Bill Gates visit to China signals Beijing is open to a thaw in relations with US

Bill Gates visited Beijing on Friday and was granted a rare meeting with President Xi Jinping.

The philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder is just the latest in a string of American business leaders to visit China as the ruling communist party attempts to tell the world it is open for business.

Mr Gates tweeted ahead of the meeting that he was “excited” to meet with “partners” who he could work with on global health and development challenges, and while this was clearly the headline topic of the meeting, the fact Gates was granted an audience, on what is the Chinese leader’s 70th birthday no less, sends out other messages too.

The first is likely targeted at reviving confidence among foreign investors who have been unnerved in recent years.

Not only did China essentially close its doors for nearly three years during the COVID-19 pandemic, but heightened political hostilities between Beijing and America in particular have been spilling over into the business arena.

Companies have been rattled by anti-monopoly and data-security crackdowns as well as recent raids on consulting firms.

A return of larger scale foreign investment is needed here as the economy struggles to recover from strict zero COVID shutdowns and the country faces youth unemployment of over 20%.

Images of Mr Gates, Tesla’s Elon Musk and Apple’s Tim Cook who have also visited recently send out the right signals.

The timing of the visit is also highly interesting, coming just two days before US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is due to arrive.

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It has not yet been confirmed whether Mr Blinken and Mr Xi will meet, but it now seems more likely given the time was made for Mr Gates.

Relations between the US and China are at their lowest ebb in decades.

Mr Blinken’s visit had initially been scheduled in February before it was dramatically postponed at the last minute by the so-called spy balloon incident.

But despite the enormous range of issues that divide them, from Taiwan and regional security to trade, sanctions, and surveillance, it seems there is a mutual acknowledgement that they at least need to re-establish communications.

The presence of a series of high-profile Americans in just a few days is perhaps a signal that China is serious about preventing relations from deteriorating further.

Indeed, Mr Xi took the opportunity to say: “We always hold hope for the American people.

“Hoping that people of both countries can maintain friendly relations.”

Mr Gates has always been a popular figure in China.

Microsoft was a widely used system, while the height of his success coincided with a time where US-China relations were much better than currently.

And while his visit is unlikely to significantly shift any political dials, it is at least a sign China wants to be seen as open to talking.