Just over a month ago – when the Dow Jones index fell nearly 7 per cent, one of Wall Street's worst days – Mr Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought a 10 per cent stake in BYD, the company that Mr Wang founded.
BYD is a global leader in rechargeable battery technology and a rising star of the Chinese auto industry. Mr Buffett's investment is a clear vote of confidence that Mr Wang – an engineer-turned-entrepreneur – can combine batteries and cars to lead a green revolution in electric vehicles. The move electrified the Hong Kong stock market: shares in BYD, which is 25 per cent owned by Mr Wang, rose by 42 per cent.
On a Saturday morning recently at the company's headquarters in Shenzhen, in the industrial hinterland just across the border from Hong Kong, Mr Wang made clear he sees his company as a symbol of the passing of the baton of industrial leadership from mature western economies to China.