Xi writes thank you note to Bill Gates for virus pledge

Chinese President Xi Jinping has written a letter expressing thanks to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for the organisation's "generosity" and support tackling a deadly virus epidemic, state media said yesterday. Earlier this month the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation committed up to $100 million for the global response to the outbreak. "I deeply appreciate the act of generosity of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and your letter of solidarity to the Chinese people at such an important moment," Xi wrote in the letter, according to official news agency Xinhua. The foundation said it would direct $20 million to organizations like the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection, the National Health Commission of China and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.