![Bill Gates [Screenshot/YouTube/Lowy Institute]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Screen-Shot-2023-01-25-at-2.37.02-PM-e1674686262742.png "Bill Gates [Screenshot/YouTube/Lowy Institute]")
Microsoft founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates said China’s rise has been “a huge win for the world” in a Monday interview about global challenges.
Gates was speaking at the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based non-partisan international policy think tank, according to its website. (RELATED: China Is Dominating The Electric Vehicle Market. Here’s Why)
“I tend to see China’s rise as a huge win for the world. I mean, that’s 20 percent of humanity,” Gates said. “China is a very innovative country, very important, you know, arguably the number two innovator, but the distance [from the US] is unbelievable.”
Tech founder and philanthropist @BillGates spoke in conversation with Executive Director @mfullilove at 31 Bligh Street. They discussed global challenges in climate, environment, pandemic preparedness and public health. Watch or listen: https://t.co/21CnJqHGsI pic.twitter.com/xp46vk2kRo
— The Lowy Institute (@LowyInstitute) January 23, 2023
Gates believes the world system is designed around “U.S. leadership” and a weakened U.S. is “scary for the world.” He added that “middle income countries, including China and India, need to play a strong role in world governance” as they become richer.
He also expressed concern about nations closing off trade for resources used for green energy technology such as copper, lithium and cobalt. “It is sad that … we’re devolving into a world where the willingness — certainly of the US — to be dependent on things from China, at least for a decade here will be low, and it’ll create significant inefficiencies,” Gates said.
Gates also discussed climate change and environmental degradation, urging more action by government and philanthropic groups. “Climate change is worth investing in massively, because it will get worse and worse over time,” Gates remarked.
“And if you allow the warming to go to an extreme level, say, three degrees centigrade to four degrees centigrade, then all sorts of natural ecosystems disappear. And all sorts of places in the world, you can’t do outdoor work,” Gates added.
Nonetheless, Gates is optimistic about humanity because “the amount of innovation that is the improvement overall in the human condition is still going to be dramatic” and diseases such as cancer and obesity will be cured.
Gates co-chairs the Board of Trustees of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the philanthropic venture he co-founded with his ex-wife. The foundation announced a 2023 budget of $8.3 billion, a 15% increase over its 2022 spending.
His net worth is an estimated $103.2 billion, making him the 7th richest man in the world, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires Index.