, and standing in others’ eyes—is central to American culture, though few admit it. Americans spend enormous energy saving face, avoiding public humiliation rather than fixing underlying defects. This is why Tesla’s fans cheer a fake car, and why America refuses to acknowledge China’s economic reality.
China’s math is simple: invest in education, upgrade human capital, and growth follows. America’s math is distorted by asset bubbles and a refusal to accept that its dominance is waning. The real leverage in a multipolar world may be energy, not AI, but America is stuck on face.
As I write my 50th column, I’m not optimistic that America will listen. But I’ll keep repeating the obvious, because repetition is reputation. And maybe, one day, the message will break through.
