Podcast: China's tech culture

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Watch or listen to the High Capacity podcast on:YouTubeApple PodcastsSpotifyIn this episode, I speak with Afra Wang, writer and observer of China’s tech culture as well as broader cultural trends in China and the US. Afra is the author of the Concurrent newsletter and has published work in Wired Magazine and Asterisk Magazine.Follow Afra’s work:Concurrent newsletterAfra’s professional websiteTwitter / XCyberPink podcast (in Chinese)Wired: “You’ve Never Heard of China’s Greatest Sci-Fi Novel”Asterisk: “The China Tech Canon”TranscriptKyle (00:00)Welcome to the High Capacity Podcast. I’m your host, Kyle Chan, a fellow at Brookings. I’m thrilled to be joined today by my guest, Afra Wang, an absolutely brilliant writer focused on China’s tech culture and broader cultural trends in China and the US. She’s the author of the amazing Concurrent newsletter and host of the popular CyberPink podcast, which is in Chinese. She’s currently joining from London, where she’s also a fellow with Gov.ai. Welcome, Afra, and thanks for coming on the show.Afra (00:31)Thank you for having me, Kyle.Kyle (00:33)I want to start by asking a big question: what is Chinese tech culture? In Silicon Valley, we hear about hoodies, tech bros, and billionaire founders with big egos who love to move fast and break things. In China, from an American perspective, we hear a bit about the 996 work culture (996工作制)—working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—and this relentless, bring-your-mattress-to-work culture. But beyond that, what is Chinese tech culture actually like? Is there even such a thing? How does i…