Microsoft founder Bill Gates met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, becoming the first American entrepreneur to secure a face-to-face meeting with the Chinese leader in 2023.
Xi Jinping he said to Bill Gates that he was the first “American friend” he met in Beijing this year, mentioned A journalist from the Chinese state apparatus Global Times. The Chinese president said that China has always “placed its hopes in the American people” and that it hopes to see “lasting friendship” between the peoples of the two countries, a statement that comes against the backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington. .
Xi Jinping added that China is open to “extensive technological innovation cooperation” on issues including climate change, the COVID-19 virus and public health. »
Details of Bill Gates’ statements and meeting agenda were not disclosed, but the meeting comes a day after the billionaire’s speech Global Health Drug Discovery Institutebased in Beijing, and met with the capital’s mayor, Yin Young. Bill Gates praised the research work of the institute, which was founded in 2016 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Beijing Municipal Government and Tsinghua University. He also announced that the institute would receive a grant $50 million over the next five years from its founding.
Bill Gates’ visit to China comes against the backdrop of recent trips by several top US businessmen as the country’s economy reopens after nearly three years of strict pandemic-related restrictions. Last month, Tesla’s CEO and billionaire, Elon MuskHe visited China, a major production center for the electric car maker, and met with senior government officials, including the foreign minister Qin Gang Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Chuanglong. According to a statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Elon Musk said that the interests of the United States and China are closely intertwined. Tim Cook, Apple CEO, visited China in March and praised the country’s “innovation” and rapid development. Last month, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase spoke on China Global Summit to his company in Shanghai and called for greater engagement between leaders in Washington and Beijing.
In recent years, relations between the United States and China have been marked by increasing tension, which has spilled over into the technological field. The United States has imposed sanctions on many Chinese companies and restricted their access to the latest hardware and software designed in the United States. Along with its allies, the United States has moved to limit China’s access to leading semiconductor technology, dealing a blow to Beijing’s ambition to build advanced hardware chips and artificial intelligence tools on its soil. In response, China has cracked down on some US companies, including chip maker Micron, and banned the use of their products in major infrastructure projects.
Translated article from the American magazine Forbes – Author: Siladitya Ray
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