Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates tweeted on Wednesday that he had landed in Beijing for the first time since 2019, and that he is excited to visit with partners who have been working on global health and development challenges with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for more than 15 years.

"The world was making huge progress in reducing child deaths and poverty, but global crises set us back. African countries are particularly vulnerable, with high food prices, crushing debt, and increasing rates of TB and malaria. That's why I'm heading to West Africa next." He tweeted.

Gates also said that solving problems like climate change, health inequity and food insecurity requires innovation. "From developing malaria drugs to investing in climate adaptation, China has a lot of experience in that. We need to unlock that kind of progress for more people around the world," he added.

Gates first visited China in the 1980s, and has visited the country several times since then, according to a previous Xinhua report.