Invoice Gates meets with President Xi Jinping in Beijing

Scorching on the heels of Elon Musk’s go to to China earlier this month, the nation welcomed one other American tech billionaire. Invoice Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis, met President Xi Jinping on Friday in Beijing, China’s state media reported.

Like Musk, that is Gates’ first journey to China because the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted his frequent visits to the nation the place Microsoft has had a presence for twenty years.

The aim of the assembly hasn’t been introduced publicly, however official media studies will possible comply with. A reporter from China’s English state tabloid World Instances tweeted what appeared to be quotes from the assembly, giving us an early glimpse into the temper of the dialog.

Gates beforehand stated he’d be assembly companions engaged on n world well being and improvement challenges. These are the few remaining areas the place China and the West discover frequent floor amid rising geopolitical tensions.

“You’re the first American buddy I’ve met in Beijing this 12 months,” President Xi informed Gates on Friday. “Because the world is rising from covid, individuals ought to transfer round extra, talk extra, and improve their understanding of one another.”

President Xi additionally informed Gates that China is prepared to interact in “intensive technological innovation cooperation with nations world wide” and “actively take part in and promote the response to world challenges” reminiscent of local weather change and public well being,” in response to the reporter.

Gates is visiting China at a curious time. Final week, the Monetary Instances reported that Beijing-based Microsoft Analysis Asia (MSRA), the tech big’s largest R&D outfit exterior the U.S., is shifting a few of its prime AI abilities from China to Vancouver to mitigate the influence of the more and more strained relationship between China and the U.S.

The Biden Administration is weighing restrictions on investments from the U.S. into Chinese language cutting-edge applied sciences together with AI, semiconductors and quantum computing.

MSRA, which began in 1998, has performed a pivotal position in coaching China’s AI expertise, lots of whom have gone on to discovered their very own ventures. That features autonomous driving upstart Momenta, which has attracted funding from Bosch, Common Motors and Toyota.

It received’t be a shock if Gates is eschewing the sensitive matter of the U.S.-China tech warfare and focuses on philanthropic endeavors on the journey.

A day earlier than assembly President Xi, he introduced a renewed collaboration with the Beijing Municipal Authorities and Tsinghua College on progressive therapies for infectious illnesses in low- and middle-income nations. As a part of the partnership, the Gates Basis pledged a donation of $50 million to the World Well being Drug Discovery Institute, a nonprofit establishment established in 2016 as “China’s first public-private partnership on progressive analysis between the Beijing Municipal Authorities, Tsinghua College, and the Gates Basis,” in response to the institute’s web site.

It is a growing story…