BEIJING, June 16, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will meet
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday, state media reported.
"On June 16, President Xi Jinping will meet in Beijing with Bill Gates, head
of the Gates Foundation," state broadcaster CCTV said.
Gates -- one of the world's richest men -- is one of a number of Western
business leaders to visit China since the country ended strict Covid controls
that saw it largely closed off from the world for almost three years.
The visit is his first to the country in four years.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation said Thursday it would give $50 million
to support Chinese efforts to fight malaria and tuberculosis, as the
Microsoft co-founder meets with global health and development partners in
Beijing.
The foundation announced it would renew a collaboration with the Global
Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI) -- a Beijing-based group set up by
Gates, the Beijing municipal government and Tsinghua University.
The $50 million will support "efforts to improve health outcomes worldwide
through lifesaving therapies for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and
malaria, which disproportionately affect the world's poorest", the Gates
Foundation said in a statement.
On Thursday, Gates gave a speech at GHDDI, the Gates Foundation said, hailing
China's efforts in eradicating malaria and poverty reduction.
"China has made significant gains reducing poverty and improving health
outcomes within China," Gates said.
"I'm hopeful China can play an even bigger role in addressing the current
challenges, particularly those facing African countries."
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon visited China last month, as did Tesla CEO
Elon Musk, his first visit in more than three years.
Musk, who has extensive business interests in China, met with senior
officials in Beijing and visited Tesla's Gigafactory on the outskirts of
Shanghai for a late-night meeting with staff.
In March, Apple CEO Tim Cook visited Beijing, saying his company enjoyed a
"symbiotic" relationship with China.
