Jon Pelson on China's Influence, TikTok, Huawei and Different Values

On the 8th episode of Invested, Michael hosts Jon Pelson, the author of “Wireless Wars: China's Dangerous Domination of 5G and How We're Fighting Back," which tells the story of how China seized global leadership in mobile communications and describes the threat this presents to the free world. Mr. Pelson spent nearly twenty-five years working as an executive at some of the world’s largest telecom companies, serving as Chief of Convergence Strategy for British Telecom and Vice President for Lucent Technologies, where he observed how China’s national champions were used to advance geopolitical goals. Wireless Wars outlines a proposal to retake the lead from China through the use of trusted ecosystems and disruptive, permissionless innovation. Pelson has lectured at Duke University, Yale, William & Mary, and other colleges and associations, and is an advisor to private companies and government agencies and departments. He is an Adjunct Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies; a member of the Advisory Council for the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue; and is on the Advisory Board of Rampart Communications. Mr. Pelson has a degree in economics from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Darden School at the University of Virginia. You can find Jon Pelson on Twitter at @JonPelson and buy his book at wireless-wars.com. Please enjoy and rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!  Key Topics: [00:00] Intro  [01:00] Importance of Truth [01:35] Jon Pelson [03:35] Is there One Truth? [05:30] Chinese Influence  [08:55] China In Saudi Arabia [11:25] Chinese 25-Year Plan [15:37] China vs. Other Countries [16:25] AI Data Collection [18:02] Moral Differences  [23:30] Guilt vs. Shame [25:20] Rule of Law vs. Rule of Strong [29:48] Business with China  [36:05] Keeping Your Enemies Close [40:00] Free Market Trade  [41:00] Courage to Write  [43:58] TikTok [48:55] Business, Politics and Technology [56:15] Aligning Values  [58:30] Warning Israel  [01:01:20] China’s Investment in Israel [01:05:30] Telecom in 20 Years [01:10:05] Rapid Fire Questions Resources: To purchase Jon’s book “Wireless Wars”: https://www.wireless-wars.com/  Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonpelson?lang=en Follow Jon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-pelson-3302bb1/ For show notes and past guests on Invested, please visit content.aleph.vc Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc  Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter: aleph.vc  For the transcript of this episode, go to https://content.aleph.vc/invested-episode-08 Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/ Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/ Follow Aleph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ Credits: Executive Producer: Erica Marom  Producers: Andrew Jacobson and Sofi Levak Video and Editing: Ron Baranov  Music and Art: Uri Ar  Design: Rony Karadi