Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in Beijing on Friday, the State-run media Global Times reported.
"You're the first American friend I have met in Beijing this year," Xi told Gates according to a report in the Chinese State media.
"I often say that the foundation of China-US relations lies in people-to-people ties. We have always placed our hopes on the American people, and hope that peoples of our two countries will maintain their friendship," Xi said according to Global Times.
According to a report in the Chinese news outlet, Xi praised Gates and his foundation for their long-term commitment to facilitating global poverty reduction, health, development as well as public welfare and charity work. President Xi also told Gates that China is willing to work with him and his foundation to continue strengthening cooperation in relevant fields, and provide support and help to other developing countries, the Global Times reported.
Gates said that he is visiting China for the first time since 2019. Gates is the latest high-profile business titan to visit the country in recent months, Fox Business reported.
The Microsoft co-founder on Wednesday tweeted: "I've just landed in Beijing for the first time since 2019, where I'm excited to visit with partners who have been working on global health and development challenges with @gatesfoundation for more than 15 years."
The billionaire philanthropist had last met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015, and in 2020 Xi had written a letter thanking Gates and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging some USD 5 million to the country in its fight against COVID as per Fox Business.
On Thursday, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said it will provide USD 50 million over the next five years to help Chinese efforts to battle disease.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a renewed collaboration with the Beijing Municipal Government and Tsinghua University to support the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI) "in its efforts to improve health outcomes worldwide through lifesaving therapies for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria, which disproportionately affect the world's poorest," according to release by the foundation.
Meanwhile, as per Fox Business, China has been rolling out the red carpet for US CEOs in recent months.
Gates has retired from leading Microsoft and appears to be overseas to focus on the work of the global charitable organization he founded with his ex-wife.
Other high-profile visits to China this year included those by Tesla's Elon Musk and Apple's Tim Cook. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is expected to visit China soon.
During Musk's three-day visit to China the Tesla chief checked in on the electric vehicle giant's operations and met with China's foreign minister.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon also visited China earlier this month during a trip to Asia to meet with employees there and in neighbouring Taiwan, as per Fox Business. —ANI
