Bill Gates in China: Microsoft co-founder to meet Xi Jinping
By Julie Zhu
June 14, 2023
HONG KONG, June 14 (Reuters) - Bill Gates, Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O) co-founder, is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday during his visit to China, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
The meeting will mark Xi's first meeting with a foreign private entrepreneur in recent years. The people said the encounter may be a one-on-one meeting. A third source confirmed they would meet, without providing details.
The sources did not say what the two might discuss. Gates tweeted on Wednesday that he had landed in Beijing for the first time since 2019 and that he would meet with partners who had been working on global health and development challenges with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The foundation and China's State Council Information Office, which handles media queries on behalf of the Chinese government, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change. He quit his full-time executive role at Microsoft in 2008.
The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote a letter to Gates thanking him, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for pledging assistance to China including $5 million for the country's fight against COVID-19.
The meeting would mark the end of a long hiatus by Xi in recent years from meeting foreign private entrepreneurs and business leaders, after the Chinese president stopped travelling abroad for nearly three years as China shut its borders during the pandemic.
Several foreign CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year but most have mainly met with government ministers.
Premier Li Qiang met a group of foreign CEOs including Apple's (AAPL.O) Tim Cook in March and a source told Reuters that Tesla's (TSLA.O) Elon Musk met vice-premier Ding Xuexiang last month.
The mood of the foreign business community towards China, however, has turned cautious as Sino-U.S. tensions intensify and Xi increases the country's focus on national security.
Gates' visit also comes ahead of a long-delayed visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China set to take place between June 18-19 which is aimed at stabilizing relations between the world's two largest economies and strategic rivals.
Blinken had a tense call with China's foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chi ... 023-06-16/
China's Xi tells Bill Gates he hopes US-China friendship will continue
Reuters
June 16, 2023
Microsoft co-founder's first visit to China since 2019
Xi's first meeting with a foreign entrepreneur in years
Xi tells Gates people are foundation of US-China relations
BEIJING, June 16 (Reuters) - Xi Jinping called Bill Gates "an old friend" and said he hoped they could carry out activities together beneficial to both China and the United States, in the Chinese president's first meeting with a foreign entrepreneur in years.
In a meeting at Beijing's Diaoyutai state guesthouse, where China's leaders have historically received senior foreign guests, Xi told the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist that he was very happy to see him after three years and described Gates as the first American friend he had met this year.
"I often say the foundation of US-China relations lies with its people. I place my hopes on the American people," a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi as saying."
"With the current global situation, we can carry out various activities beneficial to our two countries and people, activities that benefit humanity as a whole," he said.
Gates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, told Xi that he was "honoured" to have the chance to meet. "We've always had great conversations and we'll have lot of important topics to discuss today. I was very disappointed I couldn't come during the last four years so it's very exciting to be back."
Xi stopped travelling abroad for nearly three years as China shut its borders during the pandemic and his international meetings since the reopening have mostly been with other state leaders. Plans for his meeting with Gates were first reported by Reuters.
A number of CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year, but most have met with government ministers.
Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.
The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province. In early 2020, Xi wrote a letter to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for the country's fight against COVID-19.
The mood of the foreign business community towards China has turned cautious as Sino-U.S. tensions intensify and Xi increases the country's focus on national security.
Gates' visit comes ahead of a long-delayed visit by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China aimed at stabilizing relations between the world's two largest economies and strategic rivals.
Blinken had a tense call with China's foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.
During his meeting with Gates, Xi said China would not follow the old path of a "strong country seeking hegemony" but would work with other countries to achieve common development, according to the People's Daily newspaper. China often accuses the United States of pursing hegemony.
Apart from meeting Xi, Gates has given a speech at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute about the need to use technology to solve global health challenges during his visit.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Beijing municipal government, which founded the institute with Tsinghua University, also pledged to each provide $50 million to bolster the institute's drug discovery capacity.
