When the movie "The Great Gatsby" was released in China, many people regarded the title as "The Great Bill Gates", which shows Bill Gates' popularity in China. Gates has visited China many times, and recently, he has come again. On March 24, Gates delivered a speech at Peking University under the title "China's Future: Innovation, Charity and Global Leadership", believing that the younger generation of China is in an excellent era and shoulders the mission of global progress and development. In addition to his speeches, Gates also started live broadcasts on Weibo and became "the richest anchor in history." At a subsequent dinner, he listened to Zhang Zetian, the "Milk Tea Sister" introduced the charity project with a serious look and nodded from time to time. He was teased by netizens as "the richest man is a little cute."
On the eve of Gates' visit to China, a reporter from Global People interviewed him at the headquarters of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, USA (hereinafter referred to as the Gates Foundation).
On March 16, 2017, a reporter from this magazine interviewed Bill Gates at the headquarters of the Gates Foundation in Seattle, USA.
"Technological progress helps everyone stay curious"
Many people commented that Gates is difficult to get along with. But after chatting with Gates, the reporter of "Global People" found that he was actually a person with a temperament. When he talked about being happy, his face immediately became calm when he was unhappy - perhaps this is a characteristic of an innovative talent.
"Global People": For many people, your life experience is quite legendary. What is your current state of life?
Gates: I feel super lucky. I am in a field that is part of a constantly changing digital revolution, and can experience the magic of software, the Internet, computers, and mobile phones firsthand. I especially like reading and learning, and there are always many new things around me worth studying, such as the most popular artificial intelligence at present.
"Global People": It can be seen that you are a very curious person. You have also emphasized many times that "curiosity" is a very important quality. Do you think "curiosity" is born or can be cultivated after all? If it is the latter, how do you suggest people develop curiosity?
Gates: I think curiosity needs to be cultivated from an early age, and encouragement from parents and teachers is particularly important. Unfortunately, as many people get older, they become less curious about the world around them. In fact, technological progress is very helpful to help everyone stay curious. Once you don’t know something, you can easily search for an article or a video to find out.
"Global People": So what are you most curious about?
Gates: I am curious about the creation of life and how the brain works. Humans have surprisingly little knowledge of the brain! However, I think humans should be able to learn more in the next 10 years.
"Global People": If you could give yourself some advice to your 19-year-old self, what would you say?
Gates: I might say to myself at that time that intelligence is not a single dimension, nor is it as important as I thought back then. I might suggest that I must go to developing countries before I was 40 years old. I was not good at socializing back then, but I didn’t think there were any good suggestions to improve this. Well, maybe I can only grow up embarrassedly...
"Global People": Can you imagine what you are like in 15 years?
Gates: I was 76 years old at that time, and I hope my child already had children. I believe that by then the Gates Foundation and its partners had already wiped out several diseases, and the health of people in poor countries has also improved. In particular, the mortality rate for children under 5 years old can drop from 5% today to 2.5%.
"Global People": You are busy with work, how do you find time to accompany your children?
Gates: I just visited 6 universities with my 17-year-old son. He is now in high school and has begun to consider where to study next. Such a journey is a good opportunity for us father and son to get along. He usually reads more political books than me, so I often ask him to help me choose some books to read. My wife Melinda is very good at creating opportunities to get along with her children. We will take the opportunity to drive them to school and chat with them.
In March 2013, Bill Gates visited a health center in Ghana and injected a young child with anti-diarrhea rotavirus vaccine
"WeChat may affect the world"
Gates attaches great importance to China and is optimistic about China's future development. According to the observations of the reporter from Global People, there are many negative voices about China in the United States. It is rare for big names like Gates to stand up and express their objective and positive views on China boldly.
When talking to the reporter of Global People that day about China, Gates was very excited and lamented that time passed too quickly after the interview. The assistant next to him said that he rarely had this state during interviews.
"Global People": You have visited China many times in the past 20 years. What is your impression of China?
Gates: Every time I go to China, whether it is the buildings that rise from the ground, the people I see or the technological innovations, I feel the rapid development of China. It is exciting to go to China often and witness China's rapid development.
"Global People": What do you think is the biggest change in China?
Gates: I want to say two points. First, China has created a miracle of development, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty, comprehensively improved infrastructure, and built the world's top universities, with amazing speed. In my impression, almost every year people say, "China's development is about to hit the top", and then a few years later, they shout, "It's now." Of course, China still faces many challenges today, but China is still developing and people's living standards are still improving, which is very eye-catching.
Second, China's role on the world stage is becoming increasingly important. Although solving problems such as poverty in the country is still the primary priority, China's role in promoting global development is constantly highlighted - joining the World Trade Organization; making commitments to African development, including supporting economic and partnerships; at the regional development level, through the "Belt and Road" initiative, it has promoted cooperation among countries and mutually beneficial economic win-win results. All of these are exciting changes.
"Global People": How do you view China's role in global development and governance?
Gates: Commitment to help other countries in the world is particularly important. I would be particularly disappointed if the United States cuts its foreign aid drastically. It is gratifying that China's success based on its own development is participating in global development in a relatively unique way. I am very happy to see China play a leading role in this area. For example, at the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, China promised $60 billion to Africa to support - a realistic manifestation of China's leadership in promoting global development.
In many fields, such as agriculture and manufacturing, China has accumulated a lot of successful experiences that can be shared. China can help the world accelerate its progress.
"Global People": As a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, you have made a lot of contributions to exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States. How do you view the role of business cooperation in Sino-US relations?
Gates: I think business cooperation is the top priority. We cannot rely solely on intergovernmental dialogue. We need communication between business and business, between the people, and student exchanges. If only high-level government interactions will miss many good opportunities. We need to maintain the depth and breadth of exchanges between the United States and China.
"Global People": With your experience in dating Chinese entrepreneurs, how are Chinese entrepreneurs different from their peers in other countries?
Gates: Markets in different countries are different, and entrepreneurs need to adapt to local conditions and use innovative ways to build their own companies. Some creativity, such as WeChat, are breakthroughs that may affect the world. In the field of technology, I feel that Chinese and foreign entrepreneurs are not much different. They are usually Lotte Action. Charity is not their focus at present, but I believe that many of them will devote themselves to charity in the future and set a good example for many successful entrepreneurs in China to repay society.
"Global People": What is the focus of the Gates Foundation's work in China?
Gates: The work of the Gates Foundation in China is divided into two levels.First, we are committed to helping China meet domestic challenges, such as AIDS and tuberculosis prevention and control, and tobacco control. The second is to establish partnerships between China, other developing countries and foundations to find ways to cooperate. At the same time, we will give full play to China's strengths, such as livestock and poultry vaccines, rice cultivation, etc., to help other developing countries. There are many examples of this. For example, in Ethiopia, we are working with the China-Africa Development Fund to fund local animal vaccine projects.
vs. Trump, praise it, and criticize it
just three days before this visit to China. On March 20, Forbes magazine released the 2017 Global Rich List. Two of them are highly watched, one is Gates, who has been ranked as the world's richest man for four consecutive years. The other is US President Trump, whose assets have shrunk by $1 billion in the past year, and their ranking has dropped by more than 200 places, falling to an outside 500.
It was on this morning that the two celebrities met in the White House. Personal wealth is certainly not their focus. "The President and Mr. Gates discussed disease prevention and control around the world, and the President particularly appreciated the contribution of the Gates Foundation in the field of global health and health security," said White House spokesman Spicer.
This is the second time Gates and Trump meet. The last time was in December last year, when Trump had not yet officially taken office as president. The day before he met with 13 Silicon Valley giants, he met Gates alone.
"We had a good exchange on innovation, involving how to use innovation to help health, education, diplomatic aid and energy affairs." After the talks, Gates told reporters. Gates also revealed that they have mutual friends, but they didn't have the first time on the phone until recently. As we go back further, Trump even called out to Gates from a distance. At an event in December 2015, Trump spoke about terrorist remarks on the Internet. "It's time to talk to Bill Gates and other people familiar with the matter about how to shut down the network." Obviously, Trump had misunderstood Gates' business scope at that time.
At that time, Gates was not a supporter of Trump. Once, he told the media that he would actively cooperate with any government department, but he has more experience working with Hillary and Clinton through the Clinton Foundation. A reporter asked: "Does Trump understand public health issues?" Gates smiled: "There are some questions about vaccines now, and some candidates do not know enough about vaccines." Previously, Trump had claimed that the increase in autism children is related to childhood vaccines, and Gates' remarks were believed to be implying support for Hillary.
There are also media comments, and Gates has always avoided a clear criticism of Trump. On the contrary, his arguments about the future of the United States have always been relatively positive. After Trump was elected, Gates believed that Trump's election was based on voters' recognition of Trump's "leadership method" rather than his "specific policies", so Trump has great flexibility in what issues to really advance.
After the first meeting, Gates gave Trump a positive comment. "The message he conveys is mainly about things he thinks are not good enough, just as former President Kennedy proposed a space plan and devoted the United States to support the project. I think the Trump administration will make a difference whether in education, epidemic control or energy. They will eliminate regulatory barriers and play the leadership role of the United States through innovation." - Perhaps this evaluation that compared Trump with Kennedy was too eye-catching, and later it extended a fake news, claiming that Gates posted on Twitter: "After 17 minutes of Mandarin with Trump, I think he will become a famous president in history like Reagan." Although
has given good reviews, Gates is also clear-cut when it comes to express his position. In February this year, Gates told the media that the "America First" principle would threaten global stability.
. Not long before this White House meeting, on March 16, the U.S. government announced the 2018 fiscal year budget, which significantly increased defense spending and cut funds for foreign aid. The next day, Gates published an article titled "Reduce the threat of US security from foreign aid."He wrote: "Protect the American people, prevent epidemic diseases, consolidate commodity markets, and save innocent lives - foreign aid can be exchanged for unimaginable returns with a small amount of investment."
White House regulars
Last October, WikiLeaks disclosed an email allegedly from the chairman of Hillary's campaign, which listed a list of more than 30 politicians and business giants, and pointed out that these people could all become Hillary's campaign mates. The Gates and his wife are among them.
The establishment of this relationship starts with the lawsuit that concerns Microsoft's life and death. In October 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Microsoft of monopolizing its operating system. In April 2000, the court announced that Microsoft violated the antitrust law. A few days later, Gates rushed to the White House, and then President Clinton met him and put his arms affectionately on his shoulders, praising his many righteous actions in charity. Soon after, Gates met non-stop with members of the Congressional subcommittee who supported Microsoft, as well as the Ministers of Education, Finance, and Commerce. But in June, the court still made a ruling to split Microsoft into two companies.
It is said that at that time, a lawmaker gave Gates a tip: If Microsoft did not invest huge amounts of money in lobbying, it would always be "demonized" on Capitol Hill. So, Microsoft began to spend a lot of money to hire a huge team of lobbyists to launch a massive out-of-the-yard lobbying campaign. They also hired senior advisers to Bush Jr., who publicly expressed opposition to the division of Microsoft at the time. In the U.S. election that year, Microsoft increased its political donations significantly, and the Bush team was the main beneficiary. As a result, Bush Jr. was elected. Microsoft's split ruling was overturned in June 2001. Since then, Microsoft has been a big player in political donations, but most of the time it supports the Democratic Party.
Gates and Clinton have always maintained a good relationship. He once commented on Clinton: "I knew him before he became president, I knew him when he was president, and I knew him after he left office." Clinton said that when he left the White House, he decided to pay attention to things he cared about when he was president and still achieved after leaving office, one of which was the Clinton Health Initiative project, which was mainly funded by the Gates Foundation. This program lowers the price of drugs for treating AIDS and malaria. In 2006, Clinton and Gates went to Africa to inspect AIDS prevention and control projects. At an AIDS treatment center in Lesotho, Clinton held the hand of a young girl with AIDS and focused on listening to the patient's stories. In comparison, Gates is more concerned about the operation of the clinic. In 2013, the two also participated in an event together to discuss topics such as global health and charity. With such a friendship, it is no wonder that the Gates Foundation is one of the most important donors of the Clinton Foundation.
Another reason why Gates leaned towards Hillary in last year's presidential election was probably that if Hillary entered the White House, it would be more likely to continue Obama's policies, and Gates and Obama's cooperation was quite pleasant.
In 2010, Obama met with Gates and Buffett when he tried to extend the tax cut bill to the rich. He hopes that the two can urge the rich to do positive charity and donate the "excess money" to charity. The outside world believes that this is Obama's escort for the tax cut plan. In 2015, Obama announced the "largest and most important" clean energy plan in history, which was regarded as his important political legacy by him. Subsequently, Gates invested a large amount of money to participate in the launch of the "Clean Energy Research Program". Obama's senior adviser highly praised Gates' move, describing him as a "think tank" who contributed to public welfare in the private sector.
In November last year, Obama awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 21 Americans, and the Gates and his wife won the award for their contributions to health care, education, the environment, etc. Obama teased Gates: "We almost missed this outstanding couple because Bill had a good start to Melinda that year, "Do you want to go out together for two weeks on Saturday." He is very proficient in computers, but you know... Fortunately, Melinda gave him a second chance, and our world benefited from it."
Intimate contact with Chinese leaders
For China, Gates is a rich friend, an old friend, and a good friend.In 1992, Microsoft entered China, and in 1994, Gates visited China for the first time. In the following years, Gates visited China many times, and Microsoft's business in China became bigger and bigger.
In 2001, Gates came to Shanghai to attend the APEC summit, and the most important one of the agenda was to meet with then President Jiang Zemin. It was at a dinner party for CEOs of large companies, and Jiang Zemin would also attend. Gao Qunyao, then president of Microsoft China, recalled that who could sit next to Chairman Jiang became the focus of competition among various companies. "In order to push Gates up, we came up with various ideas, big and small, and it seemed to be inevitable. Unfortunately, the night before the banquet, we were told that the seat was given to the boss of FedEx because he was the gold sponsor of this event. But what was surprising was that on the morning of the banquet, we received another notice that Gates would sit next to Chairman Jiang. It is said that this was the name of Chairman Jiang. At the dinner, the two chatted for a long time, from pension to family, from family to IT, which was very speculative." Two years later, Gates was invited to visit China again and met Jiang Zemin again.
Gates is also very capable of being a gang member. In 2006, Hu Jintao visited the United States as President for the first time, and he went to Seattle for the first stop. Hu Jintao visited Microsoft headquarters and praised Gates for his achievements: "Because you, Mr. Bill Gates is a friend of China, and I am a friend of Microsoft." Hu Jintao also laughed and said, "I also use Microsoft's operating system every day." Gates said, "Thank you, this is an exciting relationship. Whenever you need advice on the operating system, I am happy to help."
That night, Gates set up a dinner in his mansion to welcome Hu Jintao and his party. He also invited many business, politicians and community celebrities as guests, such as then Washington State Greg Gregl, Nobel Prize winner Lee Harwell, and Starbucks Chairman Schultz. There are 3 American "traditional Northwest flavor" dishes for the dinner. The first is the Guinea Smoked Guinea Fowl Salad; the second dish can be fried beef sticks with onions, asparagus, or Alaska halibut with prawns; the last dish is the dessert brown butter almond cake. It is said that this menu was set after Gates personally modified several times.
Gates and President Xi Jinping have also seen each other many times. In May 2012, Xi Jinping, then Vice President of the State, met with Gates at the Great Hall of the People. On the same day, Gates also participated in a charity event that rejected second-hand smoke with Xi Jinping's wife Peng Liyuan. At the Boao Forum on Asia in 2013 and 2015, Gates met with President Xi Jinping twice. During Xi Jinping's visit to the United States in 2015, Gates also appeared many times. At the welcome dinner, he was an invited guest; when Peng Liyuan visited the Cancer Research Center, Gates and his wife accompanied him throughout the journey; when Xi Jinping and his wife visited Microsoft headquarters, Gates and his wife warmly greeted him, and the four people also had a brief meeting.
I have to say that from the White House to the Red Wall, Gates is at ease.
Author: "Global People" Special Correspondent in the United States Zhang Niansheng, reporter Zhu Dongjun
