Gates opens up to fans on WeChat

Billionaire Bill Gates has brought an unexpected gift to his Chinese fans.

The co-founder and former chairman of Microsoft Corp opened an official account on WeChat, China's most popular social media platform, to share his ideas and favorite books with Chinese users.

In the first post, Gates showcased his linguistic talents in a video clip, saying in Chinese: "Welcome to my personal WeChat blog." He then switched to English, adding "I will share with you the people I meet, the books I'm reading and what I'm learning".

The post had been viewed more than 100,000 times by 3 pm on Feb 13. It is the latest move by Gates to deepen communications with China, where his charity organization Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been working hard to solve many social problems.

The WeChat account, operated by local firm Boruizhi Consulting (Beijing) Co, says Gates will share content related to global health, new energy and education reform, which are in line with the objectives of the Gates Foundation.

Last year, the foundation set up a drug research center in Beijing by partnering with Tsinghua University. The Global Health Drug Discovery Institute is dedicated to tackling major diseases faced by developing countries.

Gates is not the first foreign tech tycoon to register a Chinese social media account. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, sent his first post on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, in May 2015, during his trip to Beijing.

masi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 02/17/2017 page25)