“The world is walking out of the Covid-19 pandemic. People should move and communicate more to enhance understanding.”
The message from Xi came just two days ahead of a visit to Beijing by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as bilateral tensions continue to simmer.
The visit over Sunday and Monday is seen as an effort to stabilise the fractious relationship. Blinken will be the first cabinet-level official in the Biden administration to travel to China. He planned to visit earlier this year but postponed the trip in the aftermath of the Chinese “spy balloon” saga.
Xi’s remark was also the latest example of China’s efforts to convey its approach to US relations through talks with high-profile American business figures.
Meeting Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Beijing about two weeks ago, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said the two countries should hit the “brakes” in time to avoid “dangerous driving”, and “step on the gas” at the right time to advance mutually beneficial cooperation.
Bill Gates and then wife Melinda on their first visit to China in 1995. Photo: Instagram / @melindafrenchgates
Gates – who stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change – is a foreign member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.
On Thursday, he unveiled US$50 million in funding to support a joint disease and medicine research organisation with China.
Gates said the foundation was committed to joint action with China in areas including innovation, global poverty reduction, public health and pharmaceutical research.
“I was very disappointed I couldn’t come during these last four years. And so it’s very exciting to be back,” he told Xi.
The last time Xi and Gates are known to have met was in 2015, when they talked on the sidelines of the Boao Forum in the southern Chinese province of Hainan.
Xi also wrote to Gates in February 2020, thanking him and his foundation for their support for China’s fight against Covid-19.
South China Morning Post
