A couple weeks ago, one of my smartest friends said he was heading to China for a while to get a Fingerspitzengefühl for their energy, AI, and hardware ecosystems. He asked if I'd want him to write up his field notes for not boring as he went deeper and deeper, from a wide-eyed tourist to factory tours to conversations with leaders of China's biggest tech companies (in his first 11 days, as it turns out). I said of course, and this is the first installment. An American Engineer in…