Stora tråden om Kina

BEIJING, June 16 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in Beijing on Friday.

Xi applauded Gates and the Gates Foundation for their long-term work to promote poverty reduction, health, development and philanthropy around the world.

"At present, momentous changes unseen in a century are accelerating across the world. I put forward the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative to provide Chinese solutions to global challenges," Xi said.
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Xi said that China is ready to carry out extensive cooperation with all countries on scientific and technological innovation, and actively participate in and promote the response to global challenges such as climate change, the fight against the pandemic and public health.

China will continue to strengthen cooperation with the Gates Foundation in relevant fields, and will provide support and assistance to other developing countries within its capacity, he said.

"You're the first American friend I've met in Beijing this year," Xi told Gates ...

Gates spoke about the progress of cooperation with China and his vision for the future. He said that China has made remarkable achievements in poverty reduction and COVID-19 response, setting a good example for the world.

He said that in recent years, the Gates Foundation's cooperation with China has made remarkable progress, and that accelerating innovation and development in China is good for China, developing countries and the world.

The Gates Foundation is committed to strengthening cooperation with China in the fields of innovation, global poverty reduction, public health, research and development of drugs, rural areas and agriculture, and spreading successful practices and technologies to other developing countries, Gates said.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang kicked off on Sunday his five-day trip to Germany and France, two major European powers and leading members of the EU. On the same day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Beijing for a visit that was long-expected by the US side.

This is Li's first foreign trip since taking office in March to be the Chinese premier, with experts saying it shows that China attaches great importance to the bilateral ties with the two European countries and to the China-EU strategic ties. They noted that Li's visit will bring more certainty for the China-Europe cooperation and will benefit the global economic recovery when the world is still in turbulence caused by the Ukraine crisis and when the US unilateralism and hegemony threaten the trend of multipolarization.

Especially amid the Ukraine crisis, Paris and Berlin find that neither has enough leverage to independently deal with Washington's bullying and pressure, so France and Germany want to find a solution by deepening cooperation with China to jointly push the multipolarization of the world order, Song noted.

With France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and nuclear-armed power, starting to call for strategic autonomy after Macron's visit to China earlier this year in April, Germany also stressed the importance of the multipolar world order.

According to the DW on May 9, Scholz called for "an enlarged and reformed" EU. Speaking to the European Parliament, the German chancellor said the "European Union need to change," adding "Europe must turn to the world." He said the world is increasingly becoming multipolar and that Europe should look for more global cooperation on equal terms.

France is now taking concrete step to promote multipolarization. From June 22 to 23, France is set to host the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. The greatly ambitious event, which Li will also attend, is initiated by Macron, and it eyes on issues including climate change, energy, public health and how to deal with potential economic crises, according to the website of the summit.

The summit will be attended by many influential figures including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Scholz, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and many leaders from African countries. Experts said the attendance of Premier Li shows China's strong support to France's effort in pushing the multipolarization of the world order.

China and Germany have secured a three-year joint action plan aimed at strengthening international development cooperation to effectively implement the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The plan was signed in Berlin on Monday after a meeting between Luo Zhaohui, head of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, and Svenja Schulze, federal minister for economic cooperation and development of Germany, a day ahead of the seventh China-Germany intergovernmental consultation.
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China and Germany have also agreed to explore cooperation with a third party on technical and vocational education and training, he said. The two sides are willing to jointly design courses and provide training in fields including renewable energy, green economy and gender equality.