I can’t speak to the book, but the article/interview/summary seem a little hollow in places. Some oddities:

1. Manufacturing jobs declined and manufacturing contributes less as a percentage of GDP than it once did, sure, but manufacturing has grown in the US.
2. China artificially deflates the value of its currency. That lowers the cost of goods it exports to other countries and creates a structural impediment to competing with manufacturers in China. I don’t see how any discussion about globalization and manufacturing jobs is complete without a discussion about currency manipulation.
3. Random shots fired at NY and SF.

Also, the US is never going to compete with China for engineering graduates or manufacturing. The population difference makes it an impossible comparison.