Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is in China for the first time since the pandemic began, saying on Thursday the country has “an invaluable experience (…) worth sharing with the world.”
In a post on Chinese social network Weibo, the billionaire praised China’s experience in the field of “health, agriculture, nutrition and poverty alleviation” and said want “continue to work with Chinese partners to make further contributions to global progress.”
Arriving in Beijing on Wednesday, Gates recalled in a separate message that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been working with Chinese partners for more than 15 years to “respond to global health and development challenges.”
The philanthropist emphasized that China “has a lot of experience” in areas ranging from “the development of new antimalarial drugs to investments in solutions that can withstand climate change”.
“To tackle issues like climate change, health inequalities and food security, we need innovation”added Gates.
“The world has made tremendous progress in reducing child mortality and poverty, but the global crisis has stalled progress”complained Bill Gates.
The businessman revealed that the next destination will be West Africa and emphasized that African countries are “particularly vulnerable to high food prices, debt [públicas] severe and rising rates of tuberculosis and malaria”.
Gates’ visit comes after other businessmen, including Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk, have visited China in recent weeks and met senior Chinese officials.
The official Chinese newspaper Global Times wrote that executives from Western countries are “visiting China in search of cooperation”, although “the United States and some of its allies continue to adopt a hostile stance to contain China’s rise”.
The US State Department confirmed on Wednesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China over the weekend, where he plans to make diplomatic overtures to Beijing and ask for “responsible management of the tensions between the two great powers.
Source: DN
