Something happens when one of the world's richest men moves.

On his 10th tour of China, Microsoft Corporation Chairman Bill Gates made a stir in Beijing . The speech he delivered along with the new programs he offered to Tsinghua University yesterday gained him more than the admiration of the nation's younger generation.

Meeting with HIV carriers and volunteers to get a picture of how China fights AIDS, Gates pondered a problem beyond the realm of silicon and software. He was said to be looking for the right group of people for his foundation to help.

The visit combined business and philanthropy. Before Gates' tour, Microsoft signed a memorandum of understanding with Lenovo and Xiaxin, China's PC and electronic giants.

The country speaks as much about Gates' power as it does about China's aspiration to be a leader in an era of technology and globalization .

The attraction seems to go both ways. China's universities have turned out to be the incubators for Beijing-based Microsoft Research Asia; the US firm and other multinational corporations help China sharpen its technology.

China is placing a strong emphasis on science and technology. Its science and technology institutions have undergone two decades of extensive structural reform. The human resource base has been expanded and improved through changes in China's school system and extensive overseas study programs.

A poll by Zogby/463 Internet Attitudes late last year found that 49 percent of Americans believed that the "next Bill Gates" would come from China, Japan or India.

For China to achieve this sort of breakthrough in terms of intellectual property, technical standards, brand building, and overall economic competitiveness, it has to stimulate the creation of more innovations on a sustained basis.

Addressing the Microsoft Government Leaders Forum Asia 2007 on Wednesday, Wu Jichuan, member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that China will revise the law on scientific and technological advances this year. The goal is to make our science and technology policy more sophisticated, more market oriented and more globally oriented - hopefully paving the way for the Chinese Bill Gates.

(China Daily 04/20/2007 page10)

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