#736: A Strategic Deep Dive on TikTok, The Boiling Moat of Taiwan, and China’s Next-Gen Statecraft — Matt Pottinger, Former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor

The Tim Ferriss Show

Matt Pottinger is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and chairman of the China Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Matt served as U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor from 2019 to 2021. Before his White House service, Matt spent the late 1990s and early 2000s in China as a reporter for Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. He then fought in Iraq and Afghanistan as a U.S. Marine during three combat deployments between 2007 and 2010. Matt’s new book is The Boiling Moat: Urgent Steps to Defend Taiwan.

Sponsors:

Wealthfront high-yield savings account: https://wealthfront.com/tim (Start earning 5% interest on your savings. And when you open an account today, you’ll get an extra fifty-dollar bonus with a deposit of five hundred dollars or more.)

Shopify global commerce platform, providing tools to start, grow, market, and manage a retail business: https://shopify.com/tim (one-dollar-per-month trial period)

Helix Sleep premium mattresses: https://helixsleep.com/tim (between 25% and 30% off all mattress orders and two free pillows)

Timestamps:

[05:55] Bao Tong’s calligraphy.

[08:20] Matt’s decision to study East Asian languages.

[10:13] Studying with Perry Link and the challenges of learning Chinese.

[12:19] Tips for learning Chinese and other languages.

[17:17] How TikTok has been weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party.

[20:58] The origins of TikTok and its obfuscatory ownership structure.

[26:30] How sowing chaos in the West serves the CCP’s aims.

[31:37] “Politics stops at the water’s edge.”

[33:11] How should the US rein in TikTok’s influence over its population?

[40:23] The significance of Taiwan geographically, ideologically, and economically.

[49:59] The semiconductor industry in Taiwan and its global importance.

[52:07] Deterring China from attacking or coercing Taiwan.

[58:51] Cultivating social depth in Taiwan.

[1:01:09] Guessing at Xi Jinping’s timeline.

[1:05:33] Demonstrating the will to match the capacity of following through.

[1:07:47] Matt’s top priorities for stemming Chinese ambitions.

[1:10:15] Architects of chaos.

[1:14:21] Staying alert against informational warfare and united front activity.

[1:21:00] Countering China’s influence on its Western-based citizens.

[1:25:05] Checkers vs. Go.

[1:26:56] How can the US reassert its position as a beacon of democracy?

[1:33:05] What prompted Matt to join the Marine Corps at age 32?

[1:38:50] Getting in shape for the occasion.

[1:40:45] Leadership lessons learned.

[1:46:59] The Boiling Moat, the importance of public service, and parting thoughts.

*

For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast.

For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors

Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday.

For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.

Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.

Follow Tim:

Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss

Instagram: instagram.com/timferriss

YouTube: youtube.com/timferriss

Facebook: facebook.com/timferriss

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/timferriss

Past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.