London
\nXi Jinping called Bill Gates \u201can old friend\u201d and said he hoped they could carry out activities together beneficial to both China and the United States, in the Chinese president\u2019s first meeting with a foreign entrepreneur in years.
\nIn a meeting at Beijing\u2019s Diaoyutai state guesthouse, where China\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cI often say the foundation of US-China relations lies with its people. I place my hopes on the American people,\u201d a video published by state broadcaster CCTV showed Xi saying.
\n\u201cWith the current global situation, we can carry out various activities beneficial to our two countries and people, activities that benefit humanity as a whole,\u201d he said.
\nGates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, told Xi that he was \u201chonoured\u201d to have the chance to meet. \u201cWe\u2019ve always had great conversations and we\u2019ll have lot of important topics to discuss today. I was very disappointed I couldn\u2019t come during the last four years so it\u2019s very exciting to be back.\u201d
\nXi 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.
\nA number of CEOs have visited China since it reopened early this year, but most have met with government ministers.
\nGates stepped down from Microsoft\u2019s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.
\nThe 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\u2019s fight against Covid-19.
\nNot pursuing hegemony
\nThe mood of the foreign business community towards China has turned cautious as Sino-US. tensions intensify and Xi increases the country\u2019s focus on national security.
\nGates\u2019 visit comes ahead of a long-delayed visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China aimed at stabilising relations between the world\u2019s two largest economies and strategic rivals.
\nBlinken had a tense call with China\u2019s foreign minister Qin Gang on Wednesday, during which Qin urged the United States to stop meddling in its affairs and harming its security.
\nDuring his meeting with Gates, Xi said China would not follow the old path of a \u201cstrong country seeking hegemony\u201d but would work with other countries to achieve common development, according to the People\u2019s Daily newspaper. China often accuses the United States of pursuing hegemony.
\nApart 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.
\nThe 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\u2019s drug discovery capacity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
London Xi Jinping called Bill Gates \u201can old friend\u201d and said he hoped they could carry out activities together beneficial to both China and the United States, in the Chinese president\u2019s first meeting with a foreign entrepreneur in years. In a meeting at Beijing\u2019s Diaoyutai state guesthouse, where China\u2019s leaders have historically received senior foreign […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338118,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-338204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n