ChinaTalk Are We Cooked? Q1 2026
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Jan 7, 2026 
Join Peter Harrell, former Biden administration official and host of the Security Economics podcast, Kevin Xu, a keen observer of AI and geopolitics, and economist Matt Klein, author of Trade Wars Are Class Wars. They dive into the challenges of allied scale against China's economic might. The trio discusses Europe's manufacturing woes, U.S. trade tactics, and the complexities of AI coopetition. They analyze the UAE's evolving data center landscape and question America's supply chain resilience, concluding that while the U.S. isn't 'cooked,' it faces significant hurdles ahead.
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UAE Trip Shows Rapid AI Infrastructure Push
- Kevin described an American think-tank delegation to the UAE focused on AI infrastructure, hosted by the UAE embassy.
- He observed large planned data-center builds and close labor ties with South Asia.
Middle East May Absorb Excess AI Capacity
- The Middle East can supply data-center capacity but may struggle to attract European data residency demand.
- U.S. domestic constraints on energy and construction could route capacity offshore to the Middle East.
Europe Lacks A Trusted Domestic Cloud
- Europe lacks a domestic cloud and tech stack despite talent, causing reliance on distrusted U.S. or Chinese providers.
- That gap makes Europe a strategic wildcard in allied tech scale.