Marco Beba

German in Shanghai. Decoding China and the world through history, economics & systems — not headlines. Author of 'Enduring Frameworks' (2026).

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

After more than a decade of observing and note taking, I wrote a book about China: Nine frameworks for understanding why it behaves the way it does.

A thread. 🧵

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

The resulting nine lenses reflect both my personal interests and what I believe is crucial to understand. Plus, there’s a certain symmetry to the 3×3 chapter structure, especially since 9 is such an auspicious number in Chinese culture. 4/4

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Yesterday, I spoke about my book, "Enduring Frameworks," at an event in Shanghai. I shared the creative process and logic behind it, along with a few of its core ideas and concepts. 1/4

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

I also wanted to acknowledge that much of this book stands on the shoulders of other brilliant authors and experts. My value-add was weaving it all together through topic prioritization and a unique structural context. 3/4

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

@rserhataslan Please check if you can message me now after I followed you. I'm not a Premium user, so that might be an issue.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

After more than a decade of observing and note taking, I wrote a book about China: Nine frameworks for understanding why it behaves the way it does.

A thread. 🧵

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

@chris__pc Thank you for the shout-out, Chris!

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

"I never got into writing because of unit economics. I got into it because a book is the highest-density transfer of obsession I know—two or three years of someone’s life, compressed into something you can hold."

Agree.

[Tim Ferriss @tferriss]

NEW blog post is up!

"Has AI Already Killed How-To Nonfiction? Sales Trends, My Personal Data, and What It Might Mean for the Future"

My head has been spinning after getting a spreadsheet roughly a week ago.

Before we dive into my dirty laundry, let’s state the obvious: millions of people have a vague sense that AI is changing things. And LLMs sure are convenient for getting answers quickly. My team and I use Claude and other tools daily.

But far fewer people have first-hand experience with the speed and intensity of disruption that’s happening. Not in a year, not in six months, but right now.

So let me show you, using my own books as the cadaver on the table, what a fatality looks like.

(Link below)

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Top-down: a leadership that studied the Needham Question ('Great Divergence') very intensely

Bottom-up: a population full of hyper adaptive consumers and compulsive entrepreneurs

[Kaiser Kuo @KaiserKuo]

This is good: The People’s Republic of Techno-Optimists by @selinaxuxinyue in The Ideas Letter. China's posture toward tech is very much conditioned by history, in a way I've long argued. It's not uniform, it's not necessarily enduring, but it's real.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Interesting to witness the conversation both here on X as well as in Chinese social media on China's potential to host a World Cup in the future.

What ever the arguments for or against, in any case this is anyway only likely to become a reality in 2042 or beyond.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

To my embarrassment, it was only yesterday that I learned about the famous Chinese text 资治通鉴 (Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance) - an empirical and inductive work giving advice on how to improve governance by historical precedent. Digging deeper now!

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Very humbled to be invited. Thank you to Consul General @PratikMathur1 for the enlightening exchange!

[India In Shanghai @IndiaInShanghai]

#YouthExchanges #Academiabonds #BusinessRelations

Meeting scholars and writers on #India and the changing 🌎 👨‍🏫🤝🇮🇳

Consul General @PratikMathur1 was happy to welcome to the Consulate Ms. Chen Zhuo and Mr. Marco Beba this morning and exchange views on #IncredibleIndia and the role #newgeneration alongside #newtechnologies will have in defining the future global trajectory and transitions.

➡️ Ms. Chen (@SouthernM46171) is the Editor-in-Chief of the South Asia Study newsletter at Fudan University and Mr. Beba is the author of a new work “Enduring Frameworks” on the region.

➡️ Ms. Chen will be visiting India soon and Mr. Beba works for German company #BASF with increasing presence in India.

➡️ Consul General wished the young scholar and budding author well for their future endeavors.

@IndianDiplomacy @indiandiplomats

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Especially as a first-time author who wrote this book as a side project driven by curiosity and passion, this kind of feedback is truly heartwarming.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Feeling grateful for the reception my humble contribution to the China discourse has received so far!

Some reviews by readers below:

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

"Concise, to the point, and written in accessible language."

"Great read not only for China experts, but also people that are new to China!"

"In times, where a 'we-against-them' mindset is shaping up on all sides, this is a very necessary book."

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

@chris__pc As far as I know this is only due to strict regulation particularly in Beijing. Not sure how much that is of their total market, but I believe they will for sure continue to make and sell drones in the rest of China and especially abroad.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Nine Lenses. My personal take, standing on the shoulders of giants.

The book is Enduring Frameworks - ebook and paperback on Amazon.

Thank you for reading.

[Marco Beba @MarcoBeba]

Ch. 9: Electro-State

Energy sourced domestically, from supply chains China controls, that can't be sanctioned. That's the logic behind the renewable push.