Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Beijing, capital of China, June 16, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Beijing on Friday. 
 
Xi praised Gates and his foundation for their long-term commitment to facilitating global poverty reduction, health, development as well as philanthropy around the world. 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, he said.
 
"You're the first American friend I have met in Beijing this year," Xi told Gates. "I often say that the foundation of China-US relations lies in the people. We have always placed our hope on the American people and wish all the best for the friendship between the two peoples," Xi said.
 
Xi also noted that China is committed to advancing the country's rejuvenation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization and will never seek hegemony. Instead, China will join hands with other countries to achieve common development and push building a community with a shared future for mankind.
 
Gates said during his meeting with Xi that China is speeding up innovative development, which is beneficial to China, developing countries and the world. He also said that his foundation will further strengthen cooperation with China in areas including innovation, world poverty alleviation, public health, pharmaceutical R&D, rural and agricultural sectors. 
 
The meeting took place on the third day of the US billionaire's visit to China, his first since 2019.
 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Beijing, capital of China, June 16, 2023. Photo:Xinhua

At about 10:00 pm on Wednesday, Gates announced on his Sina Weibo account that he had landed at Beijing to start his China visit. "I am very glad that I can meet with my friends in China," he wrote on Weibo.
 
The 67-year-old US billionaire is a frequent China visitor. Since 1994, Gates has visited China a total of 18 times, according to media reports.
 
On Thursday, Gates delivered a speech in Beijing at the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute (GHDDI), during which he said that China has made great achievements in reducing poverty and improving people's health.
 
"It's been a long time since I was in China - four years. The world looked very different then," he said, pointing to rising challenges facing the world. He said that the need to meaningfully address these challenges has "never been more urgent," and he hoped to see China play a greater role in helping the world, especially African countries, to cope with those challenges.
 
His foundation announced on the occasion that it had renewed collaboration with the Beijing Municipal Government and Tsinghua University on innovative therapies for infectious diseases prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, pledging a donation of $50 million for the joint endeavor.
 
Beijing mayor Yin Yong also met with Gates on Thursday. He said that the Global Health Drug Discovery Institute established by Gates' foundation in Beijing has achieved breakthrough achievements in recent years. According to Yin, the government attaches great importance to the investment to and will continue to strongly support construction of the institute, according to a report by the Beijing Daily.
 
Yin also said that the government is willing to deepen cooperation with the foundation in areas like talents training, as well as push the institute to make more innovative achievements and accelerate their application.
 
Experts said that the reception of US business executives by Chinese leaders and officials presents a stark contrast to the hostile approach adopted by some US politicians toward China. It also underscores the unpopularity and futility of Washington's "decoupling" or "de-risking" attempts.