China, best place for ambitious youth seeking a better world: Gates
Once widely considered the world’s richest man, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said China is the “best place” for the young to fulfil their ambitions to make the world a better place.
In a Friday lecture to Peking University students, the billionaire philanthropist described the skepticism in some developed countries about whether globalisation works for ordinary people.
He said the results of the US presidential election and the Brexit vote showed how any country may turn inward when confronted with difficult issues like immigration, security and global development.
In a world suddenly short of experienced leaders, Mr Gates commended China for assuming greater responsibility for critical global issues like climate change and inclusive development.
Mr Gates told hundreds of students attending the lecture of his high hopes for China’s youth as they enter the workforce at the time of “China’s rise as a center of global progress and innovation.” “The world’s eyes are on China... the world’s eyes are specifically on all of you... What an incredible thing is the belief that you can make the world a better place. There has never been a better moment.”
Mr Gates said China had to deal with the most urgent challenges the world faces.
Health, agriculture, energy, and technology are areas where Mr Gates sees “exciting opportunities” for more “amazing progress” for China and for the world. Mr Gates believes China could lead the world in eradicating malaria.
He commended Tu Youyou’s discovery of artemisinin, which won her a Nobel Prize in 2015, and said there was need to develop more powerful tools – like a single-dose treatment – to block transmission of the malaria parasite form mosquitos to humans.
More than 3.2 billion people in the world still live with the risk of malaria infection, he said.