Po Chi Wu comes from a line of illustrious scholars. His father’s epitaph was “The Father of Modern Physics in China.” One would think his ancestors presented a hard act to follow, but Po Chi has broken records of his own. Straddling both the East and West in his role as a highly acclaimed Professor in both Asia and California, he also directs an advisory firm that focuses on “Cleantech”, information technology and life sciences, and is renowned for his insight into the challenges of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The fun part of this podcast episode is listening to Po Chi’s wide-ranging expression of expertise on a variety of subjects. He references Star Trek to explain the differences in the way Chinese and Westerners view the world. And he says that American culture is similar to television programming in black and white, in contrast to Chinese culture which is like television reception with a spectrum of millions of colors. We cover lots of ground in this episode including the new Belt and Road initiative recently introduced by Beijing, the impact of Chinese investment on Africa, and why despite the fact that Shanghai is a terrible place to live, it still attracts people who seek the gateway to wealth and opportunity.