China's President Xi Jinping met with Bill Gates in Beijing on Friday (June 16), Chinese state media CCTV reported.
In a meeting at Beijing's Diaoyutai state guesthouse, where China's leaders have historically received senior foreign guests, Xi called Bill Gates "an old friend" and said he hoped they could carry out activities together beneficial to both China and the United States.
Xi told the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist that he was very happy to see him after three years and described Gates as the first American friend he had met this year.
The last reported meeting between Xi and Gates was in 2015, when they met on the sidelines of the Boao forum in Hainan province.
In early 2020, Xi wrote to Gates thanking him and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for pledging assistance to China, including $5 million for its fight against COVID-19.
Gates, who arrived in Beijing on Wednesday, told Xi that he was "honoured" to have the chance to meet.
Xi also discussed the global rise of artificial intelligence (AI) with Bill Gates and said he welcomed U.S. firms including Microsoft bringing their AI tech to China, two sources familiar with the talks said.
One of the sources said they also discussed Microsoft's business development in China.
Gates stepped down from Microsoft's board in 2020 to focus on philanthropic works related to global health, education and climate change.
